COMING UP: at Verizon Wireless-NAIA West Grouping Tournament, Hilken Stadium (Portland, Ore.) – Wednesday vs. Corban/Concordia winner, 6 p.m. (PT); Thursday-Friday vs. TBA.

LAST WEEK: at Corban (L 12-7, W 13-4, L 3-2, L 7-3)

LIVE STATS/VIDEO: All games at the Verizon Wireless-NAIA West Grouping Tournament will have Live Video and Live Stats available for those not making the trip to Portland.  The Live Video, with play-by-play from Menlo SID Dylan Vazanno, can be view at http://nmtv.live-s.cdn.bitgravity.com:1935/content:cdn-live/nmtv/live/w/..., while the Live Stats feed can be accessed via Concordia’s website at http://www.sidearmstats.com/cuportland/baseball/scoreboard.aspx.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: The five-team, double-elimination tournament will determine the NAIA West Grouping’s automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament.  Wednesday: Game 1 – No. 4 Corban vs. No. 5 Concordia, Noon (PT); Game 2 – No. 2 British Columbia vs. No. 3 Menlo, 3 p.m. (PT); Game 3 – Winner 1 vs. No. 1 College of Idaho, 6 p.m. (PT).  Thursday: Game 4 – Loser 1 vs. Loser 2 (loser out), 9 a.m. (PT); Game 5 – Winner 2 vs. Winner 3, Noon (PT); Game 6 – Loser 3 vs. Winner 4 (loser out), 3 p.m. (PT); Game 7 – Loser 5 vs. Winner 6 (loser out); 6 p.m. (PT).  Friday – Winner 5 vs. Winner 7, Noon (PT); Winner 8 vs. Loser 8 (if necessary), 3 p.m. (PT)

COYOTES LOCK UP NO. 1 SEED: With their win over Corban on Saturday, and a British Columbia loss to Patten, the Coyotes secured the No. 1 seed to the Verizon Wireless NAIA West Grouping Tournament.  It marks the first time since the 2002 season that The C of I has earned the top seed (the Yotes hosted the 2007 NAIA West Tournament, but Lewis-Clark State was the No. 1 seed).

HISTORY AT “REGIONALS”: It marks the third time that the Yotes have been the No. 1 seed in the tournament (2000, 2002, 2012) – with The C of I winning the title in both 2000 and 2002.  The squad has finished as the runners-up in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2011 – with the 2011 team the first to force an if-necessary championship game.  The C of I has failed to win a game at the NAIA West Tournament only once (in 2009).

ABOUT THE TEAMS: For the second-straight year, the NAIA West Tournament will have five teams – No. 2 British Columbia, No. 3 Menlo, No. 4 Corban, and No. 5 Concordia.  UBC (27-17), the three-time defending tourney champions, have the lowest team ERA (3.62), thanks to top starters David Otterman (5-3 2.87 ERA) and Danny Britton-Foster (4-4 2.62 ERA).  The T-Birds are led offensively by OF Blake Carruthers (.359 4 HR 32 RBI) and 3B Andrew Firth (.353 4 HR 46 RBI).  Menlo (25-24) returns to the tournament for the second-straight season, led by offensive standout Collin Forgey (.317 7 HR 42 RBI).  The Oaks have a solid pitching staff, led by lefty Joey Webb (5-1 2.56 ERA) and righty Derek Martinez (2-7 5.83 ERA).  Corban (28-21) makes their first postseason appearance since 2003, coming off their first-ever series win over the Yotes.  The tandem of Steven Blum (.370 8 HR 37 RBI) and Colby Sokol (.358 7 HR 51 RBI) lead the Warriors, with pitchers Justin White (8-4 3.51 ERA) and Tyler Doornink (6-3 4.50 ERA) leading the staff.  Host Concordia (25-26) needed a series win over Oregon Tech last weekend to join the party and have a solid chance thanks to their bevy of arms – including Larsen Kohler (6-4 3.13 ERA), Jason Snodgrass (6-4 4.14 ERA), and Mitch Ludkte (1-5 4.87 ERA, 84K).  The Cavs offense is paced by 3B Mike Cero (.379 2 HR 29 RBI) and 1B Sean Myrom (.244 6 HR 27 RBI).  The C of I had a 3-1 record against both Menlo and UBC, split four games with Concordia, and lost 3-of-4 to Corban.

