Senior Day Saturday for playoff-bound Yellowjackets

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Wednesday, May 3, 2017 Senior Day Saturday for playoff-bound Yellowjackets

Clinching a berth in the 2017 GNAC Championships on Tuesday, MSUB’s baseball team prepares for its final home series of the year against Central Washington with Senior Day scheduled for Saturday.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Senior Day is scheduled for Saturday at Dehler Park, as the Montana State University Billings baseball team will honor six graduating players in the midst of a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series against Central Washington.

The Yellowjackets (20-26, 18-18 GNAC) clinched a spot in the GNAC Championships on Tuesday, when fifth-place Saint Martin’s University dropped a game against Western Oregon University and was eliminated from the upcoming tournament. MSUB is now guaranteed at least the fourth spot, but could finish as highly as second place in the regularseason standings after this weekend’s set against the Wildcats.

The top-four teams in the final GNAC standings will converge on Portland, Ore., for the championship tournament running May 10-12. Western Oregon (25-13, 24-10 GNAC), Central Washington (28-18, 22-14), and Northwest Nazarene

(21-25, 19-17) are the other three teams to have clinched a spot, as only seeding remains to be determined in the final weekend of the regular season.

This weekend’s series against the ‘Cats will run Friday and Saturday, with 9-inning/7-inning doubleheaders scheduled for both days starting at 1 p.m. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

“It was a battle out there in Ellensburg, and they’re going to be very competitive games this weekend,” said MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton. “Our guys going into this series want to go out and play good baseball, and this is a special weekend for our seniors.”

MSUB is coming off a 3-1 series win over Concordia University on the road last week, as the ‘Jackets rallied to win three in-a-row after dropping the opener. It was the third time this year that the ‘Jackets lost Game 1 and won the next three to take a series, including the second time against the Cavaliers.

SENIOR SENDOFF: Prior to Saturday’s doubleheader, Bryon Baker, Cody Cooper, Matt Hape, Casey Merritt, Zach Robinson, and Tanner Watson will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony. They will be joined by family and friends while their careers are recognized on the field.

COOPER CLOSING IN ON Ks RECORD: With 11 strikeouts last week in his start at Concordia, senior right-hander Cody Cooper upped his career total to 228. He is now just five strikeouts away from breaking the MSUB record of 232, held by 2015 graduate Brady Muller. Cooper also enters the week No. 9 in GNAC history with 243 1/3 innings pitched. On the season, Cooper ranks second in the league with 64 strikeouts and is the GNAC leader with 77 1/3 innings pitched.

GNAC Career Strikeout Leaders Rank Name Strikeouts 1 Nick Waechter 269 2 Roger Evenson 246 3 Brady Muller 232 4 Steven Schutte 231 5 Cody Cooper 228 GNAC Career Innings Pitched Leaders Rank Name Innings 1 Zach Carter 285.1 Tommy DeBoer 285.1 3 Nick Waechter 280.1 4 Mike Ward 274.2 5 Brady Muller 269.2 6 Roger Evenson 265 7 Tip Wonhoff 262.2 8 Mike Eisenhauer 246.1 9 Cody Cooper 243.1 10 Josh Moss 243

School WOU NNU MSUB NNU MSUB

School SMU SMU WOU WOU MSUB NNU SMU WOU MSUB SMU

Seasons 2004-06 2003-05 2012-15 2002-04 2014-17

Seasons 2012-15 2009-12 2004-06 2007-08, 2010-11 2012-15 2003-05 2004-07 2007-09 2014-17 2012-15

Cooper is five strikeouts away from breaking the MSUB career record.

TRISTAN TOSSES ANOTHER GEM: Coming off his best appearance of the year at home against Saint Martin’s, junior right-hander Tristan Shockley earned his first start of the year and did not disappoint. In a seven-inning complete game against the Cavaliers, Shockley had three strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits to set up an 8-3 win by the ‘Jackets. Over his last five outings, Shockley has given up eight runs in 21 innings pitched, with 10 strikeouts against just five walks in that time.

MYERS COMES CLUTCH IN BIG SERIES: Junior slugger Ryan Myers got on base in 9 of 16 plate appearances against the Cavaliers, and saved perhaps his biggest swing of the week for last. With MSUB trailing 21 in the finale, Myers launched a towering two-run homer to give MSUB the lead in an eventual 3-2 win. Myers continues to rank third in the GNAC with 10 home runs this year and 33 RBIs. Drawing four walks and being hit by a pair of pitches last week, Myers raised his on-base percentage to a GNAC-high .470, and he’s also No. 1 in the league in slugging percentage at .634.

ROBINSON TIES STEALS RECORD: With a pair of stolen bases last week, senior Zach Robinson matched the MSUB single-season record as he currently ranks second in the GNAC with 17. His 33 walks are also second in the league, and are the fourth most in MSUB singleseason history. The Yellowjackets’ starting centerfielder is batting .310 with an on-base percentage of .440, and has homered twice to go along with 26 RBIs. MERRITT AMONG CAREER LEADERS: Senior Casey Merritt is among the top-10 in MSUB history in numerous offensive categories, including tied for sixth with a .316 career batting average, and the fifth most hits with 137 in his four seasons. His 67 career RBIs are seventh most at MSUB, and he is even with Robinson at 23 career steals for sixth most as a ‘Jacket. “It has been a great journey, and playing collegiate sports is a privilege,” said Merritt. “It has been a great experience, and I’m really excited going into our last series at home this weekend.”

