2022 Baseball Notebook (Week 4)

COMING UP: vs. Northwest Nazarene, Thursday, 4 p.m.; vs. Northwest Nazarene, Friday, 4 p.m.; at Northwest Nazarene (DH), Saturday, 11 a.m.

COMPLETE WEEKLY MEDIA NOTEBOOK
 
TICKET INFO / LIVE LINKS: Ticket prices for home games at Wolfe Field are $6.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors (60-and-older) and juniors (12-to-17), with kids 12-and-under admitted free. For fans unable to make it to the stadium, Live Video and Live Stats will be available via the Yotes Digital Network ($9.00 per doubleheader, $40.00 season pass). Saturday's doubleheader at NNU will have Live Video through NNU's You Tube Channel and Live Stats through NNU's SIDEARM Stats Portal.
 
4-GAME SWEEP: The Yotes improved to 6-2 at Wolfe Field this season with a 4-game sweep of Whitman College – their first 4-game sweep in six years. During the 2016 season, C of I swept aside Simpson, Oregon Tech, Minot State and Arizona Christian.
 
STREAKING: C of I heads into the week riding a 5-game win streak – one away from a 6-game streak the squad had during February of last season. The Yotes have not had a win streak longer than six games since 2016, when the club posted both 8-game and 10-game runs.
 
SCORING FIRST: The Coyotes have scored first in seven games this season, recording a perfect 7-0 mark in those contests. C of I picked up their second come-from-behind win of the season in Game 2 of the series, rallying from an early 4-0 third inning deficit in the 10-4 win.
 
BATS STAY HOT: C of I's early-season success has been due to quality at bats, as the Yotes hit .303 in the Whitman series – averaging 10 runs and 11 hits per game. The Coyotes pounded out 14 doubles and two triples – hitting a combined .383 with runners in scoring position (including 5-of-8 with the bases loaded), logging 14 2-out RBI. The team currently has the top batting average in the Cascade Conference at .310.
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT MAGIC: The Yotes ran their streak of double-digit scoring games to five before the 6-5 victory on Sunday, while rattling off 6-straight games with 10-or-more hits. It marked the first time C of I had put together 5-straight games with 10-or-more runs scored since the 2001 season, while it was the first string of six games with 10-or-more hits since 2017.
 
PITCHING STAFF STELLAR: A key to the success in the Whitman series was the Coyote arms, as the pitching staff held the Blues to a .189 batting average in the series – allowing a combined five earned runs. A total of 13 pitchers saw action in the four games, limiting the opponents to just 24 total hits – with Andrew Vaughn, Kyle McPeak, Tanner Keener, Luke Brewer and Nat Nimmer all throwing a scoreless inning of relief.
 
HULTBERG CONTINUES TO RAKE: It has been a memorable 12-game start to the season for Jonah Hultberg, as the second-baseman currently leads the Cascade Conference in hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, home runs and total bases, ranking No. 2 in RBI. The third-year Coyote continued his monster start, going 8-for-15 with nine runs scored, adding three doubles, a triple and four RBI. For the year, Hultberg is hitting .480 with eight doubles, two triples, four homers and 18 RBI, posting a .578 on-base percentage and a .960 slugging percentage – recording eight multi-hit games.
 
TRANSFERS HAVE BIG SERIES: Newcomers Skyler Sadora and Tristen Garland had big weekends with the bat – coming through in key situations in the Whitman series. Sadora extended his hitting streak to eight games, going 5-for-18 in the series, adding two doubles and seven RBIs. Garland continued his strong play to start the season, going 5-for-13 with three doubles and six RBIs – recording four multi-hit games in his last six outings.
 
VETERANS KEY TO WEEKEND SUCCESS: Upperclassmen were a vital part of the 4-game sweep of Whitman, as the Coyotes got production throughout the order. Jake Denison had his best weekend with the bat in his career, going 3-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. Weston Miller has rebounded from a slow start, going 4-for-8 with two doubles and three RBIs and is hitting .438 over his last five games. Ben Dudley also bounced back from a tough start, going 3-for-7 with two doubles and four RBIs vs. Whitman.
 
ROOT WOWS: Earning the Game 1 slot, Connor Root recorded his second-straight quality start, handcuffing the opposing batters for seven innings. The senior, who allowed just one run in seven innings vs. Central Washington, was even better against Whitman, allowing a single and one walk, striking out a pair, to pick up the win, while lowering his ERA to 0.59.
 
