Yote Notes – May 1, 2008
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Mike Safford Jr. – Sports
Info. Director
msafford@collegeofidaho.edu
ATHLETIC NEWS:
COYOTE GOLF ENDS SEASON AT REGIONAL
TOURNAMENT: The
College of Idaho men's golf team wrapped up the 2008 spring season on Tuesday
with an 11th-place finish at the NAIA Region I Tournament at
SOCCER TEAM HOSTS SUCCESSFUL
JAMBOREE: The C of
I men’s and women’s soccer team partnered with Vallivue
Youth Soccer and Caldwell Optimist Youth Soccer to bring the 2008 Jamboree to Symms Field. Over
300 players, parents, and coaches from age six to ten were in attendance –
enjoying games, tug-o-war, face painting, and a pizza dinner. Well done Coyotes!!!
SOCCER ALUMNI WEEKEND: The Coyote soccer teams are hosting
their Alumni Weekend on May 2 and 3. It
starts Friday with the Alumni and Friends Golf Tournament at Warm Springs Golf
Club in
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS THREE:
C of I women's basketball coach Reagan
Rossi announced today the initial three recruits for the Class of 2008-09,
as junior college transfers Katie Strunk and Alexandria
Allen, along with incoming freshman, Morgan
Vander Esch, will by Lady Yotes this coming
season. Strunk,
a native of Shoshone, comes to the Coyotes from
BASEBALL (25-23): Region I pennant on the line this
weekend, sweep of UBC brings regional tourney to
LAST WEEK: vs. Corban
(W 8-7, W 4-2, W 19-13, W 16-1), at
COMING UP: vs.
ON THE INTERNET: All four games of the weekend series
with British Columbia will be carried live on the internet via http://tbirdbaseball.net/content/view/392/65/,
as part of UBC’s 777online media service. Mike Safford and Bryan Moses will have the
play-by-play, beginning five minutes prior to first pitch.
YOTES SWEEP CCC AND REGION I AWARDS: The C of I swept this week's
Cascade Conference and NAIA Region I baseball awards, as Pat Lyon (Bonners Ferry,
Idaho / Bonners Ferry HS) was named Pitcher of the Week, and Cody Brubaker (Post Falls, Idaho / Spokane Falls CC) was named Player of the
Week, announced by the league and regional office in Portland, Ore.
SWEEP OF UBC NETS REGIONAL IN
CALDWELL: The
playoff picture is almost complete – as the four teams have been determined for
the NAIA Region I Tournament, with Lewis-Clark State, British Columbia, The C
of I, and Concordia meeting to determine who will move on to the Region I/II
Sectional. However, the site of the
tourney is still up for grabs, with this weekend’s C of I-UBC series
determining the host. The Coyotes must
win all three counting games against the T-Birds to host the tournament, as UBC
holds the tie-break advantage (due to a 4-2 record vs. Concordia, while the
Yotes went 3-3). The regional will be
held May 8-10 at either Nat Bailey Stadium in
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 with a pair of wins over Corban on Friday. In
CCC-only games (not counting UBC), The C of I finished with a 14-4 record,
while second-place Concordia heads into the final weekend at 8-7 (with three
games left with Corban). Under head coach Shawn Humberger, the Yotes have won CCC
titles in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and now 2008.
22 YEARS AND RUNNING: The Coyotes extended a pair of
longstanding streaks last week – as the squad secured a playoff spot in the
Region I Tournament and picked up their 25th win. The will now participate in the postseason
for the 22nd-straight season, dating back to the return of baseball at The C of
I in 1987. During that same 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, the Coyotes have posted a 787-419-4 record –
winning over 65-percent of their games.
REGIONAL/NATIONAL POLL: The NAIA Region I Coaches Poll
remained the same this week, as
ON A HITTING BINGE: Over the last 17 games – beginning
with the first game of a doubleheader at
SENIOR DAY ON SUNDAY: Sunday marks the final regular
season home game for six C of I seniors.
