Yote Notes – May 15,
2008
Mike Safford Jr. – Sports
Info. Director
ATHLETIC NEWS:
FOLLOW THE SOFTBALL TEAM ONLINE: Head
to The C of I athletic homepage at www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete
for the latest information on the Lady Yote softball team’s progress at the
NAIA Women’s World Series. Links to Live
Stats/Internet Broadcasts of their games will be posted in the Upcoming
Schedule section on the page.
RECORD NUMBER OF SCHOLAR-ATHLETES: Ben Coate
and Cris Tietsort were honored today
prior to the third-round of the NAIA Men's Golf National Championships in Plymouth, Ind.,
as two of 94 Daktronics / NAIA All-America Scholar-Athletes. Coate, from Boise,
and Tietsort, from Caldwell,
each maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or better and are at
least of junior academic status. Both were also the top-two scorers for
the Coyote golf team during the 2007-08 season.
The two honors push the Coyote athletic department to 31 national
scholar-athletes (NAIA and USCSA), a new school record - with baseball,
softball, women's golf, women's tennis, and men's and women's track and field
yet to announce their recipients. Treasure
Valley Taco Bell restaurants sponsor C of I All-America Scholar-Athletes - with
the names of all honorees listed on a sign in the J.A. Albertson
Activities Center.
SOFTBALL: NAIA
Region I Champions head to NAIA Women’s World Series, beginning play Friday
morning
LAST WEEK: at NAIA Region I Tournament, Klamath Falls, Ore. – vs. No. 14 Simon Fraser (W 2-1), vs.
No. 20 Oregon Tech (W 12-7,
W 6-3).
COMING UP: at NAIA Women’s World Series, Decatur, Ala. – Friday
vs. No. 5 Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn), 10:30 a.m.; vs. No. 9 Lubbock Christian
(Texas), 6 p.m.; Saturday vs. Friends (Kan.), 1 p.m.; vs. No. 10 Olivet
Nazarene (Ill.), 8:30 p.m. (all times Central Daylight Time)
SWEET HOME ALABAMA: With three wins against Top-20
teams at the NAIA Region I Tournament, The College of Idaho secure their
first-ever trip to the NAIA Women’s World Series, set for May 16-21 in Decatur, Ala. The Lady Yotes will be one of 20 teams vying
for a national championship along the Tennessee
River.
ABOUT THE WORLD SERIES: The softball national championship is in its 28th year, with
the tournament in Decatur for the
ninth-straight season and 11th overall.
The 20-team field has been broken up into four five-team pools, with the
top-two teams in each pool advancing to a double-elimination bracket to
determine the national champion. Of the
20 teams – four were not in the final NAIA poll – Dana (Neb.), Friends (Kan.), Walsh (Ohio),
and The C of I.
ABOUT THE FACILITY: Wilson Morgan Softball Complex is
run by the City of Decatur and has four
lighted softball fields with great vantage points for the media and fans. Although built for slowpitch, each field will
have a temporary fence at 215 feet around the perimeter of the outfield. Tickets for the event can be purchased at the
gate, for $7.00 per day or $25.00 for the entire week.
TRAVEL, HOTEL INFORMATION: The Lady Yotes will leave on a pair
of flights to Denver
on Tuesday afternoon, with the entire team making the evening trek to Birmingham, Ala. Following an 85-mile drive up I-65 to Decatur,
the team will stay at the Country Inn and Suites (for reservations, call
256-355-6800). The team will hold a
practice session on Wednesday, along with taking part in a youth softball
clinic, while attending the Opening Ceremonies at Point Mallard Water Park on
Thursday night.
CCC/REGION I HISTORY: The Lady Yotes are the fifth Cascade
Conference team to advance to the NAIA Women’s World Series – and the first in
seven years. Prior to the Coyotes, Western Oregon made a trip in 1983, with
Oregon Tech advancing in 1997. Eastern Oregon is the lone team to make two
trips – in 1999 and 2000, including a fourth-place finish in 1999, while
Concordia made the trek in 2001.
