Yellowjackets Host Western Oregon in Final Regular Season Series

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team concludes the regular season hosting Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion, Western Oregon Thursday and Friday at Dehler Park.  Thursday’s doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. and Friday’s twin bill is scheduled to start a 1 p.m.

The Yellowjackets enter the series with a 23-25 record overall and a 15-13 mark in the GNAC.  MSUB can match its school record win total since baseball was reinstated with one win in the series and break it with two or more victories.  Western Oregon enters with a 30-11 record overall and a 21-3 record in league play.  The Wolves are ranked second in the West Region poll and have won their eighth consecutive league crown and ninth overall.

Leading the way for MSUB this season is Brian Dukart who has a team-best .382 batting average.  Matt Schoonover leads the team in hits with 56 and has a .344 average.  Schoonover is third on the team in doubles with seven, and is tied for third in RBIs with 25.  Cole Pryor (.343 BA) leads the team in triples with four and has tied his own school record for triples in a season.  Nick Harris (.340 BA) is second in hits (52) and leads the team in RBIs with 27.  He also leads the team in total bases with 70.  Joe Via leads the team in doubles with nine and home runs with six and is slugging a team-best .596.

As a team, the Yellowjackets are hitting .292 for the year with 103 extra-base hits.  They have scored 272 runs on the year (274 by opponents) and are slugging .398.  MSUB has an on-base percentage of .369 and a fielding percentage of .948 with 83 errors.

As a pitching staff, the team carries a 5.16 ERA into this week’s action.  The Yellowjackets have 16 complete games and one shutout with five saves in 361 innings.  Steve Scott is tied for the team lead in wins with a 5-5 record and has a 3.98 ERA.  He also leads the team in innings pitched with 74.2 and is third on the team in strikeouts with 36.  Brian Howe (4-5) leads the team among starters in ERA at a 3.89 clip.  He set the school record for strikeouts in a season last weekend against Bemidji State.  Howe now has 51 for the year to lead the team.  Brian Strom is 5-4 on the year and has a team-high 13 appearances. 

The Yellowjackets have allowed 67 unearned runs this season on 83 miscues, compared to 71 unearned runs by their opponents on 88 errors.

Western Oregon is led by Thomas McCarthy who leads the league with a .467 average.  He is third in hits with 49 and tied for fourth in doubles with seven. Travis Fox (.370) leads the team in hits with 60 and doubles with 12.   Fox also is a team-high 14 of 18 in stolen bases.  Justin Speer leads the team in home runs with six and RBIs with 39. 

As a team, the Wolves are hitting .333 on the year an impressive 92 doubles and 32 home runs for 131 extra-base hits.  The team is slugging .477 and has an on-base percentage of .411.  The Wolves only have committed 53 errors on the year and boast a .965 fielding percentage.

The pitching staff has been just as impressive as Blake Keitzman leads the way with a perfect 7-0 record and a 2.28 ERA in 12 starts.  He leads the team in innings pitched (71) and only has allowed one unearned run and a total of 19 runs on the year.  He has a team-high 75 strikeouts and opponents are hitting just .219 against him.

As staff, the Wolves have a 3.86 ERA and opponents carry a 6.57 ERA. WOU has struck out 276 batters on the year and only have struck out 173 as a team.  The staff is holding teams to a .264 average and WOU only has allowed 32 unearned runs for the season.

WOU leads the all-time series 12-1 including winning all four last season in Billings.  MSUB’s lone win in the series came on the final day of the regular season last year with a 4-3 win in Monmouth.  WOU won all four games in Monmouth this season, outscoring the ‘Jackets 39-12.  The Yellowjackets hit just .227 and had an 8.59 ERA for the series, while WOU hit .336 and had a 2.45 ERA.