2021 Baseball Notebook (Week 7)

COMING UP: at Oregon Tech (DH), Saturday, Noon (PST); at Oregon Tech (DH), Sunday 11 a.m. (PDT)

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
SPECTATOR POLICY AT OREGON TECH: This weekend, a limited number of family members for Oregon Tech student-athletes will be admitted to Kiger Stadium for the 4-game series with C of I, in accordance to OIT and Klamath County COVID-19 guidelines. However, visiting fans (including C of I parents) will not be allowed to attend the weekend games due to the limited spectator threshold.   
 
LINKS TO WATCH: OIT has added Live Video for the first time at Kiger Stadium, with all four games set to be streamed through their Presto Sports Portal with longtime OIT radio man Bobby Thompson calling the action. Live Stats will also be provided through OIT's SIDEARM Stats page.
 
YOTES SPLIT SERIES WITH EASTERN: The 4-game weekend series with Eastern Oregon featured a pair of blowout wins for the Coyotes and two close pitchers duels won by the Mountaineers. C of I used two 6-run innings in Game 1 for a 17-7 win and a 6-run eighth inning in Game 3 to complete a 10-0 shutout, while EOU got a dominant start in Game 2 to win 2-0 and worked around 10 hits grab Game 4, 5-1. The Yotes hold a 6-2 series edge with the Mounties heading into a final 4-game series in April.
 
10-RUN RULE: The Coyote offense was in full display in the opening game of both doubleheaders, as C of I earned a 7-inning win on Saturday and an 8-inning win on Sunday – thanks to the Cascade Conference mercy rule. It was the first time the Coyotes had forced the 10-rule to be in effect since an 11-1 win at Corban in 2017 and the eighth and ninth time they have won due to the mercy rule since the CCC added it in 2014. It was the first time since 2016 that C of I posted a pair of run-rule wins in the same series (defeating Simpson 11-1 and 16-0).
 
MOST RUNS SINCE: The offensive explosion by the Yotes in Game 1 featured 17 runs – the most runs scored by the squad in nine seasons. C of I last scored more than 17 runs in a game during the 2012 season – defeating Willamette (18-1) and Oregon Tech (18-10) – while the Coyotes had 17 runs in a game two times during that period, against Simpson in 2013 and the University of Mary in 2015.
 
10-RUNS OR MORE / 10-HITS OR MORE: Offense has been the key to the Yotes 11-12 start to the season, as C of I is hitting .292 as a team and averaging seven runs per game – over 50 percentage points above their combined team batting average from the 2018-20 seasons and three full runs scored more per game. C of I has scored 10-or-more runs seven times this season – more than the 2019 and 2020 seasons combined – and joining the 2012 and 2016 teams as the one squads in the last decade to have seven 10-run games in the first 23 contests of the season. The Yotes have recorded 10-or-more hits in 15 of the 23 games – more than the entire 2020 (8) and 2019 (14) seasons. It is the most 10-hit games through 23 games since the 2010 season.
 
MILLER TIES SCHOOL RECORD: C of I got a big weekend at the plate from Weston Miller, as the fourth-year Coyote recorded career-highs for hits and RBI in a game – while tying a C of I school record in the process. Miller had two triples in the Game 3 win, joining Kurt Alderman (1994), Scott Skeen (2000, 2001, 2002), Izaac Garsez (2011, 2012) and Austin Van Horne (2017) as the only C of I players to record two triples in a game. He posted a pair of 3-hit games in the series, adding four RBI in Game 1 and a career-best five RBI in Game 3, going 6-for-9 with men in scoring position. Miller is hitting .273 with 19 RBI, with his three triples leading the CCC and is one of 22 players in the NAIA with 3-or-more triples
 
GETTING ON BASE: The Coyotes No. 2 and No. 3 hitters in the order have been dangerous throughout the 2021 season, as both Jonah Hultberg and Austin Van Horne have been thorns in the side of opposing teams. Hultberg ran his consecutive games reached base streak to 25 (dating back to last season), going 3-for-12 with three walks vs. EOU and improving his season batting average to .611 against left-handed pitching. Van Horne has now reached base in all 23 games this season, going 6-for-13 with two doubles in the series and is riding a 6-game hitting streak – while recording 41 consecutive defensive chances without an error. Both streaks are among the Top-5 over the last 15 years – as the duo are chasing Cole Mansanarez, who reached base in 34-straight games in 2015, Mitch Skaggs, who reached base in 31-straight games in 2014 and Pat Burke, who reached in 26-straight games in 2007.
 