However, Northwest softball has had a rich tradition in the NAIA – as
three teams have won national titles (Pacific Lutheran in 1988 and 1991,
Western Washington in 1998, and Simon Fraser in 1999, 2003, and 2005), with
three teams earning runner-up finishes (Pacific Lutheran in 1990, Puget Sound
in 1991 and 1995, and Simon Fraser in 1998, 2001, and 2004).
POSTSEASON HISTORY: After missing out on the playoffs
during the first four seasons of intercollegiate softball, the Lady Yotes have
qualified for the postseason each of the last three years. In 2006, the Yotes made their playoff debut
and dropped two games at the now defunct Cascade Conference Tournament, but
last year, went 2-2 at their first NAIA Region I Tournament – defeating both
Oregon Tech and Concordia, before dropping a pair to eventual champion, Simon
Fraser. With their three wins at the
2008 Region I Tournament, the Coyotes are now 5-4 all-time in the playoffs.
FRIDAY OPPONENTS: The Lady Yotes open play on Friday
against Trevecca
Nazarene of Nashville, Tenn. The Trojans (50-6) are four-time defending
TransSouth Conference champions and three-time defending Region XI champs. TNU has advanced to three straight World
Series’, advancing out of pool play twice, placing fifth both times. The 2008 bunch is led by first-team
All-American Brittany Johnson (.460 6 HR 58 RBI, 36-3 0.53 ERA, 240 IP, 350 K),
who leads the nation in ERA and opponents batting average (.121). The offensive punch is paced by second-team
All-American outfielder Chelsey Bailey (.404 2 HR 23 RBI, 46 SB) and Kacey
Coonce (.497 13 HR 61 RBI). Later in the
day, C of I meets Lubbock Christian of Lubbock, Texas. The Chaparrals (51-9) hail from the difficult
Sooner Athletic Conference and are the Region VI champs – and at one point were
the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
Despite being a first-year program, LCU has not had any early jitters –
leading the nation with a .401 team batting average and pounding out 68 home
runs. Racquel Hawkins (.470 13 HR 71
RBI) is the SAC Player of the Year, with teammates Gabbey Woody (.419 14 HR 45
RBI), Amanda Parsons (.422 11 HR 57 RBI), and Ginalee Davis (.429 10 HR 52 RBI)
helping out the prolific offense. The
Chaps have a pair of quality pitchers in Marissa Gonzalez (29-7 0.96 ERA, 211.2
IP, 278 K) and Kelly Griego (17-1 2.43 ERA).
SATURDAY OPPONENTS: Day 2 of the World Series has the
Lady Yotes meeting fellow first-time attendee, Friends, of Wichita, Kan. The Falcons (34-9) are possibly the hottest
team in the event, bringing a 32-game win streak to the Tennessee River
Valley
– having swept their way through the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and
Region IV tournaments. Leading Friends
at the plate are Haley Martin (.447 1 HR 17 RBI), Casey Jensen (.395 2 HR 21
RBI), and Annie Matthews (.367 3 HR 29 RBI), while pitchers Brandi Lester (11-4
2.21 ERA) and Stephanie McCarthy (10-3 2.02 ERA) have logged the most
innings. Rounding out pool play for the
Yotes is Olivet
Nazarene, of Bourbannais, Ill. The Tigers (52-10) are the Chicagoland
Collegiate Athletic Conference champions, while also capturing the 2008 NCCAA
National Championship. ONU will be
making their fifth trip to the World Series, but their first since 2003, when
they finished third. The Tigers offense
is led by Marissa Baker (.378 1 HR 43 RBI, 23 SB), Rachelle Renfro (.370 3 HR
33 RBI), Nora Duffy (.355 8 HR 48 RBI), Caitlin Gidcumb (.339 3 HR 50 RBI), and
Rachel Comoglio (.321 8 HR 52 RBI), while pitchers Kellie Koverman (23-6 1.56
ERA) and Lauren Chessum (28-3 1.88 ERA) have pitched in nearly every game this
season.