Of the group, both Pat Lyon and Joey
Zubizarreta (
HERE COME THE CANADIANS: Rounding out the regular season in
REGION I TEAM STATISTICS: Batting Average – Lewis-Clark State
.353, College of Idaho .308, British Columbia .294, Concordia .287, Oregon Tech
.282, Corban .259; Earned Run Average – Lewis-Clark
State 3.05, College of Idaho 5.04, British Columbia 5.27, Oregon Tech 5.31,
Concordia 5.72, Corban 7.02; Fielding Percentage –
Lewis-Clark State .966, Corban .956, British Columbia
.952, Concordia .952, College of Idaho .951, Oregon Tech .940.
UPDATING THE RECORD BOOK: Three Coyotes have moved up the
ladder on the Yotes career record book list.
Dane McGrady
(Boise, Idaho / Borah HS) is tied for No. 2 all-time in hit by pitches
(47), Joey Zubizarreta is tied for No. 5 in
appearances (66), with Luke Howarth (Boise,
Idaho / Centennial HS) sitting in the No. 9 spot on the sacrifice hits (13)
category.
RECAP OF CORBAN SERIES: Saturday - Alex O'Brien (Everett, Wash. / Everett CC) hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to cap
a wild opener and Pat Lyon tossed a two-hitter in the nightcap, as the Yotes
clinched their fourth-straight Cascade Conference baseball title with 8-7 and
4-2 victories over Corban College at Simplot
Stadium. Game 1 was a see-saw affair, as
the Yotes scored three in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra
innings, then won it in the ninth. Leading 2-1 in the sixth, the Warriors
used a Josh Warner suicide squeeze to score the tying run, then
took the lead on a Kyle Taylor RBI single. The Yotes would come right
back, getting a Matt Mejia (
RECAP OF TWINBILL AT CENTRAL: The Yotes split a doubleheader
Tuesday at Central Washington, losing the opener 5-4, but winning the nightcap,
7-5, at Tomlinson Field in
ABOUT THE COACH: The 2008 season marks
the 21st year in The College of Idaho baseball program for head coach Shawn Humberger, his eighth year as Coyote skipper. Last season, he led the squad to a 31-17
mark, their third-straight Cascade Conference championship, and a runner-up finish
at the NAIA Region I Tournament. During
his tenure, Humberger has compiled a 261-180-1
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, and 2007, 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.
SOFTBALL (23-16, 12-10): Senior Day set for Saturday as Yotes
need one win to secure spot in Region I Tournament
LAST WEEK: vs. Southern Oregon (W 4-0, W 9-1),
vs. No. 19
COMING UP: vs.
FAN APPRECIATION / SENIOR DAY: Saturday afternoon, the Coyotes will
honor all of their fans – as it is Fan Appreciation Day at Symms
Field as
HOT STREAK HELPS YOTES CONTROL
PLAYOFF DESTINY: The
C of I got hot at the right time of the season, as the Lady Yotes went from
being out of the playoff picture to holding their own destiny, in the matter of
two weeks. With an eight-game win
streak, the Coyotes vaulted from a fifth-place tie into sole possession of
third-place, with just two games remaining in the regular season. One victory over
TIE-BREAK SCENARIOS: Four teams – The C of I, Corban, Eastern Oregon, and Southern Oregon, are within two
games of third-place in the loop standings and the final berth to the regional
tournament. For the Coyotes, they clinch
a playoff spot one of two ways – a victory over Eastern Oregon (as they could
finish no worse than 13-11 in league and would win a head-to-head tiebreaker
with Corban based on a 3-1 series win), or a pair of
losses to Eastern Oregon, a Corban split with
Concordia, and a Southern Oregon loss at Oregon Tech (as the Yotes would be
tied with both Corban and EOU at 12-12, with the
head-to-head tiebreak among the teams deadlocked at 6-6, it would move to
descending order, which the Yotes would win with two victories over OIT). Corban can only
move on in the playoffs in one scenario - with two wins over Concordia and two
C of I losses to Eastern, giving them a 13-11 record with everyone else at
12-12. EOU can get in three ways – but
has to sweep the Yotes. If they finish
in third-place at 12-12 with the Coyotes, they move on (3-1 series win); if
they are tied with the Coyotes and Southern Oregon (and Corban
loses two games), EOU moves on with a 6-2 record against the two teams; and if
EOU is tied with Corban, C of I, and Southern, they
move on with a 7-5 record against the squads.