DANNER HOLDS CATCHING DUTIES: True freshman Dillon Danner handled the bulk of the catching duties in the Eastern series, catching three of the four games. Danner had his best weekend at the plate, posting a .500 on-base percentage – going a combined 4-for-12 with a double and an RBI, adding two walks and two hit by pitches.
 
CLAY REBOUNDS: After a tough weekend at the plate at Corban, senior Matthew Clay rebounded in the EOU series, posting a .500 on-base percentage in the 4-game. Clay finished the weekend 4-for-13 at the plate with three RBI, adding four walks and two stolen bases. He also made his season debut on Sunday at first base, handling nine defensive chances without an error.
 
ROOT HAS BEST OUTING OF 2021: C of I received a dominant performance on Sunday from starter Connor Root, who handcuffed Eastern Oregon into the eighth inning, earning his second win of the season. Root allowed just three hits in 7.1 innings, tying a career-high with seven strikeouts. The 10-0 shutout win was the first non 7-inning shutout since Riley O'Brien and Miles Bigelow combined on a 3-hitter in a 3-0 victory over British Columbia at the 2017 NAIA West Championships.
 
DURABLE DURSKI: The Coyotes have turned to true freshman Colby Durski in middle inning high-leverage situations this season and the right-hander has been outstanding in working out of jams. Durski made three relief appearances against Eastern, tossing three shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk – including coaxing a double-play ball with the bases loaded to help C of I out of a Game 2 jam. He currently leads the CCC and is tied for the NAIA lead with 13 appearances on the season
 
WISENOR MAKES START: After starting the season in the back end of the Coyote bullpen, Erik Wisenor made his first start of the 2021 season against EOU, working into the sixth inning. The right-hander allowed just one earned run on three hits, striking out a season-high six batters. Wisenor dropped his ERA to 2.35 and currently had 19 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The Yotes have a perfect 8-0 record this season when holding a lead after the fifth inning, with the team 3-0 in games where they have not committed an error. Scoring runs has been the key, as the Coyotes are 0-4 this season when scoring two runs or less and 2-7 when scoring less than five runs.
 
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Last week, Lewis-Clark State completed a 4-game sweep of Corban, including a pair of run-rule victories, while Oregon Tech dropped all four games in a home non-league series vs. The Masters. This weekend, Eastern Oregon plays their first home games of the season, hosting Corban, while LCSC has the weekend off in preparation for a 4-game series March 19-21 at C of I.
 
INSIDE THE CCC NUMBERS: Six Coyotes currently lead the Cascade Conference in different statistical categories – as Jonah Hultberg ranks No. 1 in batting average (.427) and hits (35), Austin Van Horne leads in runs scored (23), Weston Miller is tops in triples (3), Ryan Nolan leads in walks (19), Connor Root is No. 1 in innings pitched (32.1) and Colby Durski leads the loop in pitching appearances (13).
 
ABOUT OREGON TECH: C of I hits the road to Klamath Falls for a weekend 4-game series at Oregon Tech. The Owls (6-12, 1-3 CCC) have lost seven of their last eight games against high-caliber teams (Lewis-Clark State and The Masters) and currently have a team batting average .238 and Tech hitters averaging nearly 10 strikeouts per game. The infield trio of Micah Jio (.328 0 HR 12 RBI), Dalton Dailey (.315 3 HR 12 RBI) and Mitchel Swanson (.288 2 HR 12 RBI) lead the Owls at the plate, while Patrick Arman (2-1 1.88 ERA) has been the ace of the staff, striking out 25 men and walking just two in 24 innings of work. The two teams split a weekend series last month in Caldwell – OIT winning a pair of Friday games and C of I earning two victories on Saturday.
 
RECORD BOOK: Austin Van Horne ranks among the C of I career Top-25 in 10 offensive statistical categories – No. 3 in games started (203), No. 4 in at bats (742), No. 6 in triples (7) and in games played (204), No. 9 in walks (80), No. 13 in doubles (38), No. 14 in hits (181) and in runs scored (124), No. 15 in stolen bases (39), No. 23 in home runs (14) and hit by pitches (22), and just outside the Top-25 in RBI (99) and pitching strikeouts (109).
 
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 1,592-1,272-7 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.