ELLENSBURG, WA.—The Wildcat baseball team heads to Nampa to take on the red hot Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks in a four-game series.
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, March 19th
3:00 PM & 6:00 PM
vs Northwest Nazarene University
Elmore Vail Field
Nampa, ID
LIVE STATS | WATCH
Saturday, March 20th
1:00 PM & 4:00 PM
vs Northwest Nazarene University
Elmore Vail Field
Nampa, ID
LIVE STATS | WATCH
QUOTABLE
"The guys are excited to go on the road and have the chance to compete with the early leader in the conference. Coach Schafer has NNU playing well and for us it's always great to play quality teams. In terms of our focus, it's always going to be about becoming more consistent each week and improving overall as a team in each aspect of the game." said CWU Head Coach Desi Storey said.
SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS
The Nighthawks are currently sitting 10-2 on the season, sitting as the number one team in the GNAC. The Nighthawks are coming off of their first conference series, a sweep against Montana State University Billings. The Nighthawks toppled the Yellowjackets 22-10, 4-3, 21-10, and 11-6. The Nighthawks were even able to split a two-game series against then ranked #2, Colorado Mesa University.
The Nighthawks offense is led by senior Ryan Dearing and John Gonzalez. Dearing is hitting a dominant .489 on the year with a duo of triples and a trio of doubles. Gonzalez on the other hand is hitting a still strong .325 on the year with seven home runs and twenty-three runs batted in. The duo is followed up by Shawn Grandmont, Colton Moore and Grant Kerry. Moore and Grandmont are both hitting .396 on the year with thirty-eight runs batted in combined. Kerry not too far behind is hitting .325 with thirteen runs batted in. The Nighthawk offense is an onslaught as they have outscored opponents this year 138-65.
The Nighthawks defense is just as strong. Leading the pitching staff for the Nighthawks are Red-shirt Senior Ben Johnson, Senior Sasha Jabusch, Sophomore Shane Martin, and Freshman Kyle Ethridge. Johnson leads the four starters with an earned run average of .87 and eight strikeouts, seven hits and only one earned run in ten and a quarter innings pitched. Jabusch and Ethridge are the strikeout aces for the Nighthawks with nineteen and fourteen strikeouts respectively.
'CATS LAST TIME OUT
The 'Cats split their last series outing 2-2 with the Western Oregon Wolves. The 'Cats dropped game one and won game two on both days.
The 'Cats pitching has been effective early, with starters Dillon Larsen, Josh Toughey, Brayde Hirai, and Reid Rasmussen being able to go roughly four to five innings before getting into trouble. The 'Cats defense gave up a total of fourteen runs over the weekend but were able to put up eighteen over the weekend. The 'Cats starters are averaging a 5.37 earned run average combined. The 'Cats will be looking for their offense to finally click through all nine to be successful this weekend.
The offense for the 'Cats has been led by Justin Hampson, Zach Berryman, Tyler McClain and Michael Peter. Hampson sits atop the offense with a .500 batting average, six doubles and five runs batted in. Berryman follows close behind also batting a .500 average with only two doubles and two runs batted in. McClain, who came up big last weekend with a bases clearing double against the Wolves, is sitting at a .478 average with four doubles, the team's only home run and eight runs batted in. Peter is hitting a still strong .417 average on the year with two doubles and five runs batted in. The 'Cats will look to this heart of the lineup to get the momentum going. When the 'Cats needed it most, you couldn't count out Mitch Lesmeister who leads the team with nine runs batted in.
The 'Cats key to success on the weekend will be getting the offense going early and maintaining it throughout the weekend with a solid pitching performance behind it.
COVID DISCLAIMER
Per Washington state, Kittitas County Health Board, and the GNAC spectators will not be allowed at events. Schedules are subject to change at any time pending decisions from the health board and other local and regional authorities.
