Yote Notes May 8,
2007
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Mike Safford Jr. Sports
Info. Director
msafford@collegeofidaho.edu
ATHLETIC NEWS: R.C. Owens coming to town
ACI AND NAIA HALL OF FAMER HEADED TO
TRACK: ACI set for two-day Cascade
Conference championships
LAST WEEK: at
COMING UP: at Cascade Conference
Championships, La
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ACI'S SIGHTS:
The
ACI track team will compete this weekend at the Cascade Conference
Championships at
WINDY DAY AT EOU MINI: No new national marks
were achieved at the final regular-season meet of 2007, as cold temperatures
and a strong wind hampered runners last Friday at the Eastern Oregon Mini
Meet. ACI did see freshman Courtney
Mitchell (
TOP TIMES OF
THE YEAR:
Mens
100-Meters Andy Swanson 11.80 Bronco
Twilight 04/27/07
200-Meters Andy Swanson 23.76 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
400-Meters Brian
Crecelius 53.52 Al Manuel Open 03/31/07
800-Meters Tyler Hopper 1:53.67 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
1500-Meters Tyler Hopper 3:55.78
3000-Meters Jacob
Haas 9:02.33 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
3000-Steeple
5000-Meters Jacob
Haas 15:05.53 U. of
10000-Meters Jacob
Haas 32:50.51
400- Hurdles Rand
Kline 1:00.19 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
4 X 800-Meter Relay ACI A 7:57.33 EOU Mini 03/24/07
Womens
100-Meters Courtney
Mitchell 13.24 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
200-Meters Courtney
Mitchell 27.19 Springfest
Relays 04/21/07
400-Meters Jayne
Saunders 1:02.20 Springfest
Relays 04/21/07
800-Meters Stephanie
Sparks 2:20.87 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
1500-Meters Katie
Ball 4:50.21 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
3000-Meters Shannon
Edwards 10:42.25 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
3000- Steeple Chantel Varland 13:08.96 Al Manuel Open 03/31/07
5000-Meters Shannon
Edwards 17:43.19 U. of
10000-Meters Shannon
Edwards 39:42.19
Half Marathon Natalie
Hatch 1:33:21
400- Hurdles Jayne
Saunders 1:05.71 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
4 X 400-Meter Relay ACI A 4:08.77 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
4 X 800-Meter Relay ACI A 9:50.90 EOU Mini 03/24/07
Triple Jump Emily
McCutchan 34
3 Bronco Twilight 04/27/07
NATIONAL
QUALIFIERS AND TIMES: NAIA A qualifiers Shannon Edwards (5,000-meters). NAIA B qualifiers Jayne
Saunders (400-hurdles), Natalie Hatch (half-marathon) Tyler Hopper (800 and
1,500), Jesse Chlebeck (5,000), Jacob Hass (5,000).
FOR MORE
INFORMATION: For more information on the ACI track team, head to the official
homepage of the Coyotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/track.htm.
BASEBALL (29-15): Coyotes set to host NAIA Region I
Tournament in
LAST
WEEK: at
COMING
UP: Host NAIA Region I Tournament, Thursday-Saturday, Simplot
Stadium.
YOTES HOST NAIA REGION I TOURNAMENT:
By virtue of
winning the 2007 NAIA Region I round-robin schedule, the Coyotes earned the
right to host the NAIA Region I Tournament, beginning Thursday at Simplot
Stadium. The four-team tournament will
determine the Northwest representative to the Far West Sectional, to take place
next week in
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: Thursday Game 1:
ABOUT THE REGIONAL: It is the eighth season that the
NAIA Region I Tournament has been held with the current four-team format, but
the first time Lewis-Clark State has participated in the event. Only valid NAIA passes and MLB scouting
passes will be valid all others will need to pay the $7.00 per day admission
charge ($5.00 for students 17-and-under and seniors 65-and-over) which
includes a tournament program. An
OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT WEBSITE: Updated brackets, game stories, box
scores, and webcast links can be found at the
official website of the 2007 NAIA Region I Tournament www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/baseball/2007RegionITourney.htm.
INTERNET WEBCASTS: Between the broadcast services of
ACI, Lewis-Clark State, and British Columbia, every game of the NAIA Region I
Tournament will be carried live on the Internet. The webcast
schedule will be posted on the Tournament Website with feeds from Brian
Danner of Lewis-Clark State (www.koze-sports.com),
Mike Safford of ACI (www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/caa/radio.htm),
and Brent Mutis of UBC (www.mutis.ca)
calling the action. Unfortunately, no
live stats will be provided from the stadium.
