April 8, 2008          
                                                                  

Baseball Hosts Mary Wednesday, Travels to Northern Colorado for Weekend Series

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team hosts University of Mary in a doubleheader Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Pirtz field, then will travel to Division I member Northern Colorado for a three game series beginning Friday in Greeley.  The Yellowjackets are looking to snap a four-game skid and are 10-23 on the year.

The Yellowjackets step out of conference play for the week and host Mary on Wednesday.  MSUB is led by Levi Johnson who is hitting .357 in 27 games and 23 starts.  He is tied for the team-lead with three home runs and leads the team with 16 RBI.  Jonathan Schlender is second on the team in average at .309 and leads the team with nine doubles in 27 games.

MSUB struggled swinging the lumber during the first 20 games of the year to the tune of a .236 team batting average, but have gotten hot as of late hitting .315 in the last 13 games.  In addition, the Jackets also have gotten hot in the home run department as the team had just five dingers in the first 20 games, but have had 14 in the past 13 games.  Johnson and Joe Via lead the team with three home runs each. 

As a team, the Jackets are hitting .267 on the year in 33 games.  They have 19 home runs, 54 doubles, 11 triples and 128 RBI.  The team is slugging .398 and is 25 of 37 in the stolen base department.

On the hill, the Yellowjackets are led by Steve Scott who has a team-high eight appearances this season with a 3-4 record and a 5.24 ERA.  Scott has two complete games and has been named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week twice.  He also leads the team in innings pitched at 46.1 and in strikeouts with 42.  Jeremy Knowles is second on the team with seven appearances and six starts.  He has a 2-4 record and a 5.61 ERA in 33.2 innings of work.  Leo Hansen leads the team with two saves, while Knowles and Cody Clark each have one.  As a staff, the Jackets carry a 6.92 ERA in 247 innings pitched. 

The University of Mary enters the week with a 7-17 record overall and a 6-4 mark in the Northern Sun Conference.  The Marauders are 6-7 since last playing MSUB as the team started 0-9 before the doubleheader split with the Yellowjackets in Arizona.

Leading the way for the Marauders this season is Michael Feldman who is hitting .402 and leading the team in just about every offensive area.  He has 33 hits, four doubles, two triples and seven home runs with 19 RBI. Feldman is slugging a team-high .756 and is a perfect 6 of 6 in stolen bases to lead the team.  No other Marauder is hitting over .300.  Quintus Brennan is hitting .284 and leads the team with seven doubles.

As a team, the Marauders are hitting .255 on the year with 37 176 hits, 37 doubles, 10 triples and 19 home runs.  UM has 98 RBI and is slugging .420 as a team. 

On the bump, Blasé Culliton leads the team with a 2-0 record and carries a 4.86 ERA.  Feldman also pitches and leads the team in appearances with six and has a 1-3 record and a 6.23 ERA in 26 innings of work.  As a team the Marauders have an 8.29 ERA in 173.2 innings. 

The Yellowjackets and Marauders spilt a doubleheader in Arizona earlier this season.  Mary won the opener coming from behind for a 2-1 win.  In the nightcap, Scott tied the GNAC record and set a school record striking out 15 Marauders as the Yellowjackets won 4-3.  Mary had a 3-0 lead in the fourth, but MSUB tallied a run in each of the final four innings for the victory.

Northern Colorado is the first Division I school that the Yellowjackets are scheduled to play since baseball was reinstated at MSUB in 2006.  The Bears (8-22) started the season 5-3, but have gone 3-19 since and are scheduled to play two games at Kansas Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home to host MSUB for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Leading the way for the Bears this season is Chad Murray who is leading the team with a .333 average.  Murray leads the team with 33 hits in 99 at bats.  Kevin Sandberg is second on the squad at a .286 clip.  He leads the team with four home runs and 22 RBI.  Sandberg is second on the team in doubles with nine.  No Bear has hit a triple thus far. 

As a team, the Bears are hitting .246 on the year with 248 hits, 51 doubles and 14 home runs.  UNC is slugging .345 and is 6 of 14 in stolen bases. 

The staff carries a 6.62 ERA heading into the week.  Sean Peery leads the team with a 2-2 record and a 4.25 ERA in 15 appearances.  Chris Reap is 2-4 on the year with seven starts and a 5.82 ERA.  T.R. Keating also is 2-4 with a 7.24 ERA.  Reap leads the team with 34 innings pitched and is tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 28.  Murray leads the team with two saves.