2021 Baseball Notebook (Week 8)

COMING UP: vs. No. 9 Lewis-Clark State, Friday, 6 p.m.; vs. No. 9 Lewis-Clark State (DH), Saturday, Noon; vs. No. 9 Lewis-Clark State, Sunday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
SPECTATOR INFORMATION: Per the new Cascade Conference COVID-19 fan policy, a limited number of spectators will be able to watch the weekend series between C of I and LCSC. Each Coyote player will be allotted four tickets for immediate family members for each game, while the Warriors will have a 50-person pass list that will be determined prior to making the trip to Caldwell. Only persons on the pass list will be admitted to the games – with no tickets available to the general public.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION / SATURDAY CHANGES: All four games of the weekend series will be carried live on the Yotes Digital Network, with Mike Safford calling the action on Friday and Sunday. Live Stats will be available for the Friday and Sunday games through the Yotes Digital Network. The series will also be broadcast live in the Lewis-Clark Valley on 950 KOZE-AM with Bert Sahlberg calling the play-by-play.
 
ROOT NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK: For the second-straight week, Connor Root posted zeros on the board for the Yotes – picking up his second-consecutive victory in a seven inning masterpiece at OIT. For his efforts, the righty was named Cascade Conference Pitcher of the Week for the first time in his career. Root allowed just four hits tied a career-high with seven strikeouts in the victory, extending his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 14.1 – helping his ERA drop to 3.43.
 
VAN HORNE, HULTBERG REMAIN PERFECT: Another series, another weekend of reaching base for the Coyotes No. 2 and No. 3 hitters in their order, as both Austin Van Horne and Jonah Hultberg extended their season-long streak of reaching base. Van Horne extended his streak to 27-straight games, going 4-for-14 in the series, including a game-tying 3-run home run in Game 4 – his team-high 13th extra-base hit of the year. Hultberg went 6-for-19 in the four games and scored a team-best six runs and added his first home run of the season – having reached in 22-straight games. The duo is chasing a pair of long streaks – as Cole Mansanarez reached base in 34-straight games in 2015 and Mitch Skaggs, who reached in 31-straight games in 2014.
 
NOLAN HAS BIG TRIP: The Coyotes got a big boost in the lineup from third-baseman Ryan Nolan, who has broken out of a February slump in a big way. Nolan hit safely in all four games at Tech, going a combined 7-for-16 with a pair of runs scored and four RBI. He has hit safely in 6-straight games and nine of his last 10 – helping his batting average climb 55 points in the last two weeks.
 
CLAY LOVES KIGER STADIUM: For the second-straight trip to Klamath Falls, Matthew Clay had a big series for the Yotes, going 6-for-16 with a team-high six RBI. Two seasons ago, the outfielder posted four multi-hit games at Kiger Stadium, going 9-for-18 in the Coyotes series at OIT. Clay will take a 5-game hitting streak into the weekend and leads the CCC with 25 RBI.
 
FRESHMAN KEY TO YOTES SUCCESS: True freshman Tanner Leaf has been a mainstay in the Yotes lineup throughout the 2021 season, starting 21 of the 27 games in the outfield. At OIT, Leaf had a quality series, going 5-for-15 with three doubles and a pair of RBI – extending his hitting streak to six games. For the year, Leaf is hitting .294 and ranks fifth on the squad with 25 hits.
 
MILLER A MAGNET: Over the last two seasons, Weston Miller has been a magnet for inside pitches – leading the team in hit-by-pitches. Miller has been plunked 10 times through just 19 games – the most in the CCC – including four times in the OIT series. For his career, Miller has been hit by pitches 23 times, ranked No. 21 in program history.
 
WOOD HAS DOMINANT START: C of I got a quality start from Dimick Wood in the series opener, as the second-year Coyote tossed seven strong innings in a no-decision. The righty limited the Oregon Tech offense to just four hits and one run, striking out a career-high nine batters. It was the third time in his last four starters that Wood has pitched 6-or-more innings. He currently leads the Coyote staff and the CCC with 33 strikeouts on the season.
 