MSUB Career Batting Average Leaders (Minimum 250 AB) Rank Name AVG Hits AB Seasons 1 Luke Reinschmidt 0.352 192 545 2014-16 2 Brody Miller 0.347 249 718 2012-15 3 Matt Schoonover 0.335 213 635 2007-10 4 Colby Robison 0.330 168 509 2011-13 5 Kyle Durbin 0.327 111 339 2015-16 6 Jeff Ridgeway 0.320 131 410 2008-11 Casey Merritt 0.316 137 433 2014-17 8 Corey Morris 0.305 96 315 2015-16 9 Jake Samuelson 0.302 79 262 2006-07 10 Jordan Kessler 0.299 94 314 2010-11

Ryan Myers leads the GNAC in on-base percentage (.470) and slugging percentage (.634).

JALEN CONTINUES STRONG SEASON: Sophomore rightfielder Jalen Garcia had four RBIs in last week’s series, and kept his batting average high at .315. He enters the week second on the team with 27 RBIs, and has stolen eight bases while hitting three home runs and nine doubles. He also has a pair of assists from the outfield, and has played perfect defense in 64 chances. He, Robinson, and Merritt have combined for nine outfield assists on the year.

MAX EFFORT: Freshman second baseman Max Hartgraves continued his surge at the plate offensively, and has upped his season batting average to .258. He had four more hits in the series at Concordia, and was productive with three runs scored, three RBIs, a double, a triple, and three walks.

WATSON DELIVERING BIG IN ROLE AS STARTER: Posting his longest outing of the year so far on the mound last week, senior Tanner Watson had career-highs in innings pitched (6.0), strikeouts (six) and pitches (95) to help the ‘Jackets to a 3-2 win in Game 4 against CU. Watson gave up just one earned run and seven hits, and pitched into the sixth inning for the third straight start. The left-handed hitter also had three RBIs and a double in Game 2 of the series, contributing to an 8-3 victory.

AS A TEAM: MSUB leads the GNAC with 6.35 runs per game, and gets to the plate more than any other school with 38.35 plate appearances per game. The ‘Jackets have had a knack for the timely hit this year, with a GNAC-high 115 twoout RBIs. As a pitching staff, MSUB is fifth in the league with a 6.12 ERA and is fourth in the league with 258 strikeouts.

Central Washington University Wildcats Friday, May 5 – 1 PM – 9-Inning/7-Inning Doubleheader Saturday, May 6 – 1 PM – 9-Inning/7-Inning Doubleheader 2017 Record: 28-18, 22-14 GNAC (2nd Place) Head Coach: Desi Storey, 26th year 2016 Record: 27-23, 23-17 GNAC (4th Place) Coming off a series split against GNAC-leading Western Oregon, the Wildcats have played 12 consecutive home games and are 7-5 during the last three series.

CWU currently occupies the No. 2 spot in the GNAC standings, and has locked up a postseason berth like the Yellowjackets.

Dylan Freyre is the top hitter in the GNAC, entering the final weekend of the year batting .383 with a conference-best 64 hits. The senior has 13 doubles and four home runs, while getting on base at a clip of .413 and slugging .545 for the ‘Cats.

CWU has five other starters hitting north of .300, including Conor Plaisance and Jake Levin, who are tied for the team lead with 30 RBIs apiece. Plaisance is batting .333 with six home runs and a GNAC-high 15 doubles, while Levin is hitting .325 with a team-best seven home runs and a .571 slugging percentage.

Kyle Stahl is batting .322 and leads the team with nine stolen bases. He also has a team best 35 runs scored, and has nine doubles with 22 RBIs. On the mound, Mackenzie Gaul is one of the top starters in the GNAC, with a 2.97 ERA in 66 2/3 innings pitched over a dozen starts. He has a team-best 61 strikeouts and has tossed three shutouts, and has thrown into the sixth inning in each of his last two starts.

Levin is another key arm for CWU, holding a 3.06 ERA in a team-high 67 2/3 innings pitched. Christopher Dalto is the team’s closer, with six saves in 13 relief appearances. Kyle Blankenship has also seen action in tight games, with four saves in 24 innings over 18 appearances out of the bullpen.

As a team, CWU ranks second in the league with a .293 batting average, and is scoring 5.6 runs per game. On the mound, the ‘Cats hold a 4.77 ERA and have the second-most strikeouts in the league with 288 in 365 2/3 innings pitched.

The Series: MSUB is 39-44 all-time against CWU, and is 19-21 in games played in Billings. The ‘Cats have won nine of the last 12 games between the teams, taking both series 3-1 last year and the first set of four played this season in Ellensburg, Wash.

Last Time Out: MSUB had a 7-3 lead entering the final inning in Game 2, but the ‘Cats roared back to life with a six-run frame culminating with a three-run, walk-off home run by James Smith. MSUB then rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the series finale 5-5, before Levin launched a solo, walk-off home run in the bottom of the frame to give CWU the series win.

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