2021 Baseball Season Review

COMING UP: Season Complete
 
POST SEASON RECAP: C of I finished fourth in the Cascade Conference regular-season standings – with the top three teams in the circuit earning spots in the CCC Championships. Lewis-Clark State claimed the regular-season and tournament titles, topping Corban in the championship game, 6-1. Corban received the CCC's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament (as LCSC earns an automatic berth to the NAIA World Series), but dropped both games at the Santa Barbara Bracket of the Opening Round. LC will open the World Series as the No. 3 seed, meeting Faulkner (Ala.) on Friday night.
 
CLAY CAPS TIME WITH YOTES WITH ALL-CCC AWARDS: Playing in his third season with the Coyotes, Matthew Clay was one of the key bats in the middle of the C of I order in 2021 – with his big season earning All-Cascade Conference honors. Clay posted a career-best .315 batting average during the season, with nine doubles, two home runs and a team-high 42 RBI – leading the team with 12 multi-RBI games and 17 multi-hit games. The native of British Columbia was also honored by the league as a gold glove outfielder, with Clay recording just two errors in 122 defensive chances in center field.
 
HULTBERG POSTS SECOND STRAIGHT BIG YEAR: The cancellation of bulk of the 2020 season cost outfielder Jonah Hultberg a chance at multiple honors – as the left-hand hitter led the team with a .362 batting average. Fast-forward a season and Hultberg continued to be one of the top hitters in the CCC, leading the Yotes with a .346 batting average on the year – earning All-CCC honors. Hultberg finished the year with 20 multi-hit games, 10 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 19 RBI.
 
VAN HORNE CLOSES CAREER WITH BIG SEASON: One of two players to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility, Austin Van Horne made the most of the opportunity – recording his best season as a Yote. The super-senior hit a career-best .309 in his fifth year in the Purple and Gold, recording six home runs and 37 RBI. Van Horne led the team with four 4-hit games on the year and at one point reached base in 27 consecutive games. On the mound, Van Horne pitched 61 innings, logging 61 strikeouts with an opponents' batting average of .216.
 
STRIKEOUT LEADERS: Coyote pitchers were among the top strikeout artists in the CCC in 2021, as three arms were among the Top-10 in the conference in punch outs. Dimick Wood led the charge with 62, ranking No. 4 in the league, Austin Van Horne was fifth with 61, while Connor Root finished No. 8 with 54. Root and Hunter Kirkpatrick each led the team with four wins on the season; Root tossed a team-best 66 innings; with Van Horne posting a team-best 4.57 ERA.
 
BEST OFFENSIVE NUMBERS SINCE: The bats were much improved for the Yotes in 2021 –recording collectively their best offensive numbers since the 2016 season. C of I posted a team batting average of .263, averaging six runs per game – adding 14 triples and 14 home runs. The previous four seasons – the Coyotes had lower batting averages (.259 in 2017, .237 in 2018, .229 in 2019, .243 in 2020) and averaged fewer runs per game (4.8 in 2017, 4.6 in 2018, 3.7 in 2019 and 4.2 in 2020) than the 2021 squad.
 
MOST WINS SINCE: The Coyotes finished the season with a 19-28 overall record – and though the team finished below the .500 mark, the team recorded their highest win total since the 2017 season, when C of I posted 25 victories and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament.
 
ACADEMIC AWARDS: C of I was not only successful on the diamond, but also in the classroom, as the team led the league with 15 Academic All-CCC awards. Jared Bowman, Luke Brewer, Jake Denison, Ben Dudley, Alec Hopkins, Jonah Hultberg, Tanner McGrath, Nick Mooney, Ryan Nolan, Drew Ochsner, Avery Rambur, Tobey Summers, Ben Tighe, Erik Wisenor and Dimick Wood all at least a sophomore in academic standing and have maintained a 3.20 or better cumulative grade point average.
 
RECAP OF 2021 SEASON: C of I had an up-and-down season – beginning with a wild, come-from-behind, 13-12 victory over Midland – scoring seven runs in the eighth inning to take the lead. The Yotes ran off 6-straight wins in February, as the team began the year with a 7-4 record and followed with a win over a Northwest Nazarene team that has qualified for the Division II National Tournament. Conference season was tough for the squad, as the Yotes won just one series and finished 11-21 in circuit play. The team had solid performances, as Weston Miller posted a career-best 33 RBI and Carter Vieira was among the league leaders with 17 stolen bases. The season ended on a downer, as a final series at Simpson in California was canceled due to COVID issues in the Redhawks program.

RECORD BOOK: Five Coyotes have cracked the Top-25 C of I career record book in 2021 – led by Austin Van Horne, who ranks among the all-time leaders in 17 categories, holding the school record for games started (227) and at bats (836), ranking No. 2 in games played (228) and defensive assists (441), No. 3 in strikeouts per innings pitched (10.25), No. 5 in batting average against (.198) and walks (87), No. 8 doubles (45), No. 10 in runs scored (142) and pitching strikeout (150), No. 11 in triples (6), No. 12 in hits (206), No. 13 in defensive chances (848), No. 16 in home runs (17) and stolen bases (39), ranking No. 17 in both RBI (116) and hit by pitches (27). Carter Vieira closed his career No. 13 in stolen bases (41), No. 19 in at bats (506), No. 20 in games started (153) and No. 25 in sacrifice hits, with Connor Root No. 12 in pitching starts (26), Weston Miller is No. 25 in hit by pitches (19) and Jonah Hultberg is No. 22 in batting average (.352).
 
THANK YOU SENIORS: The Yotes will say goodbye to nine seniors, who played in their final games for C of I this season. Seniors Brendan Boily, Ben Tighe, Anthony Pannullo, Ryan Nolan, Tanner McGrath, Matthew Clay, Nick Mooney, Carter Vieira and Austin Van Horne were all key contributors on the season – with Mooney and Vieira 4-year members of the program and Van Horne a fifth-year senior.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Yotes will return six everyday players in 2022 – including outfielders Jonah Hultberg and Tanner Leaf, third-baseman Ben Hansen, first-baseman Ben Dudley, with catchers Weston Miller and Dillon Danner splitting duties. Three starting pitchers will be back – including Dimick Wood, Connor Root and Jaden Trueblood, along with relievers Erik Wisenor, Colby Durski, Wyatt Hankard and Silas Shumate. In all, 26 players are slated to return to C of I.