REMAINING POOLS:
The
following are the remaining 15 teams in the NAIA Women’s World Series – broken
up into three other pools. Pool A – Cal
Baptist, Shorter (Ga.), Dickinson State (N.D.), Bethel (Ind.),
Indiana-Southeast; Pool B – Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), William Carey
(Miss.), St. Gregory’s (Okla.), Warner Southern (Fla.), Dana (Neb.); Pool C –
Mobile (Ala.), Columbia (Mo.), Oklahoma City, Simon Fraser (B.C.), Walsh (Ohio).
ZILLNER NAMED REGIONAL MVP, BUTCHER AND VILLYARD
HONORED: For
the second-straight season, C of I’s Katie Zillner (Emmett,
Idaho /
Chicago State U.) was named NAIA Region I Player and Pitcher of the
Year, released prior to Friday's play at the Region I Tournament in Klamath Falls, Ore. The senior, who was named Cascade Conference
Pitcher of the Year last week, has had a monster season, with a 17-7 record and
a region-leading 1.49 ERA. Zillner has recorded a school-record 228
strikeouts, while walking just 43 batters - and has 12 games this season with
ten or more strikeouts. At the plate, she is hitting .343 with two homers
and 24 runs scored. Two other Lady Yote
players were on the 17-player All-Region Team - third-baseman Haley Butcher
(Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) and
first-baseman Dani
Villyard (Kent,
Wash.
/ Kentlake HS). Butcher is hitting .378 with four home runs,
13 doubles, and 27 RBI – and earns All-Region honors for the second-straight
season, while Villyard is hitting .379 with eight home runs and a team-high 34
RBI.
CAREER RECORDS: A total of seven players have
cracked the career top-ten list at The C of I during the 2008 season. Katie Zillner leads the way at the plate and
in the circle – holding the school record offensively for doubles (31) and RBI
(86), ranking second in runs scored (81), No. 3 in hits (143), No. 4 in home
runs (8), No. 5 in triples (2) and at bats (409), is seventh in games started
(135) and No. 8 in games played (136), while holding the pitching school
records for wins (42), innings pitched (442.0), games started (66), complete
games (51), strikeouts (566), walks (155), and shutouts (14), while ranking No.
2 in appearances (77) and third in saves (2).
Haley Butcher finds herself in the top-ten in 12 categories – No. 3 in
runs (74) and doubles (28), No. 4 in triples (4) and RBI (69), No. 5 in home
runs (7), No. 6 in at bats (379) and hit by pitches (6), No. 7 in walks (26),
No. 8 in games started (132), and No. 9 in games played (132) and stolen bases
(14). Stacy Smith (Draper, Utah / Juan Diego
HS) holds the record for most home runs (22), ranking second in RBI
(83) and hit by pitches (15), is No. 4 in doubles (23), No. 7 in at bats (341)
and runs (63), while ranking No. 8 in hits (109). Rounding out the offensive leaders are Dani
Villayrd, who is No. 2 in home runs (9) and No. 8 in RBI (41), with Kelsi Murdock (Kuna, Idaho / Kuna HS)
No. 6 in sacrifice hits (10). Rounding
out the Yotes in the circle are Brooke Judy (Kuna, Idaho / Kuna HS),
who is No. 2 in wins (22), No. 3 in saves (2), No. 4 in strikeouts (120), No. 5
in appearances (49), innings pitched (244.1), starts (29), and complete games
(12), and No. 6 in walks (51), and Chelsey Nokleby (Olympia, Wash. / River
Ridge HS), who is No. 3 in saves (2), No. 6 in appearances (30),
starts (16), is No. 7 in walks (45), and No. 8 in strikeouts (33) and innings
pitched (69).
