2020 Baseball Notebook - Week 3

LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO: Live Stats and Live Video for the first four games of the Coyotes trip to California will be available through San Diego Christian's Stretch Internet Portal. No Live Stats/Video will be available for Sunday's game.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
VENUE IN SAN DIEGO: All five games will be played at the Morley Field Sports Complex in Balboa Park (2221 Morley Field Drive) – the home stadium for San Diego City College.
 
OFF TO CALIFORNIA: The Coyotes head to California for the first time since 2016 – when C of I made three trips to the Golden State, including the NAIA Opening Round Tournament in Santa Barbara – with the Yotes making at least one trip to California each year from 2008-16. C of I last played in San Diego during the 2002 season – a game at Point Loma Nazarene.
 
WOOD DOMINANT: C of I punched their ticket into the win column on Friday behind a masterful pitching performance from transfer Dimick Wood. The junior tossed six innings of shutout ball, surrendering just a fifth inning single – walking three batters and striking out five. It marked the first Coyote shutout in 108 games, dating back to a 3-0 victory over British Columbia at the 2017 NAIA West Championships. Wood is tied for the league lead in strikeouts with 10 and has a 1.00 ERA in nine innings of work.
 
1-HITTERS: The 1-hitter marked the 15th time C of I has limited an opponent to just one hit and first since a Zach Draper complete game 1-hitter vs. Oregon Tech in 2016. The Yotes have thrown two 9-inning complete game 1-hitters; four combined 9-inning 1-hitters; seven 7-inning complete game 1-hitters and two 7-inning combined 1-hitters. The Coyotes have thrown three all-time no-hitters – the last in 2016.
 
HULTBERG HAS BIG WEEKEND: Coyote bats came alive at home, averaging over 10 hits per game in the series – with Jonah Hultberg leading the way. The freshman hit safely in all four games, going a combined 8-for-16 with a double, home run and four RBI. Hultberg had three multi-hit games in the series and has now reached base in six-straight games.
 
WITH THE BAT: The Yotes got key performances up and down the line-up vs. William Jessup – as Carter Vieira continued his hot start, going 6-for-13 with a pair of doubles and two RBI – extending a career-best hit streak to six games. Freshman Jake Denison has hit safely in five-straight games, going 5-for-12 with two RBI in the series, with junior Weston Miller going 4-for-11 with a double and an RBI. Transfer Ryan Nolan went 4-for-13 with a team-best four runs scored and three stolen bases in the series.
 
ON THE MOUND: C of I got three quality bullpen performances against WJU – including a save from Austin Van Horne in Friday's win. Van Horne, who added four hits (including a double and homer) at the plate in the series, tossed a scoreless final inning, striking out two, for his second career save. Sophomore Jared Bowman had his best performance as a Coyote, throwing four shutout innings in Game 1 of the series, working around three walks, striking out a career-best five batters. Transfer Ben Tighe pitched 5.1 innings of relief in the series finale, allowing just two runs on four hits, striking out three.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: The Coyote bats rebounded in a big way after a tough Arizona trip – hitting .286 with men in scoring position against WJU, including a .340 clip with 10 RBI in 2-out situations. Conversely, C of I pitchers limited Jessup hitters to a .118 average in at bats with two outs. Friday's victory over WJU snapped a 17-game losing streak, dating back to the 2019 season.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN: Five games in three days await the Coyotes in California, including a pair of contests against Golden State Athletic Conference foe, San Diego Christian. The Hawks (3-4) posted a 15-33-1 mark in 2019 and opened the new season with a series win vs. Providence Christian and a series loss to Benedictine-Mesa. Senior Tyler Schindel (.500 0 HR 3 RBI) is the top offensive returner for SDCC, with transfers Johnny Radomskiy (.455 1 HR 5 RBI) and Dawson Pate (.444 1 HR 4 RBI) key bats in the order. Lefties Leo Soto (1-0 0.00 ERA, 7 K in 4 IP) and Brock Mosier (1-0 1.80 ERA, 8 K in 5 IP) return for the Hawks after combining for a 5-13 and a 7.12 ERA last season.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – BAKER: Kansas school Baker University treks to California to open their season, as the Wildcats look to build off a 26-27 record in 2019 - including a Heart of America Tournament title and trip to the NAIA Opening Round. BU returns key bats in Martin Radosevic (.339 3 HR 31 RBI), Brian Wircenske (.299 0 HR 23 RBI) and Cody Rowe (.297 0 HR 18 RBI), while a trio of arms – Hunter Gudde (2-6 3.43 ERA), Ryker Johnson (3-2 4.32 ERA) and Brandon Gomer (4-2 4.42) logged key innings last season. The Wildcats are just C of I's second opponent ever from Kansas, as the Yotes went 0-2 vs. Friends University in 2017.
 
AROUND THE NAIA WEST: It was a tough weekend for the NAIA West - as Oregon Tech and Corban were swept in games in California, while Lewis-Clark State posted a 2-3 mark in games in Arizona. This weekend, British Columbia opens their season at Concordia, LCSC hosts Western Oregon, OIT travels to William Jessup and Corban travels to Menlo.
 
RECORD BOOK: One Coyote player is currently in the Top-25 career record book – as Austin Van Horne is currently No. 14 in both at bats (591) and in games started (161) and ranks No. 22 in both triples (4) and walks (58).
 
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 1,573-1,248-7 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 return home next weekend, opening a four-game weekend series against Simpson University.