PLAYOFF STREAK EXTENDED TO 26 YEARS: For the 26th-straight season and the 30th time overall, the Coyotes have clinched a spot in the postseason. - compiling an all-time playoff mark of 85-60.  Prior to the reinstatement of the program in 1987, the Yotes qualified for the postseason in 1940, 1948, 1949, and 1966 – winning the Northwest Conference title in both 1948 and 1949.  Over the last 25 years, the Coyotes have advanced out of the conference/region tournaments in 1994, 1996-00, 2002, and 2010, making four trips to the NAIA World Series – including the 1998 national championship season, while advancing to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round in 2010.

12TH 35-WIN SEASON IN 22 YEARS: With their Game 1 victory on Sunday, the Yotes recorded their 35th win of the season, the 12th time in the last 22 years that The C of I has recorded 35-or-more wins in a season.  The Coyotes have won at least 25 games each season since 1987, recorded 30-wins 19 times, while they have recorded 40-or-more wins eight times, and have won 50-or-more games twice.

NATIONAL POLL: The Coyotes lost ground in the latest NAIA Top-25 Coaches’ Poll, falling from the No. 21 spot to the second team listed in the “others’ receiving votes” category.  The C of I received 91 voter points – 90 points fewer than last week.  LSU-Shreveport sits in the No. 1 spot, followed by Oklahoma City, Faulkner (Ala.), Azusa Pacific (Calif.), and Lee (Tenn.), with Lewis-Clark State ranked No. 8 – as the Top-7 teams in the ranking remained the same.  A final poll will be released on Sunday to determine those teams which will receive at-large berths to the NAIA National Championships.

NAIA OPENING ROUND SITES DETERMINED: If the Coyotes advance to the 45-team NAIA National Championships Opening Round, the nine campus sites were released last week – with only one on the West Coast.  Azusa, Calif. (Azusa Pacific) is the lone site west of the Rocky Mountains, with the remaining sites including – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Oklahoma City), Hutchinson, Kan. (Tabor), Marion, Ind. (Mid-Central College Conf.), Paducah, Ky. (Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau), Kingsport, Tenn. (Appalachian Athletic Conf.), Cleveland, Tenn. (Lee), Daytona Beach, Fla. (Embry-Riddle), and Hardeeville, S.C. (USC-Beaufort).  Each site will have five teams playing for a spot in the NAIA World Series, to be held in Lewiston, May 25-June 1.

STRUGGLES IN SALEM: The Yotes saw their NAIA Tournament at-large chances take a big hit with a series loss at Corban – including a Saturday doubleheader sweep, where the team went 1-for-12 with runners’ in scoring position.  Though Izaac Garsez (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) had a big series, going 11-for-19 with five doubles – key members of the line-up struggled, as Jarel Lewis (Boise, Idaho / Capital HS) went 1-for-17, Jesse Dodd (Eagle, Idaho / Loyola Marymount U.) went 2-for-13, and Todd Griffiths (Meridian, Idaho / Lower Columbia CC) went 0-for-11.  The Coyote bullpen, which was outstanding against Menlo, struggled vs. Corban, recording an 11.17 ERA.

RECORD BOOK: Four Coyotes have cracked the single-season record book, as Izaac Garsez has set a new record for triples (12), Michael Garza (Othello, Wash. / Columbia Basin CC) is No. 3 in appearances (26), Todd Griffiths is No. 7 in saves (5), and Jarel Lewis is No. 7 in doubles (21).  Izaac Garsez ranks among the Top-10 all-time in eight categories – No. 1 in triples (30), No. 4 in stolen bases (67), No. 5 in runs scored (174), home runs (25), and RBI (146), No. 7 in doubles (43), No. 8 in hits (218), and No. 9 in at bats (624).  Chad Yeggy (Boise, Idaho / Centennial HS) is No. 3 all-time in saves (10), No. 4 in appearances (73), No. 6 in innings pitched (218.1), No. 8 in strikeouts (133), and No. 9 in wins (17), with Jarel Lewis No. 9 in hit-by-pitches (31) and No. 11 in doubles (38), while Todd Griffiths is No. 7 in saves (7).

