Freshman right-handed pitchers Nick Strange, Brandon Mozzone and Ross Clevenger will also make an early impact.
OUTLOOK
With most of its infield and a few top players from last season back for 2015, Northwest Nazarene has a chance to improve upon its
18-31 record.
The loss of Vaughn takes a hit on the pitching staff. With the return of McGuire and four JUCO transfers competing for roles in the
starting rotation and bullpen though, the Crusaders could improve from last season’s performance.
Having more experienced players at the plate and in the field this season, NNU has the ability to surprise some GNAC teams.
The Crusaders will be tested early in the season taking on top West Region teams in Cal State East Bay and Hawaii Pacific before
starting GNAC play hosting Saint Martin’s in early March.
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS Yellowjackets
Preseason Rank: 5
Head Coach: Rob Bishop, Jamestown ’94 (77-110-1, 4 years)
Assistants: Parker Kruckenberg, Austin Rue
Grad Assistant: Jason Oatman
2014 Record: 16-30
Conference: 13-19, T4th
Returning Letter Winners: 23
Returning Position Starters: 8
Returning Pitching Starters: 2
Key Returnees (Min. 25 at bats, 15 IP):
Position Players
GP-GS R
H
RBI
+*Brody Miller (SR), INF
46-46
37 67
34
*Bret Bitow (SR), UTL/RHP
44-44
28 48
22
*Luke Reinschmidt (JR), OF
42-42
32 55
27
*Kevin Toon (R-JR), INF
41-36
20 48
28
Casey Merritt (SO), OF
37-29
19 27
13
Blake Loran (R-SR), 1B
35-34
22 28
18
Trevor Nix (SR), C
35-31
14 25
8
Conner Holbrook (SR), C
28-28
10 24
11
Pitchers
ERA
W-L GP-GS IP
*Brady Muller (SR), LHP
5.33
3-3
11-8
49.0
*Jake Mills (SR), RHP
2.76
3-3
20-1
42.1
Drew Christina (SR), LHP
6.00
2-5
11-11
42.0
Bryon Baker (R-SO), RHP
4.24
2-2
14-4
40.1
Jake Campeau (SR), RHP
8.89
1-4
12-5
27.1
+2014 GNAC Player of the Year *2014 All-GNAC Selection
BA
.392
.282
.359
.348
.314
.248
.212
.261
BB-SO
12-36
12-26
27-36
19-30
6-36
Brody Miller, the conference Player of the Year last season, returns after
leading the GNAC in hits and on-base percentage.
Transfers: Kyle Durbin (INF, 6-1, JR., Idaho Falls, ID – Skyline/Eastern Utah*.3 90 BA freshman season); Dylan Goldsack (LHP, 5-7, JR., Burbank, CA –
John Burroughs/LA Mission CC - 3.76 ERA, 2 complete games); Tanner Johnson (RHP, 6-3, JR., Belgrade, MT – Manhattan Christian/ Salt Lake CC);
Corey Morris (SS/2B, 5-9, JR., Richland, WA – Richland/Walla Walla CC – NWAACC east region gold glover).
Freshman: Matt Dillon (OF, 6-0, FR., Billings, MT – Skyview); Jacob Foley (INF/OF, 5-10, FR., Boise, ID – Capital); Brandon Maassen (RHP, 6-0, FR.,
Whitefish, MT – Whitefish); Joel Mazurkewich (OF, 5-9, FR., Red Deer, Canada – Vauxhall); Griffen Pape (RHP, 6-3, FR., Star, ID – Eagle); Landon
Peterson (C, 5-9, FR., Boise, ID - Capital); Wyatt Schlosser (OF/1B, 6-0, FR., Saskatoon, Canada - Vauxhall); Elijah Sommerville (C, 5-9, FR., Billings,
MT – Billings West).
2014 SEASON
The 2014 Yellowjackets came ever so close to earning a spot in the GNAC tournament, finishing one and a half games behind third
place Saint Martin’s.
Starting the season with 26 straight road games, Montana State Billings struggled to find its consistency losing 19 of them.
Six of those wins came in middle to late March, right before the team spent virtually all of April playing at home. MSUB won four of
its last six games, but couldn’t quite reach enough wins to qualify for the championship.