WOOD AND ROBERTSON REBOUND: It was a good weekend on the mound for a pair of Coyotes – as both Dimick Wood and Kirby Robertson picked up their second wins of the young season. Wood followed opener Kris Kirkpatrick in Game 2 of the series and dominated the Whitman bats, holding the Blues to just three hits in eight innings, striking out six. Robertson was key in the Game 4 win, tossing a season-high six innings, holding the Whits to just one runs on two hits, walking just one batter and striking out nine – equaling the most strikeouts by a Coyote this season.
 
CANYON COUNTY SHOWDOWN: For the second-straight year, C of I and Northwest Nazarene meet on the diamond – after not playing during the 2016-20 seasons. The two Canyon County schools were a fixture on the schedule – playing every season from 1947 to 1978 and from 1987-2007 – a stretch of 51-straight years while the Yotes had a baseball program. However, the rivalry, despite the two teams sitting just eight miles apart, have schedule just three series since – C of I winning 3-of-4 during the 2012 season, NNU winning 2-of-3 in 2015, and NNU taking last season's series, three games to one.
 
OLD RIVALS: C of I and NNU have met 228 times on the diamond, one of four teams the Coyotes have played 200-or-more times. The Yotes have played 256 games against Lewis-Clark State, 252 games vs. Whitman and 226 games vs. Eastern Oregon. C of I holds the all-time series lead with the Nighthawks, 167-60-1.
 
ABOUT NORTHWEST NAZARENE: A year after winning both the GNAC and Western Regional titles, NNU is off to a slow start, as the Nighthawks (2-6) have lost 6-of-8 games. The potent NNU attack has been silenced thus far, hitting just .194 as a team, combining for 79 strikeouts in eight games – but return a bevy of talent that is battle tested. Only two players are hitting above .250 – second baseman Walker Moore (.320 1 HR 4 RBI) and outfielder Tyler Best (.318 1 HR 2 RBI), with shortstop Parker Price (.226 2 HR 6 RBI) leading the team in the early going in homers and RBI. On the mound, a pair of veterans lead the way in lefty Blake McFadden (1-0 1.35 ERA, 10 K in 6.2 IP) and Max Holtzclaw (1-0 0.00 ERA, 9 K in 6 IP).
 
AGAINST THE DIVISION II: Prior to this weekend, the Coyotes have played 122 games against NCAA Division II opponents, combining for a 66-56 all-time record, including a 2-2 mark this season. C of I has posted a 46-32 record against Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams (Northwest Nazarene, St. Martin's, MSU-Billings, Central Washington – but have not met Western Oregon since they joined the D-II) and a 20-24 mark against California and Midwest Division II squads.
 
AT WOLFE FIELD: The 2022 season is the 14th year C of I has played at Wolfe Field, with the Yotes recording a combined 195-140 record at the facility. Since baseball returned to the College in 1987, the Coyotes are a combined 557-254 at home (including games at Simplot Stadium).
 
AROUND THE CASCADE CONFERENCE: It was a tough week for Cascade Conference schools outside of Idaho – as along with C of I's sweep of Whitman, LC State dominated a series with Whitworth, outscoring the Pirates 46-5. Four teams (British Columbia, Corban, Eastern Oregon and Oregon Tech) all lost 3-of-4 games – UBC at Benedictine Mesa, Corban at OUAZ, EOU at Pacific and OIT against three teams in Arizona. Bushnell is still searching for their first win after losing four at William Jessup. This week, UBC travels to Antelope Valley, EOU meets former rival Western Oregon, LCSC hosts Central Washington, while OIT, Corban and Bushnell play a 3-team round-robin event in Springfield, Ore.
 
RECORD BOOK: Five Coyotes are currently ranked in C of I's Top-30 career record book, as Connor Root ranks No. 8 in pitching games started (29), No. 17 in innings pitched (171.1), No. 25 in wins (13) and No. 26 in strikeouts (115), with Weston Miller No. 13 in hit-by-pitches (29), Erik Wisenor No. 16 in saves (5) and Dimick Wood No. 30 in strikeouts (109). Jonah Hultberg ranks No. 15 all-time in triples (5) and is just outside the Top-30 in hits (125) and doubles (26)..
 
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 1,609-1,292-7 all-time record, including 35 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.
 
NEXT WEEK: C of I hits the road for the first time in a month, traveling to Salem, Ore., for a 4-game non-conference series at Corban.