REGIONAL RECAP: Game 1 - C of I 2, Simon Fraser 1:
Katie Zillner threw a complete game four-hitter, striking out ten batters as
the Lady Yotes upset top-seeded and No. 14 ranked Simon Fraser in the opening
game of the 2008 NAIA Region I Tournament. It was the first win for The C
of I in 21 meetings against SFU - and avenged a pair of championship game
losses to the Clan in the 2007 regional tourney. The Yotes broke a scoreless dual in the
fourth inning, as Zillner reached on a one-out infield single, moving to
second on a Dani Villyard walk. Haley Butcher followed with an RBI double
that scooted past Clan centerfielder Chrissy Harris, allowing Zillner to
score. Villyard would score on a Stacy Smith ground out to make it
2-0. SFU would strike back, getting a
Carolyn Bell RBI single in the bottom of the frame, with the Clan loading the
bases with one out. However, Zillner got Carly Moir to hit a comebacker,
getting the second out at home plate, then coaxed a Heather Reiss fly out to
center to escape the threat - as the senior retired the final 11 batters in a
row to pick up her 15th win of the season.
Game 2 -
C of I 12, Oregon Tech 7: A seven-run fifth inning outburst broke a
3-3 tie, as the Lady Yotes handed No. 20 ranked Oregon Tech their first home
loss of the season and earned a spot in the championship game. The Lady Yotes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in
the fourth, but watched as Bess Fagan launched a three-run homer in the bottom
of the frame to tie the score. However, it would be short lived, as The C
of I batted around in the fifth - with a Caylin LePire (Meridian,
Idaho / Mountain
View HS) pinch hit
single giving the Coyotes the lead for good. Villyard added a sacrifice
fly, Butcher and Smith added RBI singles, and Kalie Kurdy (Boise, Idaho / Bishop
Kelly HS) blasted a three-run homer, part of a career-high five RBI
night, to make it 10-3. OIT would threaten
in the bottom of the fifth, scoring twice and chasing Zillner from the
circle. However, Brooke Judy would quell the tide, getting a pop up and
strikeout with the bases loaded to end the threat. Butcher, Smith, and Kurdy each had two hits,
with Nicole
Antonoplos (Boise,
Idaho
/ Idaho State U.) adding a pair of doubles. Amber Sinicrope
and Katie King each had two hits for the Owls. Game 3 – C of I 6, Oregon Tech 3: OIT,
who had to rally to defeat top-seeded Simon Fraser in an elimination game, took
a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on a Katie King sacrifice fly, but the Yotes
would come back, as Villyard hit a solo home run in the second to tie the
score. After Amber Sinicrope scored on a wild pitch to give Tech a 2-1
lead in the third, the Coyotes used the longball again in the bottom of the
inning, as Zillner hit a two-run bomb, followed by Villyard's second homer of
the day to make it 4-2. Donnae Carrell
(Caldwell, Idaho
/ Middleton HS) added a two-run shot in the fourth to make it 6-2 -
as the Coyotes set a school record with four homers on the day. Tech would not go quietly, getting a Brittany
Warren RBI single in the fifth to make it 6-3, but ran themselves out of the
inning as King was thrown out by Smith trying to from first-to-third on the
hit. OIT would bring the tying run to the plate both the sixth and
seventh, but Zillner worked out of the trouble - getting Sunny Titus to
pop out to end the threat in the sixth and Bess Fagan hit a screaming line
drive to Stephanie Stover to end the game.
Villyard went 3-for-3 for the Yotes, with Titus and Fagan each recording
two hits for OIT. Zillner picked up her 17th win of the season, striking
out eight in her 20th-complete game of the season.