GAME RECAP: CORBAN 12, C OF I 7; C OF I 13, CORBAN 4: The C of I secured the top-seed and opening round bye in the 2012 NAIA West Grouping Tournament with a doubleheader split against Corban University, Friday afternoon at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore. The Coyotes committed a season-high six errors in a 12-7 Game 1 loss, but rebounded for a 13-4 victory in the late game.  Zach Fabricius (Fruitland, Idaho / Treasure Valley CC) got the Yotes on the board in the third inning of Game 1, lining a solo homer to right, with Izaac Garsez adding an RBI single to make it 2-0. The Warriors responded with one swing, as Steven Blum hit a two-out, grand slam homer in the bottom of the frame, giving Corban the lead for good.  A Garsez RBI double in the sixth got the Yotes within 4-3, but Corban batted around for six runs in the seventh – taking advantage of four C of I errors in the inning, to put the game away. Back-to-back homers in the ninth – a three-run shot by Brett Ward (Nampa, Idaho / Nampa HS) and a solo homer by Tyler Andazola (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) made the score look respectable.  Justin White went five-plus innings for the win, striking out three, with Colby Sokol going 4-for-5 and Blum driving in five in the win. Garsez went 3-for-5, with Andazola and Fabricius each recording two hits for the Coyotes.  The Yotes plated two in the first inning of the nightcap, as Tanner Hodges (Sisters, Ore. / Mount Hood CC) singled in a run – scoring during an inning ending run-down. Corban tied the game with single runs in each of the first two innings, as Sokol doubled in a run in the first, with a balk scoring a run in the second.  In the sixth, the Coyotes took advantage of a pair of Corban errors, with Jesse Dodd providing the big blow with a three-run homer. Ward added an RBI single to push the lead to 6-2. The C of I would extend the lead to 10-3 in the seventh on a Hodges RBI double, a Jeffrey Harris (Caldwell, Idaho / Wenatchee Valley CC) RBI single, and a two-run Ward single – cruising to the win.  Taylor Nicholson (Emmett, Idaho / Columbia Basin CC) gutted through seven innings, allowing three runs, while striking out six. Garsez went 5-for-6 with three runs scored, Hodges went 3-for-5 with four RBI, with Ward going 2-for-4 with three RBI in the win – part of a 19-hit attack.

GAME RECAP: CORBAN 3, C OF I 2; CORBAN 7, C OF I 3:  The C of I hit 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position on the afternoon, as Corban University stunned the Coyotes, sweeping Saturday’s doubleheader at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore.  The Warriors hung on to win Game 1, 3-2, while using a three-run seventh inning rally to win Game 2, 7-3. The Coyotes took a 1-0 lead in Game 1, as Izaac Garsez rapped a third inning RBI double, but Marc Gallegos doubled home a run in the bottom half to tie the score. Steven Blum led off the fourth with a solo homer to give the hosts a 2-1 lead, before the Coyotes drew even in the sixth, when Garsez singled, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch.  Corban would take the lead for good on a Cody Atkinson homer in the sixth and hung on, needing a double play ball in the eighth to escape a first and third jam, then getting Garsez to fly out to the wall in center with the bases loaded to end the game.  Zach Fabricius took the loss, tossing a complete game five hitter, striking out two, with Garsez and Tanner Hodges each logging two hits. Blum had two hits in the win for the Warriors.  Anthony Wirkkala was the story of Game 2, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning for the Warriors. His offense staked him out to a 3-0 lead in the third – taking advantage of an error, a walk, a hit batter, a wild pitch, and a passed ball.   Hodges broke up the no-no bid with a two-run single in the sixth to get The C of I within 3-2, but the Warriors got a two-run Atkinson single and a Blum RBI single in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-2.  Wirkkala fanned six to pick up the victory, with Blum going 2-for-3 in the win. Garsez hit his team-leading sixth home run in the eighth inning for the Coyotes, who were limited to three hits in the loss.

ABOUT THE COACH: The 2012 season marks the 25th year in The C of I baseball program for head coach Shawn Humberger, his 12th year as Coyote skipper. Last season, he led the squad to a 33-21 mark and advanced to the title game of the NAIA West Qualifying Tournament. During his tenure, Humberger has compiled a 401-256-1 record, including a third-place finish at the 2002 NAIA World Series and a trip to the 2010 NAIA National Tournament. He has been named CCC Coach of the Year on six different occasions (2002, 2005, 2006. 2007, 2008, and 2009), along with earning NAIA Region I Coach-of-the-Year and CCC Men's Coach-of-the-Year for all sports in 2002. A native of Twin Falls, Idaho, Humberger graduated from Twin Falls High, played for the College of Southern Idaho for two seasons, and played at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas for one year. In 1984, Humberger was part of the CSI national championship junior-college team. In addition, he was named to the 1985 Junior College All-America team. Humberger, a 1989 C of I graduate, also served as the facilities coordinator for the J.A. Albertson Activities Center for ten years, is a physical education instructor at the College, and coached Nampa's American Legion baseball program for eight seasons.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on The C of I baseball program, head to the official homepage of the Coyotes, http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/baseball.