April 8, 2015
Contact: Nathan Webber
(503)305-8756/[email protected]
Conference Title Race is Tight Heading into Last Month of Season
PORTLAND, Ore. – Four weeks remain until the 2015 GNAC
Championships and it’s still very much a question as to where
the tournament will be held.
Western Oregon, which split with Central Washington last
week, still holds the conference lead at 12-7, but the rest of
the field isn’t far behind.
Montana State Billings is virtually one game behind the
Wolves for the conference lead at 9-6. MSUB, which had a
break from game-play last week, has four conference series
left in the season including a five-game home-stand against
the Wolves.
Northwest Nazarene, which surpassed last year’s win total
last week with a sweep of Saint Martin’s, is still in the hunt for
the conference regular-season title as well.
The Crusaders will have a tough road to reach the title,
however, as its last two series are on the road against the
Yellowjackets and the Wolves.
Central Washington has shown signs of resurgence as of late,
winning five of its last seven games including a series victory
at Holy Names and taking two against Western Oregon. Saint
Martin’s has potential to break into the playoff field as well,
playing three of their remaining four series at home.
The GNAC Championships will be held at the home of the
regular-season champion May 7-8.
The Crusaders and Wolves will be focusing solely on their
GNAC competition after playing their last non-conference
games of the season this week.
NNU will face The College of Idaho Tuesday in a single-game
in Nampa. The Crusaders have split their two games played
against the Coyotes earlier in the year.
Western Oregon also gets a chance to decide its series against
19th-ranked Lewis-Clark State of the NAIA in a single game
Thursday. The Wolves have split their season series with the
Warriors, handing them two of their nine losses on the year.
Central Washington and Montana State Billings will face each
other for the second time this year, each taking two in the
matchup in Ellensburg at the end of February.
Western Oregon will host Saint Martin’s in the other
conference series this week.
Standings and Schedule
GNAC
Team
Western Oregon
MSU Billings
Northwest Nazarene
Central Washington
Saint Martin’s
Overall
W
L
12 7
9 6
11 9
8 12
7 13
W
16
14
22
17
13
L
19
17
18
18
21
LAST 8
W L
3 5
7 1
6 2
5 3
1 7
UPCOMING GAMES
THURSDAY, April 9
Lewis-Clark State at Western Oregon, 1 p.m.
FRIDAY, April 10
Central Washington at Montana State Billings (DH), 1 p.m./4 p.m.
SATURDAY, April 11
Central Washington at Montana State Billings (DH), 1 p.m./4 p.m.
Saint Martin’s at Western Oregon (DH), 1 p.m./4 p.m.
SUNDAY, April 12
Saint Martin’s at Western Oregon (DH), 12 p.m./3 p.m.
TUESDAY, April 14
The College of Idaho at Northwest Nazarene, 6:30 p.m.
Around the GNAC
The Montana State Billings doubleheader against Dickinson
State Wednesday has been cancelled because of bad
weather. No make-up date will be set. MSUB is now done
with its non-conference slate this season, finishing 5-11 –
all on the road.
Northwest Nazarene’s Kaleb DeHaas, Tate Glasgow and
Tyler Marsh are involved with a special project to help send
batting cages to Nicaragua. To find out more about their
efforts, or to donate, head to NNUsports.com
Northwest Nazarene’s Jesse Hilyard was selected as the
GNAC Player of the Week while Western Oregon’s Jesse
Pratt was the Pitcher of the Week. Hilyard scored the
game-winning run in NNU’s two wins against Saint Martin’s
Saturday, including leading-off the bottom of the tenth with
a double to win the game 4-3. Pratt is the first repeat
winner of the year, pitching a complete-game shutout of
the Wildcats Friday. Pratt retired the first 16 batters he
faced while allowing just a single hit the entire game.
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