INTERESTING REGIONAL NUMBERS: With
two wins in Klamath Falls against
Oregon Tech, the Lady Yotes recorded more wins in two days (2) against the Owls
on their home field, as they had in school history against OIT (1). Not only was the win against Simon Fraser the
first in 21 meetings, it marked just the second time that The C of I had held
SFU to less than six runs (lost to the Clan, 2-1, in 2006). The four hits allowed by the Yotes against
SFU was the lowest output of the season for the Clan. The tournament raised nearly $600 for the
Race For The Cure and awareness of breast cancer.
ABOUT THE COACH: Al Mendiola is
in his third year as head coach of The College of Idaho softball program and
has a 82-54 all-time record – already the all-time winningest coach in C of I
history. The native of San Diego, Calif. has helped
the Lady Yotes become a force in Northwest softball, leading The C of I to
three consecutive postseason appearances, including the 2007 Cascade Conference
championship and now the 2008 NAIA Women’s World Series. Following the season, Mendiola was honored as
CCC and NAIA Region I Coach of the Year after the Coyotes
set a school record with 37 wins, climbing to as high as No. 14 in the NAIA
poll, an advanced to the regional title game.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION: For more information on the Coyote
softball program, head to the official homepage of the Yotes – www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/fastpitch.htm.
TRACK: Yotes
win three events at CCC Championships, send nine runners to NAIA Outdoor
Championships
LAST
WEEK: at Cascade
Conference Championships (Men 6th-place, Women 4th-place)
COMING
UP: Idle until NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
LADY
YOTES SHINE AT CCC MEET: Paced by a collective group effort, The College of Idaho women’s track
team recorded their best finish in program history, placing fourth at last
weekend’s Cascade Conference Championships in Gresham, Ore. The Lady Yotes scored 76 team points – easily
the most in school history, and outdistanced Southern Oregon, Warner Pacific, and
Northwest, who each have full track and field squads. The crown jewel for the Yotes was the
5,000-meter race, where the Purple and Gold took the first four spots on the
podium – led by Stephanie Helm (Challis, Idaho / Challis HS), who became the second C of I women’s athlete
to win a track title. Helm won the race
in 17:53.78, while her teammates Katie Ball (Boise,
Idaho / Boise HS), Tegan Troutner (Lake
Fork, Idaho
/ McCall-Donnelly HS), and Molli Lee-Painter (Moscow,
Idaho / Moscow
HS) took
second, third, and fourth – scoring the Yotes a total of 29 team points in one
event. Also running well in the distance
events were Chantel Varland (Meridian, Idaho / Mountain View HS), who was fourth in the 10,000, with the Lady
Yotes taking five of the top-seven spots in the 1,500 – Helm in second with
school record an NAIA “B” mark of 4:47.25, Ball in third, Stephanie Sparks (West Jordan, Utah / Juan Diego HS) in fifth, Troutner in sixth, and Lee-Painter
in seventh (good enough for 23 team points).
CRAZY 800 RACE NETS NAIA MARK: A weird event took place in the
women’s 800 – nearly costing multiple runners NAIA marks. Both heats of the event on Saturday began at
the wrong starting line, with the runner in Lane 1 running 800 meters, while
the runner in Lane 8 running just 775 meters.
Following multiple protests from various coaches, the event was re-run
at the conclusion of the meet – however it was just 15 minutes after the
conclusion of the 4x400 relay in which most of the competitors were a part of –
with just seven athletes competing in the second finale. Jayne Saunders (Emmett,
Idaho
/ Emmett HS) was the lone C of I runner in the race, taking
fourth. However, after an appeal with
the NAIA national office, times from the first race were allowed, using a
conversion that C of I head coach, Pat McCurry, among
others, developed. Although the times
were not part of the final results, Stephanie Sparks’ converted time met a new
school record with a mark of 2:17.01 – meeting the NAIA provisional time.
