2021 Baseball Notebook (Week 3)

COMING UP: vs. Eastern Oregon (DH), Thursday, Noon; vs. Eastern Oregon (DH), Tuesday, 1 p.m.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
NO FANS TO START 2021, GAMES TO BE STREAMED: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The College of Idaho and the Cascade Conference have implemented a no spectator policy for all events until further notice. All Coyote home baseball games will be broadcast live on the Yotes Digital Network with Mike Safford and Sven Alskog calling the action. The pay-per-view service is $7.99 per game; $8.99 per day or $39.99 for the 26-game season package.
 
SCHEDULE CHANGES: Due to the chance of snow over the weekend in the Treasure Valley, C of I and Eastern Oregon have adjusted their series – moving Saturday's doubleheader to Thursday at Noon, while Sunday's twinbill will be pushed to Tuesday at 1 p.m.
 
NON CONFERENCE GAMES VS. CONFERENCE TEAM: With limits set forth by the Division II and Division III conferences in the Northwest due to COVID-19, C of I has turned to fellow Cascade Conference teams to fill the non-league portion of the schedule – hosting Oregon Tech last weekend, along with this week's series with Eastern Oregon. It is the first time since the 2017 season that C of I has played non-league games against conference foes – which was a common occurrence prior to the 2015 season, as the Yotes played at least one non-league game against a conference team every season from 1987-2015.
 
REKINDLING AN OLD RIVALRY: Thursday's doubleheader vs. Eastern Oregon marks the first meeting between the two schools since 2006 – when EOU eliminated their program. The Mountaineers reestablished their program during the 2019-20 season, with the contests vs. C of I their first since April of 2006.
 
HISTORY AGAINST EASTERN: The recorded history between C of I and Eastern dates back to 1935, a 6-4 Mountaineers victory in Baker City. From 1935 until the Yotes eliminated their program in 1978, C of I held a 63-33 series lead. When the Coyotes returned to the diamond in 1987, the series became completely one-sided, with C of I posting a 108-15-1 series edge, winning the season series in 19 of the 20 seasons (teams split the 1995 series, 2-2-1), including a 37-game win streak from 1996 to 2002. Overall, the teams have met 214 previous times, with the Purple and Gold holding a 165-48-1 series edge.
 
ABOUT THE MOUNTAINEERS: Former Western Oregon coach Mike McInerney took over the new program last season and has a roster of 28 players heading to Caldwell. The Mountaineers roster features 24 transfer athletes and four high school freshmen – with over half of the players from the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon. EOU will look to lefty Kolbe Bales, a transfer from Western Oregon and Nick Jennings from Lower Columbia CC, to anchor their pitching staff, while former Coyote, Jon Gonzalez, is among their position players.
 
SATURDAY RALLY NETS WEEKEND SPLIT: The Coyotes rallied in both halves of Saturday's doubleheader to earn a series split with Oregon Tech – battling back from a 3-0 deficit in the fifth inning of Game 1 and a 6-5 eighth inning deficit in Game 2. It marked the second win this season when trailing after seven innings, after posting a combined 3-58 record when trailing after seven innings during the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons.
 
CLAY LEADS THE ATTACK: C of I got a monster weekend from outfielder Matthew Clay – his second straight stellar offensive series at Wolfe Field. The senior was a thorn in the side of Oregon Tech pitching, going 8-for-16 in the series, recording a double, triple and seven RBI, while recording a .526 on-base percentage. Clay provided the big blow in the series finale, gapping a 2-out, 2-run triple to give C of I a lead in the eighth inning – part of a 4-for-4 outing – the first game in his C of I career where he posted four hits and three RBI. The third-year Coyote leads the CCC with 13 hits and nine RBI, while ranking second in the circuit with a .433 batting average.
 
VAN HORNE REBOUNDS WITH STELLAR WEEKEND: It was a rough start to the season for senior Austin Van Horne, going a combined 1-for-9 during C of I's trip to Arizona. However, the veteran made up for it in a big way against OIT, going 8-for-17 with a double, triple and four RBI in the 4-game set. Van Horne recorded his second 4-hit game of his career in the series opener, adding his eighth career game of three RBI or more. He closed the weekend by picking up the win in relief in Game 4, allowing two runs on five hits in three innings, striking out two.
 
