Yotes, T-Birds in Crucial Series This Weekend
University of British Columbia Preview
COMING UP: vs. No. 3 British Columbia (DH), Saturday, 1 p.m.; vs. No. 3 British Columbia (DH), Sunday, 11 a.m.
LISTEN LIVE TO THE YOTES: All four games of the series with British Columbia will be carried live via the Internet, thanks to Cascade Conference TV, through www.pennatlantic.com. Voice of the Coyotes, Mike Safford, will have the play-by-play beginning five-minutes prior to the first pitch each day. Live Stats of the games will also be available, at http://yotestats.i8.com/baseball/xlive.htm.
YOUTH BASEBALL DAY SUNDAY: Sunday marks the Coyotes annual Youth Baseball Day at Wolfe Field. The Yotes will admit all youth players (and their families) into the game for free – if the player is in uniform.
HOST SITE OF NAIA WEST TOURNAMENT ON THE LINE: After 28 games within the NAIA West, the North Division pennant and host site for next weekend’s NAIA West Tournament have not been decided, as the Yotes and British Columbia will battle at Wolfe Field on Saturday and Sunday. UBC sits three games in front of the Coyotes with four games left – so The C of I would need a four-game sweep of the T-Birds to host the tournament for the first time since 2007. Anything short of a sweep would send the tournament to Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver, B.C., for the third-straight year.
ABOUT BRITISH COLUMBIA: The T-Birds (35-8, 26-2 NAIA West) have not lost to a non-ranked team this season, with five losses to Lewis-Clark State, two to the Yotes, and one to Fresno Pacific. Pitching and defense (NAIA-best .979 fielding percentage) has been the key to UBC’s success – as starters Eric Brown (7-0 2.50 ERA), Sheldon McDonald (7-2 2.48 ERA), and Brandon Kaye (6-1 2.97 ERA) have been stellar, with Taylor King (3-1 3.86 ERA, 5 saves) and Mark Hardy (4-2 3.98 ERA, 2 saves) out of the pen. Offensively, the T-Birds have eight regulars who are hitting .300 or better, led by outfielder Nic Lendvoy (.375 6 HR 43 RBI), shortstop Sammie Starr (.375 2 HR 36 RBI), and third baseman Keaton Briscoe (.369 3 HR 32 RBI). The two teams split a four-game series in Vancouver last month, with UBC holding a 51-41 series edge,
MORE ON THE NAIA WEST TOURNAMENT: One of three Association of Independent Institution qualifiers, the NAIA West Tournament will determine one of the 32 automatic berths to the NAIA World Series Opening Round. The North Division champion (UBC or C of I) and South Division champion (Oregon Tech) earn spots in the four-team tournament, with the next two highest rated teams in a coaches’ poll conducted late Sunday evening, will round out the field. The loser between the T-Birds and Yotes will earn one of the two at-large spots, along with most-likely Simpson or Concordia. The double-elimination tournament will be held May 6-8.
POTENTIAL NAIA OPENING ROUND SITES UNVEILED: If the Coyotes are to advance to the NAIA World Series for the first time since 2002, they will open the 45-team tournament at one of 11 sites unveiled by the national office last week. Of the group, nine will play host to five-team tournaments, with the nine winners joining host Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, for the Avista NAIA World Series. Potential sites include Azusa, Calif, Riverside, Calif., Fresno, Calif., Jackson, Miss., Columbus, Ga., Daytona Beach, Fla., Joliet, Ill., Cleveland, Tenn., St. Charles, Mo., Lubbock, Texas, Oklahoma City, Okla. The tournament field will be announced on May 14.
YOTES NOTCH FOURTH 30-WIN SEASON IN FIVE YEARS: With four wins last weekend vs. Corban the Coyotes have secured their 17th 30-win season in the last 24 years, and their fourth 30-win season in the last five years. The C of I earlier this season extended their consecutive seasons with 25-or-more victories to 24 years – every season since baseball was reinstated at the College since 1987. During that time, the Yotes have 40-or-more games eight times, and had two 50-win seasons.