MCCUTCHAN TAKES SECOND IN HEPTATHLON: Competing in just her second
heptathlon in her career, C of I sophomore Emily McCutchan (Eagle, Idaho / Cole
Valley
Christian HS) won a pair of events in placing second at the CCC
Championships. McCutchan had the top
mark in both the 200-meters and the high jump, while taking second in both the
800-meters and the long jump. Overall,
her mark of 3,766 was one of the Top-25 in the NAIA this season.
HOPPER EARNS THREE DIFFERENT COLORED
MEDALS: In his
final CCC meet of his college career, senior Tyler Hopper (Caldwell,
Idaho
/ Caldwell HS) took home a gold, silver, and bronze medal at the
event. Hopper ran a blazing 3:52.19 in
winning the 1,500-meters on Friday, then got edged out at the tape in the 800,
taking second in 1:54.81 on Saturday.
Rounding out his meet, he came back to run the 5,000-meters, taking
third in 15:08.20. Overall, Hopper
picked up 24 team points for the Yotes.
CHLEBECK WINS WILD RACE: For the second-straight year, a C
of I runner claimed the title in the 10,000-meters, as Jesse Chlebeck
(Eagan, Minn.
/ Eagan
HS) rallied in a tight race to pick up the victory. The senior battled Concordia's Tim Badley
over the final four laps, reeling in the Cavalier standout on the backstretch
of the final lap, then out-kicking him down the final stretch to win in a time
of 31:29.08 - nearly 17 seconds faster than Jacob Haas' school record set in
2006. "It was one of the best races
I've seen in a long time," said coach Pat McCurry. "For all
that Jesse has been through over the last couple years, I am so proud of the way
that he raced tonight. It was an epic battle."
MEN TAKE SIXTH: The Coyote men had a quality meet,
placing sixth overall with a team score of 47 – including the two CCC
champions. Others scoring for the Yotes
in the meet were Sam Hardy (Eagle, Idaho
/ Eagle HS), who nearly met the NAIA “B” mark in the 1,500
(3:57.40), taking third, with a pair of sixth-place finishes – one by Geoff
Williams (Boise,
Idaho / Boise HS) in
the 3,000-steeplechase and the other by Sam Finch (Redding,
Calif.
/ Foothill HS) in the long jump.
NEXT UP, NAIA MEET: A
total of nine athletes – three men and six women will compete next weekend at
the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships just outside St. Louis, Mo. The Yotes will be looking for their first
Top-5 performance at the meet, as only David Fluckiger, who placed sixth in the
3,000-steeplechase in 2006, has earned All-America honors.
NATIONAL QUALIFIERS: NAIA "A" - Tyler Hopper
(1,500-meters, 5,000-meters), Women’s 4x800 Relay, Stephanie Helm
(5,000-meters), Jesse Chlebeck (10,000-meters); NAIA "B"
- Hopper (800-meters), Chlebeck (5,000-meters), Tyler Gross (Buffalo, N.Y. / Springfield Griffith
Inst.) (Marathon),
Stephanie Sparks (800-meters), Helm (1,500-meters), Katie Ball
(5,000-meters).
FOR
MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the Coyote
track and field team, head to the official homepage of the Yotes – www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/track.htm.
BASEBALL: Season
Review
LAST WEEK: at NAIA Region I Tournament, Vancouver, B.C. – vs. British
Columbia (W 3-0), vs. No. 2 Lewis-Clark
State (L 11-0), vs. British
Columbia (W 6-2), vs. No. 2 Lewis-Clark State
(L 15-4).
COMING UP: Season Complete
YOTES SEASON ENDS IN REGION I TITLE
GAME: For the fourth-straight year, the Coyote
baseball team saw their season end in the NAIA Region I Tournament championship
game, this year losing to Lewis-Clark
State, 15-4. The Yotes have advanced to the postseason 22
years in a row and have advanced to each of the nine Region I Tournaments in
the current format, which began in 2000.
During that time, The C of I has advanced to the title game from 2000-02
and from 2005-08.