ABOUT THE TEAMS: The No. 1 seed in the tournament is
Lewis-Clark State, the defending
NAIA National Champions. The Warriors
(48-4), who have won 37-or-more games each of the last 31 seasons, are playing
in a regional/sectional tournament for the first time since 1999. NAIA Hall-of-Fame coach Ed Cheffs squad is led by all-everything third-baseman Beau
Mills (.468 30 HR 105 RBI), who has tied the L-C school record for homers in a
season and leads the NAIA in homers and RBI.
The Warrior offense is bolstered by shortstop Mark Thompson (.402 4 HR
36 RBI), catcher Jessie Mier (.365 6 HR 54 RBI), and
outfielder Brent Wyatt (.353 7 HR 46 RBI).
In fact, L-C has hit more home runs as a team (69), than the three other
tournament teams combined (46). On the
mound, Chris Kissock (11-1 1.87 ERA) has been the
workhorse, with both Mike Miller (4-0 2.90 ERA) and Matt Fitts
(8-0 1.90 ERA) filling out the rotation.
Out of the pen, Will Morgan (3-1 1.15 ERA, 4 saves) and Brian Parker
(3-0 1.54 ERA, 6 saves) have been outstanding.
Seeded No. 2 is host ACI, who
extended their consecutive playoff streak to 21 seasons. The Coyotes (29-15) have advanced to the
championship game of the regional tournament in six of the last eight seasons
and have four NAIA World Series appearances (including the 1998 national title). The gap-powered offense is paced by catcher Pat Burke (Sisters, Ore. / Sisters HS) (.382 2 HR 35 RBI, 12 SB) and
shortstop Casey Oliver (Pocatello, Idaho / Col. of Southern Idaho)
(.364 6 HR 31 RBI) both NAIA All-Americans last season. Pitching-wise, the Yotes rotation of Jason Roach (Sacramento, Calif. / Sacramento City CC) (9-4 3.36 ERA, 91 K), Andrew Brock (Burnaby, B.C. / Douglas CC) (4-4 3.05 ERA), and Carson Taysom (Pocatello, Idaho / Century HS) (7-4
3.88 ERA) can keep ACI in every game, with closer Joey Zubizarreta (Boise, Idaho / Cochise CC) (4-0 3.32 ERA, 4 saves) logging to most
action out of the pen. The No. 3 seed is
British Columbia, who looks to add
to the three regional crowns they have hoisted in the last four years. The T-Birds (21-18), who advanced to their
first NAIA World Series last season, lost the bulk of their club to graduation,
but have steadily improved this season thanks to the play of outfielders Nic Lendvoy (.353 2 HR 22 RBI) and Jon Syrnyk
(.306 4 HR 28 RBI), along with third-baseman Brett Murray (.311 3 HR 20
RBI). The UBC rotation is solid,
anchored by Doug Grant (6-5 3.55 ERA), with Brendan Rolfe (6-0 1.57 ERA) and
Andrew LaFleur (5-4 3.88 ERA) having solid
seasons. Rounding out the field in No. 4
seed, Concordia, who looks pull the
opening round upset in Caldwell as they did in 2002 (when they topped ACI,
10-0). The Cavaliers (17-29) have played
a lot of close games this season, with No. 1 starter Bryan Goff (5-6 4.58 ERA)
involved in many of them. Look for Kyle
Corwin (2-6 4.83 ERA) and Jason Grisham (2-4 7.31 ERA) to get the other
starting nods, with Kyle Well (0-2 6.39 ERA) the first man out of the pen. With the bat, catcher Cody Herrick (.333 2 HR
23 RBI) has been the most consistent player this season, while production has
been solid from second-baseman Kyle Waterland (.321 1
HR 13 RBI) and first-baseman Jimmy Rudig (.277 4 HR
21 RBI). CU looks to
advance past the regional for the first time since 2004, when the Cavs made their lone NAIA World Series appearance.
WHAT THE HOST BERTH MEANS: Under the current format, the host
team of the Region I Tournament has claimed the tourney title every
season. 2000 ACI, 2001 Western
Oregon, 2002 ACI, 2003 British Columbia, 2004 Concordia, 2005 British
Columbia, 2006 British Columbia.
THE LAST TIME ACI HOSTED: If ACI were to host the Region I
Tournament, it would be the first time the Yotes have played a home playoff
game since 2002. That season, the
Coyotes dropped the opening game to Concordia then won four consecutive
loser-out games to claim the title, including a pair of contests on the final
day of the tourney against British Columbia.
21-STRAIGHT 25-WIN SEASONS: With their Game 1 win over Concordia
on April 28, the Yotes picked up their 25th win of the season the 21st
consecutive season that the ACI baseball team has won 25-or-more games.
