March 21, 2008          

Yellowjackets Look To Get Back On Winning Track

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team looks to get back on the right track this weekend with a four-game series at Central Washington, beginning Saturday at 12 p.m. Pacific time. The Yellowjackets stand at 4-12 overall and 0-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Central Washington enters the series with an 11-10 record overall and a 5-2 record in the GNAC.
The Yellowjackets are led by Levi Johnson who is hitting a team-best .394 on the year. He is tied for second on the team in hits with 13 and has one double and a team-leading seven RBIs. Matt Kakalecik who is hitting .357 leads the team with four doubles and is one of four Yellowjackets to have a home run. Kakalecik lead the team in slugging percentage a .607.

MSUB is hitting .242 while its opponents are hitting .303. The Jackets have four home runs on the year, but have only given up six as well. The team is slugging .333 and the opponents are at a .434 clip.

Defensively, the Jackets have committed 42 errors compared to 33 by the opponents. The 42 errors have turned into 30 runs thus far.
Central Washington enters the series after splitting a mid-week series with the College of Idaho Tuesday. Last weekend, the Wildcats won three conference games against Western Oregon to improve to 5-2 in conference play.

Leading the way for CWU this season is Jamie Nilsen who is hitting a blistering .405 on the year and is slugging at a .676 clip. Nilsen also is one of just two players on the team who has played and started in all 21 games. He also leads the team with 30 hits, 10 doubles, 22 RBIs, 50 total bases and 22 runs scored. Frank Donangelo is second on the team in average at .375 as seven players are hitting over .300.

On the mound, the Wildcats are led by Micahel McCanna who is 3-0 on the year with a team-best 2.57 ERA. Tyler Levin who is 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA, leads the team in innings pitch at 38.2 and in strikeouts with 32.  

The Yellowjackets are 2-4 against Central Washington since baseball was reinstated as a sport in 2006. MSUB dropped two decisions to CWU in 2006 at Cobb Field and split four games in Ellensburg last season in a non-conference series.

MSUB will play its home-opener Tuesday, Mar. 25, with a doubleheader against Colorado Christian at 12 p.m. at Pirtz Field.