Yellowjackets Travel to Central Washington for Key Conference Series

BILLINGS, Mont. – Fresh off a 9-3 record in Arizona and Idaho, the Montana State Billings baseball team looks to continue its winning streak at Central Washington this weekend.  The four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series begins Friday, Mar. 13, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Pacific time.  The series will conclude Saturday with another doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.  Fans can watch live stats of the series at http://www.gnacsports.com/cwulive/baseball/xlive.htm.

MSUB enters the week with a 10-10 record overall and a perfect 4-0 record in the GNAC.  The Yellowjackets swept the conference opening series last weekend at Northwest Nazarene to take a one-game lead in the conference standings over Saint Martin’s.  MSUB outscored NNU 24-10 and had three complete game pitching performances on the mound. 

Despite hitting .250 for the series, MSUB held NNU in check, holding the Crusaders to a .176 batting average for the series.  GNAC Player of the Week, Stefan Malkuch, led the way offensively hitting .438, with three doubles, a home run and eight RBI. 

On the mound, the Yellowjacket hurlers dominated to the tune of a 2.25 ERA and three complete games versus NNU.  GNAC Pitcher of the Week, Steve Scott, went 1-0 against the Crusaders with a 1.29 ERA with a complete game.  Brian Howe also went 1-0 with a complete game and a 2.00 ERA in nine innings.  Archie Smith went 1-0 as well with a 3.00 ERA in nine innings.  Cody Clark earned a save in relief.  Scott went 2-0 last week as he tallied a 0.75 ERA in two starts with 10 strikeouts.  He held the University of Mary without a hit through five innings of a 13-1 neutral site victory in Phoenix, Ariz.

During the 9-3 stretch, the Yellowjackets hit just south of .300 at a .298 clip with 30 extra-base hits (22 doubles, three triples and five home runs), 68 RBIs and 153 total bases.  The Yellowjackets slugged .415 and had an on-base percentage of .378.  On the mound, MSUB carted a 4.50 ERA with four complete games and two saves.  The Yellowjackets tallied 70 strikeouts to just 31 walks and opponents hit .243 against the staff.

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is Malkuch who has a .431 average in 15 starts.  He leads the team with 25 hits, six doubles, two triples, 15 RBIs and 38 total bases.  He is slugging a team-high .655 and has an on-base percentage of .476 to lead the way.  Nick Harris is second in average at .414 and 24 hits.  Brian Dukart is hitting .371 in 13 games and is third on the team in slugging percentage at a .571 clip.  Joe Via leads the team with two round-trippers.

As a team, the Yellowjackets are hitting .285 on the year through 20 games.  MSUB has 41 extra-base hits on the year with 30 doubles, four triples and seven home runs.  The team is slugging .379 and has an on-base percentage of .376.  MSUB is 15 of 22 in stolen bases and has a .952 fielding percentage.

Scott leads the way on the mound with a 2-1 record in five starts.  He leads the team in innings pitched at 29.2 and has 19 strikeouts to just five walks.  Brian Howe is second among starters with a 2-1 record and a 4.62 ERA.  He has five appearances with two complete games.  Howe has pitched 25.1 innings, allowing six walks and has fanned a team-best 20.  As a staff the Yellowajackets have a 5.76 ERA in 145.1 innings of work.  MSUB has 105 strikeouts on the year to just 52 walks. 

Central Washington enters the week with a 5-11 record overall and a 1-3 mark in conference play.  The Wildcats dropped three of four versus Saint Martin’s in the conference opener last week.  Leading the way for CWU is Andrew Snowdon who had a .382 average on the year.  He has five double and six RBI and is slugging .529.  A.J. Gosney leads the team with 23 hits, while Fran Donangelo leads the team with 12 RBI and Jordan Sleek has two home runs to lead the way.

As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .306 on the year with 36 extra-base hits (31 doubles, one triple and four home runs) to go along with a .395 slugging percentage.  CWU is reaching base .375 percent and has a .937 fielding percentage.

On the mound, the Wildcats are led by Derek Shoemaker who is 2-3 on the year in 24 innings of work.  He has a 6.38 ERA in four starts and has 17 strikeouts.  Robbie Grimm has been stellar in relief as he has a team-best 1.59 ERA in six appearances with one save.  Opponents are hitting just .184 against him.

As a staff, the team carries a 6.68 ERA with three complete games in 124 innings.  CWU has 27 unearned runs this season to go along with 34 errors.  The Wildcats have walked 72 and struck out 93 as a staff and teams are hitting .296 against them.

MSUB then will conclude its 28-game road trip next weekend at Saint Martin’s, before opening the home slate Mar. 31 with a doubleheader against Colorado Christian beginning at 3 p.m. at Dehler Park.