REGIONAL/NATIONAL POLL: The second-to-last regional poll was
released on Monday and saw some shake-ups.
Simon Fraser is precariously on top, despite losing two games to
unranked
ZILLNER NABS ANOTHER WEEKLY HONOR: For the second-straight week, Katie Zillner was
named Cascade Conference and NAIA Region I Pitcher of the Week. The senior went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and one
save in 15 innings of work against
WIN STREAK: The Coyotes have rattled off eight
wins in a row at a crucial time – recording their third-longest win streak
ever. Last season, the squad posted a
nine-game win streak from March 23-April 6, then following a loss, ran off a
school record ten wins in a row from April 7 to April 27.
WHO’S HOT DURING THE EIGHT-GAME
STRETCH: The bats
have come alive during the eight-game win streak, as the Yotes have hit .307 as
a team. Leading the way offensively is
Katie Zillner, who has 13 hits in 27 at bats,
including six runs scored, a homer, and four RBI. Also swinging hot sticks are Haley Butcher (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS), who is hitting .400 with five runs
scored, a homer, and six RBI in the eight games, and Donnae Carrell (Caldwell, Idaho / Middleton HS), who is hitting .333 with six runs
scored, a homer, and two RBI. Zillner has been nearly unhittable
in the circle, going 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 46 strikeouts, with Brooke Judy (Kuna, Idaho / Kuna HS) rebounding from a tough mid-season to go
3-0 with a 0.46 ERA over the last two weeks, as the Yotes staff boasts a
miniscule 0.27 ERA.
ABOUT EASTERN OREGON: No strangers to Symms
Field,
CONFERENCE TEAM NUMBERS: Batting Average –
YOTES SWEEP ASIDE SOUTHERN OREGON: Katie Zillner
tossed her third-straight shutout in the opener and had the walk-off RBI single
in Game 2, as The C of I extended their win streak to six games with key 4-0
and 9-1 wins over Southern Oregon at Symms
Field. Game 1
was dominated by Zillner, who allowed just three hits
and struck out 11 to pick up her 12th win of the season. Donnae Carrell got things
going for the Yotes, leading the game off with a home run, with Zillner making it 2-0 with an RBI single in
the third. Brooke Judy capped the scoring a two-run single in the
fourth. Game 2 saw the Raiders
take an early 1-0 lead on a C of I error, but the Yotes would bounce
back. A two-out infield single with the bases loaded by Haley Butcher in
the third tied the score, with Stacy
Smith (Draper, Utah / Juan Diego HS) following
with a two-run single to make it 3-1. An
inning late, the Yotes would blow the game open, as Sammy Dodge (Mountain Home,
Idaho / Mountain Home HS) cracked a pinch hit three-run homer, followed by
a long ball by Zillner, and a Kalie Kurdy (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) RBI single to make it 8-1.
In the fifth, Zillner bounded a ball through the box
to score Stephanie Stover (
COYOTES SWEEP TECH FOR FIRST TIME: The Lady Yotes completed a perfect
weekend their first-ever doubleheader sweep of No. 19 ranked Oregon Tech,
winning 2-1 and 5-2 at Symms Field. With the wins, the Lady Yotes extended their
win streak to a season-high eight games, while ending OIT's
win streak at 16. Game 1 was a pitchers dual between
all-stars Katie Zillner and Jenni
Bittle, as both hurlers put goose-eggs on the board
through five innings. Tech got on the board first, as Amber Sinicrope reached on an error and scored on a two-out
Brittany Warren double - one of only four hits allowed by Zillner.
