2022 Baseball Notebook (Week 7)

LAST WEEK: The College of Idaho baseball team split a four game series with the University of British Columbia, winning the first two, 8-7 and 4-3, before dropping the final two, 5-4 and 1-0. The Yotes record currently sits at 14-17, which puts them in third place in the Cascade Conference.

COMING UP: vs. Oregon Tech (DH), Saturday, 1 P.M.; vs. Oregon Tech (DH), Sunday, 11 A.M.

LIVE LINKS: All four games of the Oregon Tech - College of Idaho series will be available on the Yotes Digital Network.

HOT BAT: Jonah Hultberg currently leads the Yotes with a .422 batting average, which is good for No. 75 nationally. Hultberg also leads not only the Yotes, but the entire NAIA in both total hits as well as triples, and is top 50 in homeruns with eight on the season.

ON THE MOUND: Colby Durski appeared in three out of four games over the past weekend with the University of British Columbia. Durski went a combined seven innings, surrendering just five hits and allowing only one run, which was unearned. Durski is currently second on the team in ERA with a 3.12.

CONSISTENT OFFENSE: Sunday's bout with the University of British Columbia marked the first time this season that the Yotes offense has been shutout, recording at least one run in the previous 30 games of the season. The Yotes offense has recorded two or more runs in 28 of 31 games this season. As a team, the Yotes have pushed across 209 runs, which is good for 48th in the NAIA, averaging 6.7 runs per game.

IN THE FIELD: Fielding percentage will be a key for the Yotes this weekend, as the team sits just outside the top 100 nationally with a .951 fielding percentage. Yotes pitching have forced opponents to hit into 19 double-plays on the year, which is the 28th highest amount in the NAIA. Additionally, quick reflexes from Yotes catchers have thrown out 18 batters attempting to steal a base, which ranks fourth in the country.

DUAL THREAT: Freshman dual-threat Ben Gaff has been productive on both sides of the diamond for the Yotes. Gaff has pitched a total of 35.1 innings, striking out 23 batters. On the offensive side, Gaff is third among qualified batters in batting average, hitting .348 and contributing 11 RBI's to the Yotes scoring totals.

SPEED ON BASE: On the base paths, the Yotes have been fairly successful when it comes to stealing bases, swiping 49 bases out of 61 attempts, good for an 80% success rate. On the year, Ben Dudley leads the team in stolen bases, going 10-11. Jonah Hultberg and Alex McFarland-Smith are perfect on the year in stealing bases, going 7-7 and 5-5 respectively.

OPPONENT PREVIEW: This week's opponent, the Oregon Tech Owls, come into the weekend with a record of 21-9. Winners of their last five games, the Owls have a home record of 10-2 and a road record of 11-4, with a neutral site record of 0-3. OIT comes off of a weekend sweep of Eastern Oregon at home. As a team, the Owls are batting an even .300 with 28 homeruns and 193 RBI's. Senior infielder Dalton Daily is currently third on the Owls with a .348 batting average, and is leading the squad in homeruns (10), RBI's (36), total bases (78), and slugging percentage (.678). On the mound, junior left-hander Cody Dubray leads the team in ERA with a 1.75 in six appearances, having a record of 5-1. Dubray is holding his opponents to a .203 batting average while striking out 47 batters on the season. Dubray is excellent with runners on base, holding opponents to a .177 batting average with runners on. The OIT Owls do most of their damage in the third inning, outscoring opponents 29-8 in the third frame.

KEYS TO VICTORY: One of the many keys to success this weekend for the Yotes will be the middle innings, as opponents are outscoring Oregon Tech in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings. The Owls get off to some hot starts, but the middle innings are where the Yotes will need to strike. Another key to victory for the Yotes will be hitting the long ball. When the Owls don't allow a home run, their record is 15-1. When they allow one or more home runs, their record drops significantly to 4-8. Holding a lead will be critical this weekend, as the Owls only have 1 win on the year when trailing after 6 innings. Out-hitting OIT will be something to watch for, as the Owls are 3-6 when opponents record more hits. One final key to victory for the Yotes will be scoring first, where the Owls are 13-3 when recording the first run of the game.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: The LC State Warriors continue to dominate their opponents, having a record of 29-1 entering play this weekend. The Warriors are a perfect 17-0 at home, and currently possess a 23-game winning streak. C of I's opponent this weekend, the Corban Warriros, come into play this weekend having lost the last four games, getting swept in their last series with Bushnell. College of Idaho and British Columbia are third and fourth respectively in the Cascade Conference standings, coming into the weekend each with a conference record of 2-2. Oregon Tech sits atop the CCC standings with a record of 4-0 in conference and an overall record of 21-9. Bushnell is right behind OIT with a conference record that is also 4-0, despite an overall record of 6-19. Wrapping up the CCC is Eastern Oregon, who have dropped their last six games and sit with a conference record of 0-4 and an overall record of 7-22.