2019 Baseball Season Review

COMING UP: Season Complete
 
BOYD NAMED TO ALL-NAIA WEST TEAM: Serving as the Yotes Friday starter throughout the 2019 season, right-hander Hunter Boyd was matched up against the ace of every opponent this year. The pitcher ranked among the top arms in the NAIA West Grouping with a 3.60 ERA and despite a 2-7 record, was one of four hurlers named to the All-NAIA West Team. The senior worked at least seven innings in seven of his 13 starts, including three complete games, allowing three runs or fewer in nine starts, while striking out six or more batters nine times. Boyd was the victim of poor run support, as his offense scored two runs or less in seven of his 13 outings. He becomes the 14th player in program history to earn All-NAIA West honors since 2009, joining pitchers Ben Rosen (2010), Mitch Dame (2011), Taylor Nicholson (2012) and Zach Draper (2016, 2017).
 
VAN HORNE EARNS GOLD GLOVE NOD: The Yotes had another earn accolades from the NAIA West, as shortstop Austin Van Horne was named to the nine player Gold Glove Team. The junior was a dominating force in the middle infield – recording just nine errors in 169 chances – at one of the more difficult positions on the diamond. Van Horne becomes just the third C of I shortstop to earn Gold Glove honors, as Patrick Gonzalez earned Gold Glove honors at the NAIA World Series in 2002, with Bobby Wright earned NAIA West honors in 2017.
 
NAIA WEST / CAL PAC POSTSEASON RECAP: Corban and British Columbia were the NAIA West representatives to the five team Cal Pac Championships in Mesa, Ariz. – with Corban dropping games to Marymount and Benedictine Mesa to end their season. UBC rallied for an extra-inning win over Ben-U in their opener and following a lost to top-seed Antelope Valley, rallied for a win over Marymount to reach the title game – and earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round, where they are competing in the Macon (Ga.) Bracket.
 
TOUGH END TO THE SEASON: It was a rough end to the 2019 season for the Coyotes, as C of I dropped their final 12 games of the season, losing road series to Lewis-Clark State and British Columbia and a home set to Corban. Pitching was solid during the skid, as the Yotes allowed four runs or less in six of the games, but struggled offensively, as opponents limited C of I to three runs or less in 11 of the 12 games.
 
PITCHERS HAVE SOLID 2019: The C of I pitching staff had a quality season, ranking third in the NAIA West in team ERA at 4.96, recording more than a 2-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio. The trio of Hunter Boyd, Richard Walker and Tyler Hilton served as the top three starters throughout the season, with Walker leading the NAIA West with 89 innings pitched, earning four victories and striking out 71. Boyd finished second in the NAIA West with 76 strikeouts and held opponents to a .219 batting average in 87 innings, with Hilton walking just nine men and striking out 53 in 70 innings of work. Freshman Connor Root won four games before injuries derailed his season, while out of the bullpen, the duo of Austin Van Horne and Nathan Pena were solid – Van Horne posting a 3.79 ERA and striking out 43 in 35 innings, holding batters to a .215 clip, with Pena making a staff-high 21 appearances and recording a 2.92 ERA over the final three months of the season.
 
VAN HORNE AND CLAY HAVE QUALITY SECOND HALVES: As a team, the Yotes finished the season with a .229 team batting average and averaged 3.8 runs per game – but the average dipped to just .207 and just two runs per game over the final month of the season. Despite the struggles, juniors Austin Van Horne and Matthew Clay did their part throughout April – Van Horne hitting .317 with five doubles and and nine RBI, while Clay hit .300 with five doubles, three home runs and eight RBI. For the season, the duo accounted for seven of the Yotes nine home runs and were the only two players with more than 20 RBI.
 
SPEED: C of I led the NAIA West in stolen bases, stealing 78 bags on the year – with four different players registering double-digit stolen bases. Both Nick Mooney and Matthew Clay each had 14 swipes, Payton Lewis added 11, with Carter Vieira ending the season with 10.
 
SENIORS LAST HURRAH: C of I will have to replace nine senior student-athletes – including starters Dylan Mansanarez, Jake Bowman and Chase Labbe; reserve infielder Keaton Elledge; and pitchers Hunter Boyd, Niall Manning, Nathan Pena, Jessee Emerson and Dalton Strong.
 
LOOKING BACK AT 2019: It was an up-and-down year for the Coyotes – with C of I playing a difficult schedule, as 39 of their 51 games were against teams that advanced to their respective conference postseason tournaments. The Yotes opened NAIA West play with a 7-5 record – taking 3-of-4 against both Oregon Tech and Corban and earning a home win against Lewis-Clark State – with the squad in postseason contention after a road series win at OIT. However, the April struggles pushed C of I out of the playoff picture for the second-straight season and finished NAIA West play with a 10-22 record.
 
AHEAD AT 2020: The Yotes will have a load of youthful experience returning next season – as eight underclassmen each had at least 40 at bats during the season, to go along with a pair of freshman arms.  Payton Lewis led the NAIA West with five triples and had 10 total extra base hits on the year; Nick Mooney scored 20 runs and had 14 stolen bases; with Alec Hopkins recording a .958 fielding percentage on the left side of the infield and drove in 15 runs.
 
RECORD BOOK: Four Coyotes cracked the single-season record book in 2019 – as Payton Lewis recorded the seventh most triples in a year (5), the highest total since 2012. Dylan Mansanarez ranks No. 9 in a season in hit-by-pitches (16), Nathan Pena is No. 12 in saves (4) and No. 18 in pitching appearances (21), with Chase Labbe No. 17 in defensive putouts (354) and No. 20 in defensive chances (394). Six players etched their name in the career Top-20 record book, as Niall Manning finished his career No. 12 in pitching starts (26), No. 14 in pitching appearances (48), No. 15 in innings pitched (179.1) and No. 18 in strikeouts (128); Jake Bowman ended his career No. 10 in defensive putouts (710) and No. 13 in defensive chances (840); Hunter Boyd finished No. 8 in strikeouts (152), No. 16 in pitching starts (25) and No. 20 in innings pitched (165.1); Dylan Mansanarez is No. 18 in hit-by-pitched (25); Austin Van Horne is No. 9 in defensive assists (297), No. 14 in at bats (570) and No. 19 in games started (154); with Lewis No. 14 in triples (5).