2021 Baseball Notebook (Week 9)

COMING UP: vs. Corban (DH), Friday, 3 p.m.; vs. Corban (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
SCHEDULE UPDATE: The Yotes have filled their final bye weekend of the season, as C of I will travel to Redding, Calif., for a 4-game series at Simpson University on May 1-2.
 
SPECTATOR INFORMATION: Per the Cascade Conference COVID-19 fan policy, a limited number of spectators will be able to watch the weekend series between C of I and Corban. 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. All spectators will be required
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION: All four games of the weekend series will be carried live on the Yotes Digital Network, with Mike Safford and Sven Alskog calling the action.
 
SECOND HALF OF LEAGUE SEASON SET TO BEGIN: The Cascade Conference will reset the baseball schedule this weekend, as the second half of the round-robin slate will begin. All five teams competing (British Columbia opted out due to travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada) have placed 16 games, with Lewis-Clark State leading the pack with a 15-1 record, while Oregon Tech (9-7), Corban (8-8) and C of I (5-11) are all pressing for a postseason berth. Teams will face the same teams in the same order as the first half of the schedule, except playing in the opposite venue (C of I will travel to Eastern Oregon and LCSC, while hosting OIT and Corban).
 
POSTSEASON STRUCTURE IN 2021: With the CCC and California Pacific Conferences holding their own postseason events this year, the structure has changed for teams in the Northwest in 2021. Beginning this spring, the Top-3 finishers in the conference standings will qualify for the CCC Championships, with the regular-season champion hosting the event. The teams would play a round-robin series (each team playing the other two squads), with the teams finishing 2-0 and 1-1 meeting for a title, or if all three teams finish 1-1, the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds would meet, with the winner squaring off with the No. 1 seed for the crown. If Lewis-Clark State wins the tournament, the tournament runner-up would earn the CCC's automatic bid to the NAIA Championships (as LCSC earns an auto bid as the World Series host).
 
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.
 
CLAY LEADS YOTES VS. LCSC: Headlining the series vs. Lewis-Clark State was senior outfielder Matthew Clay, who went 5-for-14 with a pair of doubles and three RBI in the 4-game set. Clay, who has now reached base safely in 12-straight games, has recorded a hit in eight of his last night appearances, going 12-for-33 (.364) during the stretch with a team-best nine RBI. Clay leads the squad with 28 RBI – a new career-high.
 
NOLAN CONTINUES HOT STREAK: The month of March was key for infielder Ryan Nolan, who used a 4-for-12 weekend against LC State to cap a great 4-week stretch at the plate. Nolan, who has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and 12-of-14 contests, finished the month 13-for-34 (.382), raising his batting average from .216 to .278, while ranking third in the CCC in walks (21).
 
TRUEBLOOD HAS QUALITY APPEARANCES: C of I got a pair of solid performances out of the bullpen by freshman Jaden Trueblood, as the right-hander pitched 4.2 innings of shutout ball against the No. 9-ranked team in the NAIA. Trueblood fanned the only two batters he faced in Game 1 of the series, while pitching a season-best four innings in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, allowing two walks and striking out two. For his efforts, Trueblood saw his ERA drop from 8.10 to 5.52.
 
STREAKS END: Two long streaks were snapped in the LCSC series, as Austin Van Horne saw his consecutive games reaching base streak ended at 27, with Jonah Hultberg having his reach base streak ended at 25. The streak by Van Horne is the third-longest in program history, trailing only a 34-game streak by Cole Mansanarez in 2015 and a 31-game streak by Mitch Skaggs in 2014.
 
TOUGH SERIES VS. LC: Facing a Top-10 opponent in Lewis-Clark State, the Yotes had a rough go of it in the 4-game series, as the Warriors outscored C of I by a 52-10 margin. LC hitters clubbed seven home runs in the series and took advantage of 21 walks and 14 hit by pitches. C of I finished the weekend just 3-for-26 with runners in scoring position, while posting just two 2-out RBI (compared to 19 for LCSC).
 
RECORD SET: Game 1 of the series saw the Yotes utilize 10 pitchers in the contest – the most by a C of I team in program history. The previous mark was nine, set earlier this season in a 6-1 win over Eastern Oregon.
 
INSIDE THE CCC NUMBERS: As a team, the Coyotes lead the Cascade Conference in three team statistical categories – triples (11), walks (157) and stolen bases (46). Individually, five players lead the league in a stat category – Jonah Hultberg in hits (44); Weston Miller in triples (3) and hit by pitches (11); Connor Root in innings pitched (44.0); Colby Durski in pitching appearances (16); and Erik Wisenor in saves (2).
 
YOTES GET RETURN VISIT FROM CORBAN: The second half of the Cascade Conference baseball season opens this weekend, as the Yotes host Corban in a 4-game series – with doubleheaders scheduled for both Friday and Saturday. The Warriors (9-19, 8-8 CCC) shook off an extremely slow start (losing 11 of their first 12 games) posting series wins over both C of I and Eastern Oregon, while recently splitting a 4-game series with Oregon Tech. The Corban offense has struggled in 2021, posting a .230 batting average (with just one regular in the line-up above the .300 mark and the team recording more than two-times as many strikeouts than walks), but the squad has hit 18 home runs and is among the league leaders in stolen bases. Kyle Clay (.306 1 HR 13 RBI) has been the offensive star for the Warriors, with returner Maxwell Jeffrey (.273 1 HR 18 RBI) a dependable bat. On the mound, Zack Simon (4-2 1.93 ERA) has been solid, recording just seven walks and 37 strikeouts this season, with Braedyn Chong (1-0 3.79 ERA) the top option for Corban out of the pen. The teams have met 169 times, with the Coyotes holding a 123-46 series edge, which includes a 21-15 record at Wolfe Field, where Corban has won the last six meetings, dating back to the 2018 season.
 
RECORD BOOK: Austin Van Horne ranks among the C of I career Top-25 in 12 statistical categories – No. 3 in games started (211) and in at bats (769), No. 5 in games played (212), No. 6 in triples (7), No. 7 in walks (84), No. 12 in doubles (40), No. 13 in hits (186) and in runs scored (128), No. 15 in stolen bases (39), No. 19 in pitching strikeouts (120), No. 21 in home runs (15), No. 22 in hit by pitches (23), and No. 23 in RBI (103). Weston Miller is also in the Top-25, ranking No. 19 in hit by pitches (24).
 
O'BRIEN OPTIONED TO AAA LOUISVILLE: Former Coyote player Riley O'Brien was recently optioned by the Cincinnati Reds to Triple-A Louisville, where he will start the season as part of the squads' 60-man player pool prior to the start of the minor league season. O'Brien pitched in three Spring Training games for the Reds, striking out five batters in 2.1 innings, without allowing a run.
 
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 1,594-1,278-7 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.