The Yotes would come right back, loading the bases with one out, with Stacy
Smith singling home the tying run. The C
of I would win it in the bottom of the seventh, as Donnae
Carrell singled and moved to second on a two-out Zillner base hit. Dani Villyard (
ABOUT THE COACH: Al Mendiola is in his third year as head coach of The College of Idaho softball
program and has a 78-53 all-time record – already the all-time winningest coach in C of I history. The native of
FOR
MORE INFORMATION: For more information on the Coyote
softball program, head to the official homepage of the Lady Yotes – www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/fastpitch.htm.
TRACK: Relay team qualifies for nationals,
team takes weekend off to prepare for CCC Championships
LAST WEEK: at
Northwest Nazarene Twilight
COMING UP: Idle
until Cascade Conference Championships,
WOMEN’S RELAY HEADED TO NATIONALS: The College of Idaho will send their first-ever
relay team to the NAIA Outdoor Championships, as the women’s 4x800 squad met
the NAIA “A” standard on Friday afternoon at the Northwest Nazarene
Twilight. The team of Jayne Saunders (Emmett,
Idaho / Emmett HS), Stephanie Sparks (West Jordan, Utah / Juan Diego HS), Ashley Miller (Vida,
Ore. / McKenzie HS), and Molli Lee-Painter (Moscow,
Idaho / Moscow HS) completed the eight-lap event in 9:30.43 – breaking the school record
by 17 seconds, and meeting the national mark by over five-seconds. They are currently ranked No. 10 in the NAIA.
HOPPER, FINCH WIN RACES: Two Yotes won events at the Twilight, as Tyler Hopper (
1,500 RECORD BROKE TWICE: On the ladies side, the Coyote record in the
1,500-meters went down not once, but twice in a matter of seconds on
Saturday. Katie Ball (Boise,
Idaho / Boise HS) placed third in the event with a record time of 4:47.00 – nearly
meeting the NAIA “B” standard, while right behind her was Stephanie Helm (Challis,
Idaho / Challis HS), who also eclipsed the former record with a time of 4:47.31.
QUALITY ALL-AROUND MEET: The meet allowed all of the healthy runners on
the Yotes squad to compete – and compete they
did. As a team, the Coyote men
established 21 seasonal best times, while the Lady Yotes set 24 season bests.
A WEEK OF TRAINING: The Coyotes will not compete this week,
focusing on training for the upcoming Cascade Conference Championships, set for
next Thursday-Saturday at
TOP-FIVE MARKS IN CASCADE CONFERENCE: Three different C of I
men and four different C of I women rank in the top-five among Cascade
Conference athletes in the latest top-time report, released Tuesday by the
league office - including four No. 1 rankings. On the men's side, Tyler
Hopper holds the top times in the CCC in both the 800 (1:53.49) and 1,500
(3:53.82), while having the second-fastest time in the 5,000 (14:50.15). Jesse Chlebeck
(
NATIONAL QUALIFIERS: NAIA "A" - Tyler
Hopper (1,500-meters (No. 7 in NAIA), 5,000-meters (No. 8 in NAIA)), Women’s
4x800 Relay (No. 10 in NAIA), Stephanie Helm (5,000-meters (No. 14 in NAIA));
NAIA "B" - Tyler Hopper (800-meters (No. 18 in NAIA)), Jesse Chlebeck (5,000-meters (No. 21 in NAIA)), Tyler Gross (Buffalo, N.Y. / Springfield Griffith Inst.) (No. 80 in NAIA), Katie
Ball (5,000-meters (No. 36 in NAIA)).
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.