COYOTES JUMP TO NO. 17 IN NAIA POLL: The C of I climbed four spots to No. 17 in the latest NAIA Top-25 Baseball Coaches Poll released Tuesday by the national office in Kansas City, Mo. It marks the highest ranking for the Coyotes since the 2007, when the Yotes rose to No. 12 in the poll. The Coyotes earned 289 voter points in this week's tabulation, 90 more points than the previous voting period, and marks their fourth-straight week in the Top-25. Gem State rival, Lewis-Clark State is atop the poll for the fifth-straight week, followed by Cumberland (Tenn.), British Columbia, Lee (Tenn.), and Cal Baptist. The Yotes have been ranked in the Top-25 in four of the last five seasons and been ranked as high as No. 3 in the poll under head coach, Shawn Humberger. The national poll will be released each Tuesday throughout the regular season through May 11 – which will determine the 13 at-large berths to the Opening Round of the NAIA World Series.
YOTES NO. 7 IN ISR: The Coyote baseball team is at No. 7 this week in the Interactive Strength Ranking, released by Boyd Nation. The ISR takes into consideration strength of schedule and wins and losses – with the Yotes schedule to date ranking No. 7 in the NAIA. Lewis-Clark State is currently rated No. 1, followed by British Columbia, Cumberland (Tenn.), Lubbock Christian (Texas), and Southern Poly State (Ga.). The ISR can be found online at http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/isr/naia_isr.html.
YOTES SWEEP CCC AWARDS FOR FOURTH TIME: For the fourth time during the 2010 season, C of I players swept the CCC weekly baseball awards, released Monday by the league office in Portland, Ore. Right-hander Levi Mitchum (Yakima, Wash. / Yakima Valley CC) earned the Pitcher of the Week award for the second time this season, while outfielder Kyle Douglas (Post Falls, Idaho / Lewis-Clark State Coll.) earned the Player of the Week nod for the first time. Mitchum was solid in a 8-1 victory over Corban on Friday, going six innings of three-hit ball, striking out three. The junior also won the award three weeks ago. Douglas was instrumental at the plate, hitting safely in all four games over the weekend, going 8-for-13 with seven runs scored, two doubles, a triple, a home run, and six RBI.
NATIONAL NUMBERS: The Coyotes rank among the NAIA Top-10 as a team in four statistical categories – No. 4 in hits per game (11.7), no. 7 in ERA (3.33), No. 8 in triples (20), and No. 9 in fielding percentage (.968).
HOME RUNS AT WOLFE FIELD: Through 26 home games this season, the Coyotes and their opponents have combined for 37 home runs at Wolfe Field – with four games remaining. Last season, teams combined for 35 long balls at the new park – after teams combined for just 14 homers in the final season at Simplot Stadium.
HOME RUNS IN A SEASON: As a team, the Yotes have hit 41home runs this season with four regular-season games remaining – more homers than the team hit during the 2002 (37), 2003 (29), 2004 (17), 2005 (20), 2006 (11), 2007 (16), 2008 (23), and 2009 (37) seasons. It is the most since they pounded out 54 homers in 2001.
NAIA WEST TEAM STATISTICS: Batting Average – College of Idaho .343, British Columbia .320, Oregon Tech .308, Simpson .277, Corban .268, Concordia .248, Patten .246, Bethany .191; Earned Run Average – C of I 3.22, UBC 3.27, OIT 5.15, SIMP 5.39, CU 6.34, CRB 7.28, PATT 8.85, BETH 9.99; Fielding Percentage – UBC .979, C of I .967, OIT .953, SIMP .952, PATT .946, CU .945, CRB .940, BETH .933.
RECORD BOOK: Three Coyotes have found themselves in the all-time record book during the 2010 season. Izaac Garsez (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) ranks tied for second all-time with seven triples in a season – one behind Scott Skeen’s record of eight set in 2001, while Kyle Douglas (Post Falls, Idaho / Lewis-Clark State) ranks in a tie for fifth with five triples in a year. Both have cracked the career Top-10 in triples, with Garsez sitting in a tie for fourth with eight three-baggers, and Douglas tenth with six triples. Also on the career list is Chad Yeggy (Boise, Idaho / Centennial HS), who is sixth all-time with seven saves.
SENIOR DAY: Sunday marks the final regular-season home game for four C of I senior baseball players. Three of the players are in their second season with the Coyotes – Ben Rosen (Eagle River, Alaska / Lower Columbia CC), Jared Arehart (Idaho Falls, idaho / College of Southern Idaho), and Diego Robles (Caldwell, Idaho / Tacoma CC), with one of the seniors - Ben Rodwell (Nampa, Idaho / Skyview HS) in his fourth season. A ceremony to honor the quartet will be conducted between games of the doubleheader.