DUDLEY KEY IN THE MIDDLE OF ORDER: The Yotes had rotated players through the designated hitter role throughout the opening two weekends, with Ben Dudley finally emerging as the primary option. The second-year player was key in the OIT series, going a combined 4-for-9 with a double and three RBI – watching his batting average climb to .294 – while riding a team-high 4-game hitting streak.
 
NOLAN AN ON-BASE MACHINE: C of I got production throughout the series from their leadoff spot, as Ryan Nolan posted a .556 on-base percentage in the four games. The infielder hit 4-for-12, but added six walks, scoring five runs and leading the team with three stolen bases. Nolan leads the team and the league with 11 walks, while his .545 ranks second in the CCC.
 
FRESHMAN CONTINUES HOT START: Outfielder Tanner Leaf continued his quality start to his college career, going 5-for-12 in his three starts and has hit safely in all six games he has started this season. However, the 6-game hit streak was snapped in the series finale, as the freshman grounded out in a pinch-hitting appearance. For the year, Leaf is hitting .308 with five runs scored and two stolen bases.
 
TIGHE HAS BEST OUTING AS A YOTE: The Coyotes saved the best pitching performance of the weekend for last, as Ben Tighe logged his best outing in his C of I career. The second-year players pitched five strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits, walking just one batter and striking out four. Including his final eight outings of the 2020 season, Tighe has allowed just three earned runs in 14.1 innings (1.93 ERA), with three walks and 10 strikeouts.
 
KIRKPATRICK EARNS FIRST WIN: Making his second collegiate start, Hunter Kirkpatrick allowed just one run through his first four innings of work and grinded through a fifth inning – before the Coyote offense picked the freshman up by scoring seven runs to qualify him for a win. Kirkpatrick finished the outing allowing three runs on seven hits, walking just one and striking out three and leads the staff with eight innings pitched.
 
SPELLING RELIEF: The Yotes got solid outings out of Dimick Wood and Erik Wisenor in the back end of the bullpen, both using the strikeout as a key in their appearances. Wood pitched the final two innings of the Game 3 win, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out three, while Wisenor pitched the final two innings in Game 2, allowing a run on two hits, striking out four – increasing his staff strikeout lead to seven.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: C of I had 10-or-more hits in three of the four games vs. OIT, including 15 hits in Game 1 – their highest hit total since the 2019 season. The Yotes have recorded 10-or-more hits in five of their seven games, a year removed from when the offense posted 10-or-more hits in just eight of their 29 contests – with the team scoring eight or more runs five times in 2021 after posting eight runs or more just four times in 2020.. C of I hit .299 as a team in the series, upping that number to .327 with runners in scoring position, while adding 10 stolen bases in the four games. Command was an issue at times for Coyote pitchers, combining for 24 walks and 10 hit batters – with the seven hit batters in Game 1 of the series equaling a school record from 1991.
 
RECORD BOOK: Austin Van Horne ranks among the C of I career Top-25 in five statistical categories – No. 6 in triples (7), No. 8 in games started (187), No. 9 in at bats (681), No. 13 in games played (188), No. 14 in walks (70), No. 20 in doubles (33) and stolen bases (35) and No. 22 in runs scored (107).
 
WELCOME BACK CASCADE CONFERENCE: 2021 marks the return of the Cascade Conference as a baseball league for the first time since 2009, when the circuit rebranded as the NAIA West Grouping. Longtime rival, Lewis-Clark State, has joined the league in all sports, while Eastern Oregon returns to the diamond for the first time in 16 years. Oregon Tech and Corban round out the league this year, as British Columbia has opted out for the season due to travel restrictions due to COVID-19. The Top-3 teams in the league will advance to the CCC Championships, with the league champ earning a bid to the NAIA National Championships Opening Round.
 
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 1,584-1,264-7 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 currently on the Cincinnati Reds 40-man roster and Draper in the Cleveland Indians farm system.