2020 Baseball Notebook - Week 2

LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO: Live Stats and Live Video will be available for all home C of I baseball games for fans unable to make it to Wolfe Field. Both Live Stats and Live Video ($7.95 single-game pay-per-view fee; $39.95 season video pass), with Mike Safford and Sven Alskog providing the play-by-play, can be found via C of I's Stretch Internet Portal.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
YOTES DROP SEASON OPENER: The Coyotes dropped their season opener last Thursday in Arizona, 6-4, vs. Taylor – ending a two-game win streak in opening games. C of I is now 44-31-1 in season openers, dating back to the 1933 season (C of I did not field a baseball team during World War II and also from 1979-86). The Yotes had their longest Opening Day win streak from 1934-42 – a string of nine consecutive wins.
 
EQUALING THE EARLIEST HOME GAME: Friday's doubleheader vs. William Jessup will equal the earliest home game in program history – matching the Jan. 31 doubleheader at Wolfe Field last season vs. Providence Christian. On the flip side, the Yotes did not play a home February game from 1987-96 – with the 1989 team playing their home opener on April 3.
 
HOME OPENERS: Since baseball returned to the College in 1987, the Yotes are 28-5 all-time in home openers, including a 22-game win streak from 1987-2008.
 
HISTORY AT WOLFE FIELD: The Yotes will begin their 12th season at Wolfe Field, the 988-seat baseball-only facility. C of I has a 172-115 all-time record at the stadium – including a 26-4 record in 2010. Since baseball returned to the College in 1987, C of I has posted a 534-229 home record – winning nearly 70-percent of their home dates between Simplot Stadium and Wolfe Field, including identical 23-1 records at home in 1997 and 1998.
 
DEBUTS IN ARIZONA: A total of 16 players new to the C of I program made their debut for the Coyotes during the four-game series with Taylor. Eight transfer athletes (pitchers Dimick Wood, Ben Tighe, Andrew Vaughn, Nick Kindred and Andrew Kirchmeier; position players Ryan Nolan, Ben Dudley, Anthony Pannullo) and eight true freshmen (pitchers John Duffy, Chase Brewer, Micah Ferguson; position players Jonah Hultberg, Avery Rambur, Ben Hansen, Caden Leiblein, Jake Denison) saw game action – with newcomers earning three of the four starts on the mound, while all eight of the position players earning at least one start.
 
HIGHLIGHTS AT THE PLATE: Transfer second-baseman Ryan Nolan hit safely in all three games in Arizona, going a combined 3-for-8 with three runs scored – the only C of I player to record a hit in more than two contests. Junior Carter Vieira was the top run producer, going 3-for-8 with five RBI in the series – including a 2-for-3, four RBI effort in Game 3. Freshman Ben Hansen had C of I's lone 3-hit game, going 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI in Game 4.
 
ON THE MOUND: Of the starting pitchers, right-hander Dimick Wood had the best outing, going three innings in Game 3 – allowing just one earned run on two hits, striking out five. Austin Van Horne had the top relief appearance, striking out the side in his lone inning of work in Game 4, while John Duffy tossed a scoreless frame in Game 1 and both Micah Ferguson and Andrew Kirchmeier tossing scoreless innings in Game 3. Silas Shumate had the longest appearance by a C of I hurler, throwing 4.2 innings of relief in Game 4, allowing three runs on five hits, fanning three.
 
SUPERLATIVE NUMBERS: C of I used their speed during the Taylor series, stealing a combined 10 bases – including six in Game 2 – but hitters went a combined 4-for-31 with two outs, finishing the weekend with just three 2-out RBI. Coyote hitters recorded four triples in the series – more than half the entire 2019 season total (7) – but recorded only one double and no home runs in Arizona. Pitchers worked with men on base throughout the entire series – as TU leadoff batters reached base in 16-of-26 opportunities, with the Trojans cashing in, hitting .435 with men in scoring position.
 
HOME SCHEDULE: The Coyotes will play seven home series this season – including their NAIA West foes Lewis-Clark State, Oregon Tech, Corban and British Columbia. C of I will open this weekend against William Jessup, host former NAIA West member Simpson in mid-February, with NCCAA member Park Gilbert traveling to Caldwell in early March.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WILLIAM JESSUP: The Yotes open the home schedule with a Top-25 opponent, as two-time defending Golden State Athletic Conference champion, William Jessup, makes their first trip to the Treasure Valley. The Warriors (4-0), from Rocklin, Calif., are ranked No. 14 in the preseason NAIA poll, coming off a 39-14 season and a trip to the NAIA Opening Round, where they were eliminated in the title game by St. Thomas (Fla.). Second baseman Kawaiola Takemura (.357 6 HR 36 RBI) and centerfielder Anders Green (.339 11 HR 56 RBI) return from an offense that hit .324 with 70 home runs in 2019 – averaging nearly nine runs per game. Pitchers Jordan Yu (7-3 4.32 ERA), Brett Wetteland (4-1 4.21 ERA) and Ricardo Torres (2-2 8.27 ERA) are the top returning arms from last season – with the staff holding Corban to just five runs and a .183 opponents' batting average in a series sweep to open the season.
 
AROUND THE NAIA WEST: Oregon Tech opened the season with road wins over Simpson and Menlo, with Corban dropping all four games of a series at William Jessup. This weekend, OIT heads for games against Simpson and Holy Names; Corban travels to California for games at Hope International and The Masters, with Lewis-Clark State opening the year in Arizona, meeting four different opponents.
 
RECORD BOOK: One Coyote player is currently in the Top-25 career record book – as Austin Van Horne is currently No. 14 in at bats (577), No. 15 in games started (157) and No. 22 in both triples (4) and walks (57).
 
HISTORY: C of I has had a rich history of baseball, dating back to the era when C of I was an academy. In recorded history (since 1934), the Yotes have posted a 1,572-1,245-7 all-time record, including 34 trips to the postseason (including playoff appearances in 30 of the last 33 seasons. C of I won the 1948 and 1949 Northwest Conference titles, with the 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2016 and 2017 teams advancing out of conference/regional/grouping tournaments – making five trips to the NAIA World Series – winning the 1998 national title and placing second in 1999. The Yotes have had multiple players drafted and play in professional baseball – with Jason Simontacchi ('96) the last C of I player to see action in the major leagues, and both Riley O'Brien and Zach Draper (in 2017) the last players to be drafted in the MLB First-Year Players Draft – with O'Brien finishing 2019 at Class-AA Montgomery in the Rays organization and Draper at Class-A Great Lakes in the Indians farm system.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Coyotes hit the road to San Diego next weekend to play two games against host San Diego Christian and three games against Baker (Kan.)