22 YEARS AND RUNNING: During that same 22 year stretch,
the Yotes have won at least 25 games in each of the seasons – winning 40 or
more games eight times, and 50 or more games twice. Since baseball returned in 1987 (after a nine
year hiatus), the Coyotes have
posted a 792-422-4 record – winning over 65-percent of their games.
UPDATING THE RECORD BOOK: Three Coyotes
finish the 2008 with their names in the career record book list. Dane McGrady (Boise, Idaho
/ Borah HS) is now No. 2
all-time in hit by pitches (48), Joey Zubizarreta (Boise, Idaho
/ Cochise CC) is No. 5 in
appearances (68), with Luke Howarth (Boise, Idaho
/ Centennial HS) sitting in the No. 9 spot on the sacrifice hits
(13) category.
MILLER NAMED TO ALL-REGION TEAM,
THREE EARN GOLD GLOVE AWARDS: Outfielder Jake
Miller (Idaho
Falls, Idaho
/ Treasure Valley CC) was named the Coyotes lone NAIA All-Region I recipient,
as the 17-man squad was announced on Saturday.
Miller, who was named last week,
Cascade Conference Player of the Year, hit .344 with three home runs and 29 RBI
on the season. Lewis-Clark State's
Kyle Greene was named Player of the Year, while L-C head coach Ed Cheff was
named Coach of the Year. Three Yotes,
however, were named to the Rawlings Region I Gold Glove Team, as first-baseman Richie Snider (Sandpoint, Idaho
/ Porterville CC), second-baseman Brad Carlsen (Reno, Nev.
/ Western Nevada CC), and third-baseman Bryan Champ (Boise, Idaho
/ Borah HS) were honored. All three players will be eligible for NAIA
Gold Glove honors to be revealed at the NAIA World Series.
YOTES SECURE FOURTH-STRAIGHT CCC
TITLE: Another
flag will be flying for the Coyote
baseball team, as the Yotes won their fourth-straight Cascade Conference
championship. In CCC-only games this
season(not counting UBC), The C of I finished with a 14-4 record, four full
games ahead of second-place Concordia.
Under head coach Shawn Humberger, the Yotes have
won CCC titles in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and now 2008.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2009: The
Yotes lose just six seniors from a roster that began the season 43 members
strong, so experience will definitely be on the Purple and Gold’s side. The squad will have to replace a pair of
starting pitchers in Pat Lyon (Bonners Ferry, Idaho / Bonners Ferry HS) and
Joey Zubizarreta, who were tied for the team lead with five victories, and must
replace first-baseman Richie Snider, who was a dependable bat in the middle of
the order. However, the entire outfield
will return, as will be bulk of the pitching staff.
NEW CONFERENCE ALIGNMENT MAY LOOM
AHEAD: With the NAIA moving from regional
qualification to direct conference qualification for postseason play in 2009,
the Coyotes and other Region I members have been in consultation with the NAIA
about a possible scheduling agreement to earn an automatic berth into the
national playoffs. Although nothing is
firm at the present time, the current format up for discussion would have the
Cascade Conference split into a North and South Division – with British Columbia, Concordia, Corban, and The C of I in
the North, with Oregon Tech and three California
independents - Bethany, Simpson, and Patten in the South. The teams would play home and home four-game
series within their division, and play one home and one road series against two
of the four teams in the other division.
A four-team conference tournament will determine the representative to
the national level. Lewis-Clark State
will still be in the scheduling pool for the North Division teams, but will not
be apart of the determination of who goes to the postseason. This new process will be up for vote by the
NAIA this summer.
REGIONAL RECAP DAY 1 – YOTES SHUTOUT
UBC: Jake Bottari (Wells,
Nev. / Western Nevada CC) tossed a four-hit shutout as The C of I opened up
the NAIA Region I Tournament with a 3-0 victory over host British Columbia last
Thursday at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver.
