COMING UP: Season Complete

LAST WEEK: at AVISTA-NAIA World Series – vs. Point Park (L 7-3), vs. Lewis-Clark State (L 5-1)

SEASON COMES TO CLOSE AT WORLD SERIES: An outstanding season for The C of I came to a close at the AVISTA-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, as the Yotes dropped a pair of games to finish in a tie for ninth overall in the tournament.  It marked the first time since the 2002 season that the Coyotes advanced to the World Series, but the team hit just .224 in their two losses to Point Park and Lewis-Clark State, hitting just 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

RECAP OF WORLD SERIES WEEKEND: It was four long days for the Coyotes in the Lewis-Clark Valley, as the team not only played a pair of games, but also had obligations in the community.  Arriving on Wednesday afternoon, the team went through a workout on Thursday morning, took head shots for television broadcasts, and visited Asotin Elementary School, where the team had lunch, signed autographs, and played with the children at lunch.  Thursday afternoon, the team assisted with the annual World Series Kids Camp, followed by attending the Pre-Tournament Banquet.  Following their two losses, the Yotes returned to the Treasure Valley last Sunday morning.

SERIES RECAP: The last two teams to lose a World Series game, No. 4 seeded Tennessee Wesleyan and No. 9 seeded Rogers State, met in the title game on Friday night, with TWC rallying to defeat RSU, 10-6.  The Bulldogs set a new World Series record with 17 home runs during the tournament, including seven by Jordan Guida, to win their first national championship.  Top-seeded LSU-Shreveport finished third, followed by Lee (Tenn.).

GRIFFITHS SHINES AGAIN ON BIG STAGE: Continuing his stellar postseason, Todd Griffiths (Meridian, Idaho / Lower Columbia CC) closed out his collegiate career with an outstanding performance at the World Series, tossing a complete game against host Lewis-Clark State.  Despite the loss, Griffiths allowed just one earned run, without allowing a walk, and striking out five.  In six postseason appearances, Griffiths went 2-1 with a 1.23 ERA and two saves, allowing just five earned runs in 36 innings of work – including three complete games.

GARSEZ EARNS LOFTY HONOR FROM NAIA: Honored for a great season and a phenomenal career, Izaac Garsez (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) became just the second player in C of I history to earn first-team NAIA All-America honors, announced following the World Series.  The senior hit .389 on the year, with eight home runs and 53 RBI, leading the NAIA with a school-record 12 triples.  He also added 20 doubles, 29 stolen bases, and an NAIA West leading 93 hits and 75 runs scored.  Garsez joins Levi Lacey, who earned first-team honors in 1997 and 1998, and the only recipients in program history.

LEWIS NAMED ALL-AMERICAN: Also earning All-America honors in 2012 was catcher Jarel Lewis (Boise, Idaho / Capital HS), who was named to the honorable mention team.  The junior hit .370 with six home runs and 57 RBI, leading the NAIA West with 24 doubles – the second-highest total in program history.

RANKED NO. 10 IN FINAL POLL: Fueled off their trip to the AVISTA-NAIA World Series, The C of I climbed to No. 10 in the postseason NAIA Top-25 Coaches’ Poll, released this afternoon by the national office in Kansas City, Mo.  The Yotes received their highest national ranking since the 2002 season – well ahead of their No. 22 ranking earlier this season. It was the second-highest jump in the poll, as national runners-up Rogers State (Okla.) climbed from No. 23 to No. 2. The C of I received 326 voter points in the final poll.  NAIA champion Tennessee Wesleyan earned the top spot, followed by Rogers State, LSU-Shreveport, Lee (Tenn.), and Oklahoma City. C of I opponents Point Park (No. 6), Lewis-Clark State (No. 8), Azusa Pacific (No. 11), and Shorter (No. 24) were also in the Top-25.

PLAYOFF STREAK EXTENDED TO 26 YEARS: For the 26th-straight season and the 30th time overall, the Coyotes advanced to the postseason. - compiling an all-time playoff mark of 90-65. 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 26 years, the Coyotes have advanced out of the conference/region tournaments in 1994, 1996-00, 2002, 2010, and 2012, making fiver trips to the NAIA World Series – including the 1998 national championship season.

40-WIN SEASON: With their win over Menlo at the NAIA Opening Round Azusa site, the Yotes recorded their first 40-win season since 2002 and their ninth 40-win season in program history.  The Coyotes have won at least 25 games in each season since baseball was reinstated at the College in 1987, while they have won 30-or-more games 19 times, 35-or more games 12 times, and 50-or-more games twice.

LOOKING BACK AT THE SEASON: The Coyotes had an outstanding season – qualifying for their second NAIA National Tournament in the last three seasons, while advancing to the AVISTA-NAIA World Series for the first time since 2002.  The Yotes recorded a 24-6 record at home – including key series wins against rivals British Columbia and Menlo, securing the No. 1 seed in the NAIA West Tournament for the first time since 2002.  Despite losing a 5-4 decision to Menlo in the NAIA West title game, the Yotes advanced to the NAIA Tournament Opening Round, upsetting No. 1 seed Azusa Pacific in the final, 7-6, to head to the World Series.  Izaac Garsez was honored as NAIA West Player of the Year, while Tanner Hodges (Sisters, Ore. / Mount Hood CC), Jarel Lewis, and Taylor Nicholson (Emmett, Idaho / Columbia Basin CC) each earned All-NAIA West honors.

SINGLE-GAME RECORDS: Only one single-game record was broke this season, as the Coyotes recorded 11 stolen bases in a game vs. Simpson, breaking the old record of 10.  Two records were tied, as Tyler Andazola (Caldwell, Idaho / Caldwell HS) stole four bases against Patten, while Izaac Garsez recorded two triples in a game for the third time in his career.

