Yellowjackets Host Miles Community College and Northwest Nazarene

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team steps out of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play for a rare midweek exhibition doubleheader versus Miles Community College, Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Dehler Park.  The Yellowjackets then return to conference action beginning Friday with a four-game set versus Northwest Nazarene at 3 p.m. at Dehler Park.  The series with NNU is scheduled to conclude Saturday with the second doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

The Yellowjackets enter the week with an 8-28 record overall and a 7-17 record in conference play.  Miles enters with a 26-8 record.  NNU is 22-18 record and 14-9 in conference play, which is good for second in the league standings.  The Crusaders enter on the heels of four-straight wins versus Central Washington, after dropping four-straight the week before at league-leader Western Oregon.

MSUB is looking to snap an 11-game skid and has lost 16 of 19, dating back to a 5-4 win at Northwest Nazarene, Mar. 19.  The Jackets have not won the first game of a doubleheader in conference play this season and only have won one opening game of a twin bill once in a 2-1 victory at Dixie State, Mar. 1.

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is Brian Dukart who is hitting a team-best .351 in 34 games.  He is second on the team in hits with 39 and tied for third in RBIs with 17.  Matt Schoonover leads the team with 44 hits and has a .341 average.  He is second in doubles with 10 and is one of two players with two triples on the year.  He also is tied for third in RBIs with 17.  Schoonover is the only Yellowjacket to play and start all 36 games.

Jaret Chatwood leads the team with four home runs and 26 RBIs.  He also leads the team with 11 doubles and is slugging a team-best .521 among everyday starters. 

As a team, the Jackets hare hitting .298 on the year with 336 hits, including 69 doubles, eight triples and 14 home runs.  MSUB is slugging .411 and has an on-base percentage of .361.  The Yellowjackets have committed 66 errors for a .944 fielding percentage.

On the mound, the Jackets have struggled this season to the tune of a 9.43 ERA.  Kody Kennedy leads the team with a 3-3 record in eight starts with two complete games.  He is second in innings pitched (40.2) and leads the team with 38 strikeouts.  Opponents are hitting a team-low .244 against him.  Brian Howe leads the team in innings pitched at a 44.2 clip in nine starts with two complete games. 

As a staff, the Jackets have a 9.43 ERA in 269 innings pitched.  MSUB has 181 strikeouts and 174 walks on the year and has surrendered 352 runs with 70 unearned runs coming on 66 errors. 

The Crusaders enter the week winners of four straight after outscoring Central Washington 34-18 last weekend.  The previous week, NNU was outscored 13-7 at WOU. 

Leading the way offensively for the Crusaders this season is Sean McDonald who is the only player to play and start all 40 games and leads the team with a .386 average.  He also leads the squad with 61 hits, 20 doubles and is second in RBI with 35.  Jon Keller is second in average at .354 and is second in doubles with 16, while leading the team with 40 RBIs.  Joel Oliver leads the team with eight home runs, while Ryan VanBeek has five and Keller has four round-trippers.  McDonald leads the team in slugging at a .576 clip and is one of two Crusaders with 10 or more steals (10-15).  Ty Windall has swiped 16 of 17 bags to lead the club.

As a team, the Crusaders are hitting .324 on the year with 444 hits, including 96 doubles, 10 triples and 27 home runs.  The team is slugging .468 and has an on-base percentage of .390.  NNU is 50-67 in stolen bases and has an fielding percentage of .959 with 58 errors.

On the bump, the Crusaders are led by J.T. Brodrick who has a team-best 3.64 ERA. He is 4-5 on the year in 16 appearances.  He is second in innings pitched with 47 and is third in strikeouts with 40.  Jesse Gwaltney leads the team with a 4-3 record in 11 appearances and 10 starts.  Gwaltney has a 5.61 ERA in a team-best 59.1 innings of work.  He leads the team with 45 strikeouts as opponents are hitting just .239 against him.

As a staff, the Crusaders boast a 5.12 ERA in 325 innings pitched.  The staff has allowed 248 runs with 63 coming unearned on 58 errors.  The staff has 272 strikeouts to just 189 walks as opponents are hitting .288 against NNU.

NNU won three of four meetings in Nampa earlier this season to take a 15-13 lead in the series and a 9-7 lead in games played in Idaho.  Prior to this season, the Jackets had won eight of nine in the series. 

In the first meeting this season, Kessler led the way for the Yellowjackets as he hit .385 with five hits, three runs scored and two RBI.  Schoonover went 6 for 16 with three doubles and four RBI.  Dukart and Jeff Ridgeway each had a triple as the Yellowjackets hit .264, while NNU hit .368.

On the mound, the Yellowjackets had a 9.00 ERA in 30 innings, surrendering 37 runs with 30 earned and nine miscues.  MSUB walked 18 and fanned 16 during the series.  The lone win came in relief from Kyle Gieselman who pitched 4.1 innings in a 5-4 victory.