Baseball Home Opener Friday Versus Central Washington

BILLINGS, Mont. – After a 21-game road trip to begin the season, the Montana State Billings baseball team returns home for its 2010 Home Opener Friday versus Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Central Washington in a four game series beginning at 3 p.m. at Dehler Park.  The Yellowjackets enter the series with a 6-15 record overall and a 5-7 mark in league play.  The Wildcats are 4-16 overall and 2-6 in conference play.

MSUB comes off a disappointing road trip at Northwest Nazarene last weekend where the Crusaders won three of four games.  The Jackets had split four games series’ at Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon prior to NNU.  The NNU bats came alive in the series as it outhit the Yellowjackets .368 to .264 and scored 37 runs in the series to 20 for MSUB.  The lone MSUB win came in the nightcap of the first doubleheader last Friday as MSUB won 5-4 in extra innings.  Blake Nelson hit two home runs in the game and Brian Dukart went 3 for 5 with a run scored and an RBI to lead the Jackets offensively.

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is Jordan Kessler who is hitting a team-best .412 on the year in 15 games.  He is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 13 and is slugging a team-high .510.  He has 21 hits with five doubles and 26 total bases.  Second on the team in average is Dukart who is hitting at a .373 clip.  Dukart is third on the team in hits with 22 and is one of three Jackets to have a triple on the year.  He also has one home run.

Kevin Zukaitis, Jaret Chatwood and Blake Nelson lead the team with two home runs each, while Chatwood also is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 13 and Jeff Ridgeway leads the team with 24 hits.

As a team, the Yellowjackets are hitting .285 on the year with 180 hits and 46 extra base hits.  They have 36 doubles, three triples and seven home runs.  The team is slugging .384 and has an on base percentage of .350.

On the mound, the Yellowjackets are led by Kody Kennedy who is 2-1 on the year.  He carries a 6.65 ERA in four starts with one complete game and combined shutout.  He is second on the team in innings pitched with 21.2 and leads the team with 21 strikeouts as opponents are hitting just .190 against him.  Brian Howe leads the team in innings pitched with 24.

As a staff, the Jackets have struggled at times this season as they have an 8.58 ERA in 149 innings.  MSUB has allowed 205 hits for a .321 average.  The staff has 111 strikeouts on the year and surrendered 169 runs and 27 unearned runs on 39 errors.

The Wildcats enter also dropping three of four this past weekend at Saint Martin’s.  CWU won the finale 10-4, but was outscored 41-12 in the first three games.  Leading the way offensively for the Wildcats this season is Keola Rubin who carries a .375 average.  He has 15 hits on the year with three doubles, one triple and nine RBI.  Sean Murphy is second on the team in average at .368, while Jake Hammons leads the team with 23 hits and 10 RBI.

As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .283 on the year with 181 hits and 48 extra base hits, including 30 doubles, seven triples and 11 home runs with 92 RBIs.  The team is slugging .403 and has an on base percentage of .367.  Errors also have been an issue for CWU as it has 40 on the year for a .941 fielding percentage.  The 40 errors have led to 47 unearned runs.

As a staff, the Wildcats have a 9.00 ERA in 153 innings.  They have surrendered 255 hits (.369 average against) with 200 runs and 153 earned runs.  They have 70 walks and 76 strikeouts on the year. 

Central Washington leads the all-time series 13-9 and 6-4 in Billings.  The Wildcats also lead 7-5 in Ellensburg.  MSUB, however, won six of eight meetings last year after CWU had won eight of nine before that.

The series concludes Saturday at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader.  The Jackets then return to the road at Division I Northern Colorado next weekend, before returning home for four consecutive weekends.