SEASON RECORDS: Seven Coyotes cracked the single-season Top-10 list in 2012, as Izaac Garsez established the lone new single-season record, logging 12 triples.  Garsez also ranks No. 3 on the single-season list for runs scored (75) and stolen base attempts (37), is No. 4 in hits (93), No. 5 in at bats, No. 8 in stolen bases (29), and No. 10 in doubles (20).  Todd Griffiths tied the school record with seven saves this season, along with No. 8 in appearances (25), while fellow reliever Michael Garza (Othello, Wash. / Columbia Basin CC) ranked second in appearances (28).  Jarel Lewis ranked No. 2 in doubles (24) and No. 9 in hit-by-pitches (16), Tanner Hodges was No. 6 in RBI (67), Chad Yeggy (Boise, Idaho / Centennial HS) ranked No. 6 in starts (15) and No. 7 in innings pitched (102.0), with Jeffrey Harris (Caldwell, Idaho / Wenatchee Valley CC) No. 9 in stolen base attempts (34) and No. 10 in stolen bases (28).  Three team records were broken during the 2012 season, as the team established marks for stolen base attempts (191), strikeouts by hitters (357), and innings pitched (543.1), while the team tied the school record for triples (22).

CAREER RECORDS: Four Coyotes cracked the career Top-10 list in 2012 – led by Izaac Garsez, who holds the school record for triples (30), ranking No. 4 in hits (240), runs scored (181), RBI (151), and stolen bases (69), No. 5 in home runs (27), No. 6 in both at bats (665) and doubles (45), No. 8 in games started (173), and No. 10 in games played (187) and batting average (.361).  Chad Yeggy finishes his career ranking No. 3 in saves (10), No. 4 in appearances (75), No. 5 in innings pitched (232.1), and No. 7 in both strikeouts (140) and wins (19).  Todd Griffiths ranks No. 6 all-time in saves (9), No. 8 in shutouts (3), and No. 10 in ERA (3.01), while Jarel Lewis is No. 9 in hit-by-pitches (33), No. 10 in doubles (41), No. 11 in at bats (555), and No. 12 in hits (181) – going into his senior season.

GAME RECAP – POINT PARK 7, C OF I 3: Ossie Alfonzo drove in three runs, including the go-ahead RBI single in a five-run fifth inning rally, as Point Park University defeated The C of I, 7-3, in Game 1 of the 56th Annual AVISTA-NAIA World Series at Harris Field.  The Pioneers rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to win their first Series game since the 1987 season.  Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, Dillon Sauers and Tom Birko singled to open the inning – with Lee Bodnar lining a one-out base hit to even the score at 3-3. Alfonzo followed with an RBI single to give PPU the lead for good. Steve Dujka drove in a run with a squeeze bunt, with Tom Pasinski capping the scoring with a two-run single to center.  Sean Clark worked out of trouble all afternoon, going seven-plus innings, working around five hits by pitches and five hits to pick up his eighth win of the year. Horatio Acosta tossed two shutout innings to close out the victory.  The Coyotes jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third, as Todd Griffiths was plunked and Brett Ward (Nampa, Idaho / Nampa HS) singled to start the inning. Zach Fabricius (Fruitland, Idaho / Treasure Valley CC) followed with an RBI single to get the Yotes on the board. Izaac Garsez doubled home Ward, with Tanner Hodges lifting a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3-0. PPU got out the jam as Jeffrey Harris hit a laser to Birko at second, who turned a bang-bang double play end the threat.  The Pennsylvania nine got a pair back in the bottom of the third on a two-out seeing-eye RBI single from Alfonzo.  Taylor Nicholson went five innings for the Yotes, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits, striking out four.  Alfonzo went 2-for-4 with three RBI with Don McDuffie and Sauers adding two hits for PPU – part of the Pioneers 11-hit attack. Jesse Dodd and Ward had two hits in the loss.

GAME RECAP – LEWIS-CLARK STATE 5, C OF I 1: A three-run home run by Braxton Miller in the first inning held up for Lewis-Clark State, as the Warriors knocked off The C of I, 5-1, in an elimination game at the 56th Annual AVISTA-NAIA World Series, before a crowd of 2,530 at Harris Field.  L-C struck for four unearned runs in the opening frame – all with two outs. Alfonso Casillas hit a hot-shot through first-baseman Jesse Dodd (Eagle, Idaho / Loyola Marymount U.), ruled an error, to score Kyle Knigge, with Miller following with his tenth homer of the season to push the Warriors lead to 4-0.  Casillas came through again in the third, singling home Knigge, who led off the frame with a double, to make it 5-0.  The Yotes stranded a pair of runners in the third, but broke through against LCSC starter Anthony Armanino in the fifth, as Andrew Sewell (Lakewood, Wash. / Pierce CC) was hit by a pitch and Izaac Garsez walked. Jarel Lewis followed with an RBI single to score Sewell – but Tanner Hodges grounded out to end the threat.  Todd Griffiths kept The C of I in the game, getting 12 ground ball outs – inducing four double play balls to end the fourth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. The senior did not walk a man and struck out five.  The C of I had a final chance in the ninth, as singles from Jeffrey Harris and Tyler Andazola, followed by a walk to Brett Ward, loaded the bases with one out. However, Armanino struck out Zach Fabricius and got Garsez to fly out to deep left-center to end the game.  Lewis and Griffiths each had two hits for the Yotes.

ABOUT THE COACH: The 2012 season marked the 25th year in The C of I baseball program for head coach Shawn Humberger, his 12th year as Coyote skipper. In 2011, 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 406-261-1 record, including a third-place finish at the 2002 NAIA World Series and a trip to the 2010 and 2012 NAIA National Tournaments. 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.