April 15, 2015
Contact: Nathan Webber
(503)305-8756/[email protected]
GNAC Leader WOU Travels to MSUB in Pivotal 5 Game Series
PORTLAND, Ore. – With the season quickly coming to a
conclusion, second-place Montana State Billings will host
conference-leader Western Oregon in a five-game series this
weekend.
Standings and Schedule
GNAC
Team
Western Oregon
MSU Billings
Northwest Nazarene
Central Washington
Saint Martin’s
The Yellowjackets (17-18 overall, 12-7 GNAC) have won their
last three series and are coming off a four-game home-stand
where they averaged 11.5 runs per game. Fourteen of those
runs were off the bat of second baseman Brody Miller who
earned National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associations
(NCBWA) West Region Player of the Week honors.
Over the last two conference series, the Wolves have held
opponents to a .259 batting average while striking out 48
batters. In the eight games, five WOU starters have pitched
5.2 innings or more while holding teams to a mere 3.6 runs
each contest.
Western Oregon will maintain control of the conference lead
if it wins two or more games, as it would also clinch a spot in
the GNAC tournament. MSUB can significantly narrow the
Wolves lead however, or even take control of the GNAC, with
a good showing this weekend.
So far this year, the Yellowjackets are 6-2 at home while the
Wolves are 10-18 in road matchups.
L
19
18
18
21
25
LAST 8
W L
6 2
6 2
6 2
3 5
0 8
FRIDAY, April 17
Western Oregon at Montana State Billings (DH), 1 p.m./4 p.m.
Dixie State at Saint Martin’s, 2 p.m.
Central Washington at Northwest Nazarene (DH), 3 p.m./6 p.m.
SATURDAY, April 18
Western Oregon at Montana State Billings (DH), 1 p.m./4 p.m.
Dixie State at Saint Martin’s (DH) 1 p.m./4 p.m.
Central Washington at Northwest Nazarene (DH), 1 p.m./4 p.m.
Miller and the GNAC’s top offense will be facing their biggest
challenger of the year, Western Oregon, starting Friday.
Western Oregon has produced the last two GNAC Pitchers of
the Week in Jesse Pratt and Darrien Moran, who each threw
complete games in their starts.
W
21
17
23
18
13
UPCOMING GAMES
Miller slugged four of his teams seven home runs, including
two grand slams, in the series win over Central Washington.
MSUB batted .411 as a team in the series.
The Wolves (21-19 overall, 16-7 GNAC), who are one of the
best pitching teams in the conference, have also been on a
roll as of late winning the season-series against the NAIA’s
19th-ranked team Lewis-Clark State and sweeping Saint
Martin’s last week. Their current five-game win-streak is the
third longest in the GNAC this season behind their own sixgame streak and MSUB’s seven-straight wins.
Overall
W
L
16 7
12 7
11 9
9 15
7 17
SUNDAY, April 19
Western Oregon at Montana State Billings, 11 a.m.
Dixie State at Saint Martin’s, 12 p.m.
.
Around the GNAC
Miller becomes the second Yellowjacket this season to be
named the NCBWA West Region Player of the Week and
fourth GNAC player overall. Teammate Luke Reinschmidt
received this honor Feb. 16-22 after hitting four home runs.
SMU’s Carl Svanevik and NNU’s Tyler Davis each won the
award in consecutive weeks from March 16-29.
Montana State Billings Miller was named the GNAC’s Player
of the Week after one of the best statistical weeks in
conference history. The second baseman slugged four
home runs, two of them grand slams, while reaching base
in 14 of 22 plate appearances. His 14 RBI’s are the most by
a GNAC player in a weekend series this season. Pitcher of
the Week honors went to Western Oregon’s Darrien Moran
who won his fourth game in a one-run complete-game over
SMU. In his nine innings pitched, Moran face four batters or
less in five innings while holding the Saints to a .182 batting
average.
This series is actually a four-game matchup as the fifth game,
being played Friday at 1 p.m., was carried over from a
suspended dual March 14.
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