COMING UP: at Coach Calderone Classic (Phoenix Metro) – Thursday vs. Embry-Riddle, 10 a.m.; Friday vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 10:30 a.m.; Friday vs. Kansas Wesleyan, 2:30 p.m.; Saturday vs. San Diego Christian, 10 a.m.
COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
LIVE LINKS: Two games in Arizona will feature Live Video, with Live Stats available for all four contests. Thursday's opener vs. Embry-Riddle will have Live Video and Live Stats through
Benedictine Mesa's Stretch Internet Portal. All three remaining games will have Live Stats through the
NAIA's Presto Stats Portal, while the game vs. Kansas Wesleyan will have Live Video through the
GSAC Sports Network.
SPECTATOR INFORMATION: Thursday's game will be played at Gene Autry Park in Mesa, while the Friday and Saturday games will be played at Canyon View High in Waddell (west of Phoenix). Both venues have no fan restrictions.
COYOTES TO OPEN 2022 IN ARIZONA: The Coyotes will send 28 of their 48 players south this week to open the 2022 baseball season, competing in the Coach Calderone Invitational, co-hosted by Benedictine Mesa and Arizona Christian. It marks C of I's eighth trip to Arizona in program history, with the Coyotes recording a combined 13-18 record in the desert. The squad ventured south for the first time in 2012, competing in Anthem at a 5-team tournament hosted by Lewis-Clark State – going 2-2 at the event – before sweeping a 2016 series at Arizona Christian. In 2017 the Yotes returned to Phoenix, splitting a series with ACU, before making two trips south in 2018, including a four-game series split at Ottawa. In 2019, C of I dropped 3-of-4 at Benedictine Mesa, before losing four games to Taylor (Ind.) at a neutral site and going 1-2 in last season's Calderone Classic.
JANUARY GAMES: It will be the sixth straight season that C of I has opened the year in January, recording a combined 10-15 record in the early games. The Yotes posted a perfect 4-0 record in 2016 – sweeping a series at Arizona Christian, before splitting games against the same ACU club in 2017. In 2018, the Yotes competed in the 4-Him Classic, co-hosted by ACU and Benedictine Mesa, going 1-3, while dropped 3-of-4 to Benedictine Mesa in 2019. The January 23 season opener in 2020 was the earliest start date in program history, the first of four January losses to Taylor (Ind.), before returning home to close the month with a split against William Jessup – the first January games at Wolfe Field. Last season, the Yotes opened the season on Jan. 27 against Midland (Neb.).
SEASON OPENING WIN: Since the 1933 season, the Coyotes are 45-31-1 in season openers. Including last season's 13-12 win over Midland, C of I has won three of their last four opening games..
OPPONENT PREVIEW - EMBRY-RIDDLE: C of I opens the season against a first-year program in Embry-Riddle, as the Eagles (2-1) were to have made their debut in 2021, but chose to opt-out of the season. The Prescott, Ariz., school made their debut last weekend, winning 2-of-3 games at San Diego Christian. ERAU was led in the opening series by outfielders Travis Strickler (.571 1 HR 5 RBI) and Luke Jepson (.667 1 HR 2 RBI), as the squad hit .270 as a team. On the mound, right-handers Josiah Mendes (1-0 6.00 ERA, 1 K in 3 IP), Dayne Pengelly (0-0 0.00 ERA, 4 K in 2 IP) and Zach Stamp (0-0 3.86 ERA, 4 K in 2.1 IP) led the staff.
NOT THAT EMBRY-RIDDLE: The Yotes opponent is not the same Embry-Riddle team that C of I met in an epic 2002 NAIA World Series match-up. Twenty years ago, the Coyotes met ERAU's sister-school in Daytona Beach, Fla., winning the game in 11 innings, 17-10.
OPPONENT PREVIEW - OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE: Friday's doubleheader will start against Oklahoma Panhandle State, from the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Aggies (0-0) finished 2021 with a 12-38 overall record and were picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the SAC preseason poll. All-SAC outfielder, Lane Field (.384 11 HR 44 RBI) and catcher Jonathan Appleberry (.286 6 HR 20 RBI) are OPSU's top returning offensive players. The Aggies struggled on the mound in 2021, posting a 9.32 team ERA and a .350 opponents' batting average, but return top arm Austin Jacobs (2-3 5.11 ERA, 3 saves). It is the first-ever meeting between the schools.
OPPONENT PREVIEW - KANSAS WESLEYAN: A Coyote will win Friday's second game as C of I meets Kansas Wesleyan – a Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference squad with the Coyotes (0-0) as a mascot. KWU had a solid 2021 season, posting a 32-18 mark, but did not advance to the NAIA Championships. A trio of arms anchor a deep pitching staff – paced by Tyler Triano (6-2 2.75 ERA), Oscar Sanchez (8-2 3.19 ERA) and Brandon Vaytko (1-0 6.05 ERA, 9 saves), with catcher Josh Sandoval (.317 12 HR 48 RBI) and first-baseman Hadyn Brown (.347 7 HR 44 RBI) leading the offensive attack. It is the first all-time meeting between the two Yotes.
OPPONENT PREVIEW - SAN DIEGO CHRISTIAN: The trip ends Saturday morning, as the Coyotes meet San Diego Christian for the third-straight season. The Hawks (1-3) have played three games – losing their opener to La Sierra, before losing 2-of-3 to Embry-Riddle. SDCC had a tough 2021 season, recording a 4-37 record, but look to rebound this year behind pitchers Jack Schlotman (0-0 6.00 ERA, 6 K in 6 IP) and Jacob Kokeny (1-0 2.25 ERA, 7 K in 4 IP). The Hawks offense has struggled this season, hitting a collective .216 – but outfielder Ryan Lystlund (.417 1 HR 8 RBI) has been the run producer.
POSITION BY POSITION: Full Pitching Staff Preview
POSITION BY POSITION: Full Infield / Catcher Preview
POSITION BY POSITION: Full Outfield Preview:
YOTES HOME SCHEDULE IN 2022: C of I will play 30 games at Wolfe Field in 2022 – beginning Feb. 5 vs. Central Washington. The Coyotes will play non-conference series against CWU and Whitman, a home-and-home series with Northwest Nazarene and a 4-game set against Lewis-Clark State. The three conference series played in Caldwell will feature Corban, Eastern Oregon and Oregon Tech, with the regular-season ending with a 4-game series at home vs. Linfield
CHANGES IN THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: The Cascade Conference has grown to seven teams in 2022 – as British Columbia rejoins the circuit after opting out of the 2021 season and Bushnell will debut their new team. Unlike the past decade, the teams will play a 24-game league schedule – 4-game sets against each team (three at home, three on the road). The top-four teams in the final standings will earn a bid to the CCC Championships to determine the automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships.
RECORD BOOK: Two Coyotes open the season ranked in C of I's Top-30 career record book, as
Connor Root ranks No. 12 in pitching games started (26) and No. 27 in innings pitched (154.1), with
Weston Miller No. 19 in hit-by-pitches (25).
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 1,600-1,289-7 all-time record, including 34 trips to the postseason (including playoff appearances in 30 of the last 35 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) and Riley O'Brien ('17) both reaching the Major Leagues - Simontacchi with the Cardinals and Nationals, with O'Brien debuting last season with the Reds