SHUMATE KEY OUT OF THE PEN: In Game 2 of the series, the Coyotes got quality relief out of the bullpen from third-year player, Silas Shumate, who pitched extended innings for the first time this season. The right-hander entered in the second inning and pitched four and two-thirds innings of 3-hit ball, surrendering just one run and tying a career-high with six strikeouts. Shumate has allowed just two total earned runs over his last five appearances and has fanned 16 batters in 11 innings of work.
 
BIG INNINGS: C of I erased a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning of Game 4 on Sunday with a 6-run frame – the eighth-time this season the Coyotes have scored at least six runs in an inning. This season, the Yotes have scored six runs in an inning on six occasions, while adding a pair of 7-run frames. Last season, C of I did not score more than five runs in an inning during the entire season and had just one inning with 6-or-more runs during the 2019 campaign.
 
HUMBERGER NEARS MILESTONE: Coyote skipper Shawn Humberger is two wins away from the next milestone on his coaching resume – 600 wins. Humberger, who already holds the C of I record for most wins in a career by any coach (in any sport), looks to become the 24th current NAIA coach with 600-or-more wins. Only four other C of I coaches have surpassed 400 wins – former baseball coach Tim Mooney, former men's basketball coach Marty Holly, current volleyball coach Liz Mendiola and former C of I baseball player and current softball coach, Al Mendiola.
 
INSIDE THE CCC NUMBERS: A total of 11 different Coyotes lead the CCC in a statistical category – paced by Jonah Hultberg, who leads the circuit in batting average (.406), hits (41) and runs scored (26). Matthew Clay is tops in RBI (25); Weston Miller in triples (3); Carter Vieira in stolen bases (11); Austin Van Horne and Ryan Nolan in walks, with Van Horne tied with Connor Root and Hunter Kirkpatrick in wins (3). Dimick Wood leads in strikeouts (33); Colby Durski in pitching appearances (15), with Erik Wisenor No. 1 in saves (2).
 
ALL IDAHO WEEK: The annual in-state rivalry begins on the diamond this week, as Lewis-Clark State makes the trip from Lewiston – the first time as a member of the Cascade Conference. The two teams have met 248 times on the diamond – including eight times when LC was known as Lewiston Normal School and 11 when the school was named North Idaho College of Education. The 19-time NAIA Champions have posted a 197-50-1 all-time series lead over C of I, with the Yotes posting a 27-58 home record in the series – with 147 of the games played in the LC Valley.
 
INSIDE THE OPPONENT – LEWIS-CLARK STATE: The Warriors (14-2, 7-1 CCC) have been the class of the CCC this season, leading the league in batting average (.302) and ERA (2.65) – allowing more than four runs in a game just once this season. A potent offense that has hit 27 home runs is paced by shortstop Riley Way (.394 2 HR 16 RBI), third-baseman Dillon Plew (.350 5 HR 22 RBI) and outfielder Dalton Harum (.333 3 HR 14 RBI), while the deep pitching staff is anchored by lefty Alec Holmes (2-0 0.55 ERA) and right-handers Tallon Thomason (3-0 2.33 ERA) and Eric Chavarria (1-1 2.57 ERA).
 
RECORD BOOK: Austin Van Horne ranks among the C of I career Top-25 in 12 statistical categories – No. 3 in games started (207), No. 4 in at bats (756), No. 6 in triples (7) and in games played (208), No. 8 in walks (83), No. 12 in doubles (39), No. 13 in hits (185) and in runs scored (126), No. 15 in stolen bases (39), No. 21 in home runs (15) and hit by pitches (23), No. 22 in pitching strikeouts (116) and No. 24 in RBI (102). Weston Miller is also in the Top-25, ranking No. 21 in hit by pitches (23).
 
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 1,594-1,274-7 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.