April 24, 2008          
                                                                  

Baseball Hosts Northwest Nazarene in GNAC Series on Baseball Alumni Weekend

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team hosts Northwest Nazarene this weekend in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup at Pirtz Field.  In addition, it is the second annual Baseball Alumni Weekend as well.  The series with NNU begins Friday at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader and concludes Saturday at 1 p.m. with the second doubleheader. 

The Yellowjackets enter the week with an 11-29 record overall and a 2-16 record in the GNAC and have dropped 13 of 16 including the last six straight.  NNU enters the week with a 25-19 record and a 9-15 mark in the conference.  The Crusaders have dropped four of the past five.

In addition to hosting the Crusaders, it is the second annual Alumni Weekend as well.  Prior to the National Anthem of the Saturday game (1 p.m.), the alumni will be introduced and will be invited to go on the field to the positions where they played as a Yellowjacket.  After the games, there will be a no-host social in the backroom of The Rex, 2401 Montana Avenue.

Leading the way for MSUB this season is Levi Johnson who is hitting a team-best .349 on the year in 33 games.  He is second on the team in hits with 37 and leads the team home runs with three, RBIs with 23 and total bases with 51.  He is the only starter to not make an error this season in 69 attempts.  Jonathan Schlender has come on as of late as well.  He is third on the squad in average at a .323 clip.  He leads the team with 40 hits, 10doubles and is a perfect 5 for 5 in the stolen base department.

As a team, the Jackets are hitting better as they are up to a .269 clip.  They have 99 extra-base hits with 19 home runs, 14 triples and 66 doubles.  The team in slugging .391 and has an on-base percentage of .348. 

On the bump, the Jackets are led by Steve Scott who is 3-5 on the year with a 5.33 ERA.  He has made 10 appearances with nine starts and two complete games in a team-high 52.1 innings of work.  He leads the team with 44 strikeouts and opponents are hitting a team-best .271 against him. 

The Crusaders are led by Zach Aakhus who is hitting a team-high .381 in 44 starts.  He leads the team in just about every offensive category, including hits (59), triples (2), home runs (12), RBIs (44), total bases (111) and slugging percentage at a .716 clip.  He is second on the team in doubles with 10 and is 7 for 7 in stolen bases.  Aakhus leads six Crusaders who are hitting over .300. 

As a team NNU is hitting .285 on the year compared to its opponents’ .283.  The Crusaders have 109 extra-base hits and are slugging .403 as a team with 75 doubles, nine triples and 25 home runs. 

The pitching staff is led by Chris Mahelona with a 4-4 record and a 4.74 ERA.  He has made 11 appearances and starts with three complete games in 62.2 innings of work.  Mahelona leads the team with 56 strikeouts.   Andy Pottenger is 5-2 on the year with 11 appearances and 10 starts.  He is second in innings pitched with 55.1 and has fanned 26. 

The teams split four games in Nampa, Mar. 28 and 29.  The Jackets won the opener in a slugfest, 15-9, dropped the second game 6-5 and won the third 6-1 before falling 8-2 in the finale.  NNU leads the all-time series 8-4 and the series is tied 2-2 in Billings. 

The series with the Crusaders in Nampa was one of the best of the season for the Jackets.  The team hit .302 with 13 extra-base hits, including 11 doubles and slugged .426.  Johnson hit .462 for the series with six hits, one triple and two RBI.  Schlender hit .438 with seven hits, four doubles and five RBI.

Scott led the team with a 1-0 record and a complete game performance.  He allowed only one earned run, four hits two walks and two strikeouts.  The Crusaders hit just .138 against him.