Yellowjacket Baseball Opens 2010 Season Wednesday at Grand Canyon

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team opens the 2010 season Wednesday at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, at 3 p.m., and conclude the four game series Thursday with a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.  The Yellowjackets play their first 22 games away from home and are scheduled to host Central Washington Mar. 26 at 3 p.m. at Dehler Park in the home opener.

Grand Canyon enters the week with a 6-6 record after taking three of four from Dixie State in the Pacific West Conference opener.  MSUB travels to Dixie State after the Grand Canyon series.  Leading the way for the ‘Lopes this season is P.J. Garcia, who leads the team in average at a .455 clip.  He leads the team with 15 hits, three doubles, and 13 RBI.  Joey Jacobson is second in average at .364 with 12 hits, three doubles and eight RBI. 

As a team, the ‘Lopes are hitting .296 on the year  with 97 hits, 22 extra base hits, 17 doubles and five home runs.  The team is slugging .393 and has an on-base percentage of .415.  They are 4 of 8 in stolen bases and have 17 errors on the year for a .956 fielding percentage.

On the bump GCU is led by Jeff Urlaub who is 1-1 on the year with a 2.75 ERA.  HE has one complete game and has thrown 19.2 innings, allowing 11 runs with six earned.  Urlaub has 14 strikeouts and just three walks on the year.  Danny Skelly leads the team in wins with a 2-1 record and has a 9.58 ERA.

As a staff, the ‘Lopes have a 7.67 ERA with 59 strikeouts, 50 walks, 86 runs and 76 earned.  Teams are hitting .334 against GCU on the year.

Enthusiasm is a key measure of the mood surrounding the Montana State University Billings baseball team as the Yellowjackets enter the 2010 spring season.   A solid core of twelve returning players, including five returning starters, will be joined by a talented pool of new recruits.  Among the recruiting class are 13 junior college transfers, as well as two recruits with experience at four-year schools.  In addition, the expertise of former redshirts adds to the talented mix of the lineup.  

Three returning athletes received all-conference recognition in 2009.  Senior infielder Matt Schoonover was named second team all-conference, while senior pitcher Archie Smith and junior pitcher Brian Howe garnered all-conference honorable mention in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Head coach Chris Brown enters his fifth season at the helm of the MSUB baseball program, with Luke Wheeler serving his fourth season in the assistant coach role and Cory Hansen in his second as volunteer assistant coach.  The optimism they express centers on the identity the Jackets are forging through improved team chemistry, expanded depth and strength on the mound, improved defensive athleticism and more “gap to gap power” in the offensive lineup.

“I expect big things this season,” Brown said.  “We’re coming off the most wins since baseball was reinstated here at MSUB five years ago.  We were second in the conference and .500 in the region making last season a real benchmark for us.  We want to keep improving and continue being competitive as we focus on positioning for a post season appearance.”

Having gone 24-28 overall and 16-16 in conference play last season, the momentum is obvious.  A large part of the impetus for advancement will be centered on an expanded bullpen.

“We’ve got top 11 guys on the mound this season, which will provide lots of options for us,” Brown said.  “We’ll definitely benefit from having the depth on the mound, as well as the versatility these guys bring at multiple positions.”

In addition to strength on the bump, the Jackets will boast a legitimate offensive threat at first base.

“We expect several of our new recruits to have a big first year,” Brown said.  “We’ve added to our offensive threat at first base, to our fielding capacity, as well as our offensive and defensive potential.”

 Key challenges include creating a team identity that melds the talents of returning athletes and newcomers, filling the leadership voids left by an exceptionally strong graduating class and staying healthy. 

“This season it will be important for the guys who have been in the program but haven’t played a lot at the significant roles to step into those positions.  In addition, our injuries last year were a factor for us, but the gumption shown in continuing on despite those issues really figured positively.”

As usual, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference continues to be extremely competitive, with Western Oregon perennially impressive.

“The GNAC is a good league with lots of parity among the teams,” Brown said.  “Western Oregon stands out, but the other teams are so close that it’s down to the wire among those contenders.  With so many two-year junior college transfers in the conference, nobody really takes a big step backward.”

The Yellowjackets will launch campaigns against all NCAA D-II schools, with the exception of a weekend series against D-I Northern Colorado.

“From a RPI standpoint, we think it’s important that we’ve put up a concerted effort to get into the California conference to play some of those teams,” Brown said.  “We have a couple of those slated this season and hope to expand on that in the future.  Doing so should give us a chance to demonstrate what we’re capable of doing.”

Brown believes that playing this type of difficult schedule has allowed the Jackets to show that they are a team to be reckoned with. 

“I really feel like the pieces are coming together for us this year,” Brown said.  “We have as much talent as we’ve ever had and, more importantly, the best chemistry.”