ROACH NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Coyote left-hander Jason
Roach was named Cascade Conference and NAIA Region I Pitcher of the Week,
announced this The won the Region I regular-season clinching game on Saturday,
helping ACI defeat British Columbia, 3-1. Roach went eight innings of
two-hit ball, allowing just one walk, and striking out four. He improved
to 9-4 on the season with the victory.
ALUMNI IN PRO BALL: A pair of former
Coyote players are
starting their second month of the 2007 season in the professional ranks. Jason Simontacchi,
who pitched at ACI in 1996, has rejoined the Washington Nationals and is in
their starting rotation. In his first
big-league outing since 2004, Simo went six
innings, allowing four runs on six hits in a 6-4 loss to Milwaukee. Another former Yote, Branden
Florence, is in his first full-season at AA, playing for the Reading Phillies in the Philadelphia organization. Florence was hitting .350 with two doubles, a
triple, and four RBI in ten games so far this season but has been put on the
disabled list with a biceps injury.
YOTES SWEEP CASCADE CONFERENCE
POST-SEASON AWARDS:
For the second-straight season, the Yotes swept the
top Cascade Conference awards, as the All-CCC Team was released last week. Leading the way was Coyote pitcher Jason
Roach, who was named CCC Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive
season. The senior from Sacramento, Calif.,
is 8-4 this season with a 3.72 ERA leading the league in wins and
strikeouts. Earning Player of the Year
honors was catcher, Pat Burke. The
senior from Sisters, Ore., leads the CCC with a .390 batting average and has
knocked in 33 runs. Burke, who was a
first-team selection last year, also has 14 doubles and 11 stolen bases. Skipper Shawn
Humberger was named Coach of the Year for the
third-straight season. The seventh-year
head coach has a 232-153-1 all-time record with the Coyotes, and has won the
league honor previously in 2002, 2005, and 2006. The Yotes had seven other players named to
the All-CCC team - shortstop Casey Oliver, third-baseman Bryan Champ (Boise, Idaho /
Borah HS), outfielders Luke Howarth (Boise,
Idaho / Centennial HS) and Kent
Bradshaw (Caldwell, Idaho / Tacoma
CC), starting pitchers Andrew Brock and Carson Taysom,
and relief pitcher, Joey Zubizarreta. Both
Oliver and Champ were selections on the team a year ago, while Taysom was an honorable mention selection in 2006. Two others - designated hitter Richie Snider (Sandpoint, Idaho / Porterville CC), and utility player Adam Roach (Sacramento, Calif. / New Mexico Highlands U.), were named to the
honorable mention team. The CCC also
released their first-ever Gold Glove Team, for defensive excellence, with three
Coyotes on the list - Champ, Howarth, and
Brock. Champ leads all CCC third-basemen in fielding percentage,
Howarth has not committed an error this season in the
outfield, with Brock leading the loop with five pickoffs.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE
COYOTES:
For game stories, statistics, and information regarding the ACI baseball
program, head to the official site Coyote baseball: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/baseball.htm. Up to date regional scores and standings can
also be found online at www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/baseball/stats/standings.htm.
SOFTBALL (35-10): Lady Yotes off to Canada for NAIA
Region I Tournament
COMING UP: at NAIA Region I Tournament, Surrey, B.C. (
LAST WEEK: at
ON TO
REGIONALS: The Coyotes will join three other teams host Simon Fraser, along
with Oregon Tech and Concordia at the four-team NAIA Region I Tournament,
beginning Thursday morning. It will be
held at
MORE ON THE
TOURNAMENT: Games will begin Thursday at 9:30 a.m. (PDT) with Simon Fraser
meeting Concordia, with the Yotes playing the second game of the day (at 11:30
a.m.) against Oregon Tech. The two
winners will meet in the semifinals at 4 p.m. that afternoon, while the losers
will play a knock-out game at 1:30 p.m.
The championship round will take place on Friday. It is expected that the Yotes will stay at
either the Aston Pacific Inn in the Surrey-White Rock area. Ticket prices are $5.00 per day or $8.00 for
a tournament pass (U.S. Dollars are taking at par with Canadian Dollars)
which includes a tournament program. It
is expected that all games will have Live Stats available on the Internet,
while the availability of Internet Broadcasts still up in the air.
PAST REGIONAL
CHAMPS: 1997 Pacific Lutheran, 1998 Western Washington, 1999
REGIONAL
OPPONENTS: ACI opens the tourney against Oregon Tech, whom they split
the four-game regular-season series. The
Owls (32-10-1), who look for their first NAIA World Series berth since 1997,
finished in a tie for second in the CCC standings, thanks to CCC Player of the
Year, Kelsi Haylett (.426
11 RBI, 25 SB), shortstop Amanda Doherty (.412 13 HR 43 RBI), utility player Jenni Bittle (.344 2 HR 37 RBI),
and pitcher Keri Gesner (14-2 2.19 ERA).