The win for the Coyotes was their first-ever against UBC at their home
park in the playoffs, while handing the T-Birds their first-ever home playoff
loss in ten games. Bottari was locked up in a pitchers dual with Mark
Hardy of UBC, each putting up zeros through six innings. However, the
Yotes broke through in the bottom of the seventh, with an RBI double from Alex O'Brien (Everett, Wash. / Everett CC) getting the Yotes on
the board. Dane McGrady provided the big blow, lacing a two-out, two-run
single to make it 3-0. That was all
Bottari would need, as he allowed just one hit after the third inning - as UBC
did not have a runner reach third base in the game. The junior walked two
batters and fanned four to pick up his fourth win.
REGIONAL RECAP DAY 2 – LOSS TO L-C,
YOTES ELIMINATE UBC: The Yotes earned a spot in the NAIA Region I Tournament championship
game for the fourth-straight season, coming through the loser's bracket last
Friday. Game
1 - Lewis-Clark State 11, C of I 0: The No. 2 ranked Warriors banged out 19 hits, the most
allowed by The C of I this season, recording their 11th-shutout of the
season. A five-run second inning blew the game open, with a
bases-clearing triple from Bernard Pena in the fourth made it 9-0.
It was
enough for Matt Fitts, who allowed just one hit in eight innings of work to
improve to 10-0 on the season. Fitts walked just one batter and struck
out seven. Game 2 - C of I 6, British Columbia 2: A two-run double by Brad Carlsen
broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning, leading the Yotes to their fifth win in
their last six games with the T-Birds. UBC
took a 1-0 lead in the third on a Mike Styrna double, but the Coyotes
responded, with Bryan Champ tying the score with an RBI single in the
fifth. Carlsen then gapped a ball, scoring Champ and Brett Ward (Nampa,
Idaho / Nampa
HS). The Yotes would make it 6-1 in the seventh on a Dane McGrady RBI
single and a two-run Richie Snider base knock.
It was enough for starter Pat Lyon, who rebounded from a tough outing
against the T-Birds last weekend. The senior went eight innings, allowing
just six hits, walking one, and striking out five, to pick up his fifth win of
the year.
REGIONAL RECAP DAY 3 – L-C STATE
WINS TITLE: Lewis-Clark State
continued their dominance of Northwest collegiate baseball, as the Warriors
claimed their second-straight NAIA Region I title with a 15-4 victory over The
C of I at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver,
B.C. With the victory, L-C moved on to
the Pacific Northwest/Far West Sectional, where they will host Azusa Pacific in
a best-of-three series. It was the Yotes
who took the early lead, as Bryan Champ led off the game with a double, moved
to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Brad Carlsen sacrifice fly.
Unfortunately, the lead was short lived, as after getting the opening out, C of
I starter Jason Barry allowed the next six batters to reach base (three hits,
two walks, and a hit batter), with a Mike Rivera two-run double making it 5-1. The Yotes would cut the margin to 5-2 in the
third on a Luke Howarth safety squeeze bunt, but the Warriors would put the
game out of reach with a four-run fourth inning. Carlsen had the only big blow for the
Coyotes, smacking his team-leading seventh home run in the fifth, while Rivera
went 4-for-5 with three RBI for L-C.
ABOUT THE COACH: The 2008 season marked
the 21st year in The College of Idaho baseball program for head coach Shawn Humberger,
his eighth year as Coyote
skipper. With a 30-26 mark, he helped
the Coyotes to their fourth-straight Cascade Conference championship, and a
runner-up finish at the NAIA Region I Tournament. During his tenure, Humberger has compiled a
266-183-1 record, including a third-place finish at the 2002 NAIA World
Series. He has been named CCC Baseball
Coach of the Year in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, along with earning NAIA
Region I Coach-of-the-Year and CCC Men's Coach-of-the-Year for all sports in
2002.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the Coyote
baseball program, head to the official homepage of the Yotes – www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/baseball.htm.