The two teams have met 27 previous times, with OIT holding a 23-4 series
edge. On the other side of the bracket
looms five-time defending regional champ, Simon Fraser. The Clan (16-1) are coming off their first
loss of the season, a 4-3 decision at
ZILLNER NAMED
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Right-hander Katie Zillner (
MENDIOLA
NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR: In leading ACI to their best season in school
history, skipper Al Mendiola was named CCC Coach of the Year. The second-year coach helped the Yotes
rewrite the record books this season and their first-ever CCC
championship. He joins his wife, Liz
Mendiola (ACI head volleyball coach), Brian Smith (ACI head mens soccer coach),
and Shawn Humberger (ACI baseball coach) as
recipients of CCC Coach of the Year honors this school year.
OTHER
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS: The Yotes had three others selected to the
All-CCC Team. Third-baseman Haley Butcher (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS)
earned the honor after hitting .328 with 2 HR and 25 RBI during her sophomore
season, while fellow sophomore, Stacy Smith (Draper, Utah / Juan Diego
HS) earned the nod after hitting .375 with a school-record ten home
runs and 41 RBI. The lone senior, Heather Kirtley (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) earned
All-CCC honors after earning honorable mention honors last season as she hit
.350 with 40 runs scored and 25 stolen bases in 2007. Two players were named to the honorable
mention team second-baseman Amy Rhoades (Eagle, Idaho / Dixie
State Coll.) and pitcher Brooke Judy (Kuna, Idaho /Kuna HS).
YOTES JUMP TO NO. 16 IN LAST
WEEKS NAIA POLL: With the move to No. 2
in the region last week, ACI jumped to their highest position ever in the NAIA
Top-25 Coaches Poll, sitting at No. 16 in the nation in last weeks poll. The Coyotes have been ranked in the Top-25
each of the last four weeks No. 23 on April 11, No. 24 on April 18, and No.
25 on April 25. The final national poll
of the season will be released on May 9 with the Top-13 teams in the nation expected
to be guaranteed a NAIA Womens World Series berth.
COYOTES
REMAIN NO. 2 IN THE REGION: The ACI softball team was ranked second in the
final NAIA Region I rankings, the second-straight week that the Coyotes have
been in the No. 2 position. The Yotes
trail just Simon Fraser in the poll, followed by Oregon Tech and
Concordia. It is just the tenth time in
six years that the
YOTES CLINCH SECOND WINNING SEASON: With a 35-10 record heading into their second postseason
appearance, the Lady Yotes have secured just their second winning season in the
six years of fastpitch softball. Only the 2003 team, which finished 18-17,
finished above .500. With a 16-4 mark
winning the CCC title by four games, ACI has set their highest mark above .500
ever. ACI moved to 25 games above .500
for the first time after the sweep at Eastern Oregon
HOME COOKING WAS THE TONIC: Helping the
HOME RUNS ADDING UP: The Lady Yotes hit at least one home run in 13 straight
doubleheaders this season beginning with
their sweep of Great Falls on March 16 ending April 28 at Southern
Oregon. During that time, ACI surpassed
the school record for homers in a season, and pushed the total to 29 with their
wins at Eastern Oregon.
ACI COMPLETES
SEASON SWEEP OF EASTERN OREGON: The Lady Yotes completed the regular-season with
a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Oregon, topping the Mountaineers 13-9 and 4-0
at Pioneer Park on Saturday afternoon. With the wins, the No. 16 ranked Lady
Yotes finished the Cascade Conference campaign with a 16-4 mark, four full
games over second-place Oregon Tech and Concordia. It also marked the
first time that ACI has swept the season series from Eastern in softball. In
the opener, ACI tied a school-record with 16 hits, erasing an early 3-0
Mounties lead. Haley Butcher went 3-for-5 with three RBI, including her
second home run of the season, while Dani Villyard
(Kent, Wash. / Kentlake HS) added her first homer of the
year. Stacy Smith went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the win. Game 2 was dominated by Katie Zillner, who tossed a two-hit shutout. The junior
struck out 11 batters to pick up her 17th win of the year, and added three
doubles on the day - giving her a school-record 14 for the season. Amy
Rhoades hit her sixth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth, to put
the game out of reach.
MORE
INFORMATION ON THE COYOTES: For game stories, statistics, and information
regarding the ACI softball program, head to the official site Coyote softball: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/fastpitch.htm.