Baseball | 2/3/2012 12:48:00 PM

[Complete GNAC season preview]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon baseball team has been selected by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches as the favorites to win the 2012 league title.

The Wolves received three of the five first place votes to outdistance Northwest Nazarene, the team which received the other two first place votes, 22-21 in the annual preseason poll.

Here is a look at the complete 2012 GNAC baseball season preview:

GNAC Coaches Poll             2011  Records         Pts  
1. Western Oregon (3)           37-15, 27-5 (1st)         22
2. Northwest Nazarene (2)    31-17, 16-16 (3rd)       21
3. Montana State Billings        18-29, 9-23 (4th)         12
4. Saint Martin's                      25-22, 21-11 (2nd)      11
5. Central Washington            14-32, 7-25 (5th)           9
(Note: First-place votes in parenthesis.  Points awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.)  

SPOKANE, Wash. - Unlike any team in any GNAC sport, Western Oregon has dominated baseball since the conference was founded.

The Wolves will be gunning for their 11th consecutive GNAC title (and their 12th overall) this spring and once again are the pre-season favorite. 

But, by the smallest margin in the history of the annual poll.

The Wolves received three of the five first-place votes and narrowly edged Northwest Nazarene by one point in the balloting.

Montana State Billings, which finished fourth last year, earned a No. 3 ranking in the poll, while last year's runner-ups Saint Martin's fell to fourth in the coaches' projections leaving Central Washington in fifth.

Western Oregon – on paper – appears well positioned to win yet another title as it returns six all-stars, including five 2011 first team selections.

Among that group is the best 1-2 pitching combo in the GNAC in   Kirk Lind and Grady Wood who combined for a 15-5 record last season and ranked first (1.53) and third (2.32) in earned run average.

Wood was selected the GNAC Pitcher-of-the-Year, a discussion that Lind was also involved in.

Also returning as first team all-conference selections for the Wolves are outfielder Bo Folkinga, third baseman Griff Boyd and relief pitcher Ian MacDougall.

WOU's five first team selections matches the total from the other four conference schools combined.

Northwest Nazarene has three including 2011 batting champion and GNAC Freshman of the Year Logan Parker (.383), pitcher-outfielder Sean McDonald and first baseman Derek Bettinson.

The only other two returning first team players from the 2011 season are Central Washington third baseman Glen Reser and Montana State Billings shortstop Colby Robison.

Robison finished fourth in the conference in hitting   (.335) and is one of four returnees among  last year's Top 10 behind Parker, Folkinga (.375) who finished second and McDonald who ranked eighth (.321).

Among last year's pitchers, seven of the 12 who had ERAs below 4.00 are back include Lind, McDonald (1.70), Wood,  Tommy DeBoer (2.67) and Nate O'Bryan (3.22) of Saint Martin's, Brandon Rohde (3.35) of Central Washington and Brian Hutchings (3.86) of Montana State Billings.

The conference season will begin Mar. 9-11 as Northwest Nazarene travels to Monmouth to play Western Oregon Friday and Saturday in a four-game series matching the top two poll finishers. 

Meanwhile, Montana State Billings will travel to Saint Martin's for a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday.  Central Washington gets the first week bye before opening its 32-game conference slate on Mar. 17-18 at home against Saint Martin's.

Non-conference play begins this week as Saint Martin's opens a four-game series Friday at Cal Poly Pomona and Western Oregon travels to San Diego for a four-game series with perennial West Region power UC San Diego.

Central Washington makes its season debut Wednesday, Feb. 8 at San Francisco State, while Northwest Nazarene opens its season at home with a four-game series Feb. 10-11 with Minot State.

MSU Billings starts its season a week later debuting  Feb. 17-19 with a four-game series at Colorado State – Pueblo.

TEAM CAPSULES

WESTERN OREGON  Wolves
Head Coach:   Jeremiah Robbins, Eastern Oregon '01   (212-98,  6 years)
Assistants: Kellen Walker, Miles Kizer, Mike McInerney
2011 Record:   37-15
Conference:  27-5, 1st
Returning Letter Winners:  16
Returning Starters (4 position, 2 pitcher):  Grady Wood (P, 6-2, 200, Sr., 8-4, 2.32 ERA, GNAC Pitcher-of-the-Year, 1st team GNAC, 1st team NCBWA West Region, 2nd team Daktronics & ABCA West Region); Bo Folkinga (OF, 6-4, 215, Sr., .375, 1 hr, 21 rbi, 1st team GNAC DH, HM NCBWA West Region); Griff Boyd (3B,  6-1, 185, Sr., .291, 1, hr, 27 rbi, 1st team GNAC IF); Kirk Lind (P, 6-0, 210, Sr., 7-1, 1.53 ERA, 1st team GNAC, 2nd team Daktronics West Region, HM NCBWA West Region); Josh Solemsaas (SS, 5-9, 165, So., 277, 0 hr, 8 rbi, 2nd team GNAC); AJ Royal (OF, 6-3, 210, Sr., 247, 1 hr, 13 rbi)
Key Returnees (30 or more at bats, 15 or more IP): Ian MacDougall (P, 6-0, 175, Sr., 3-0, 2.08 ERA, 1st team GNAC); Jason Wilson (P, 6-1, 200, Sr. . 3-0, 3.62 ERA); Eric Copenhagen (OF, 5-11, 160, Sr., .355, 0 hr, 9 rbi).

OUTLOOK

If there has been one constant during Western Oregon's 10-year pennant run it  has been pitching and defense. 

Especially pitching.

In each of the past 10 seasons, Western Oregon has led the GNAC in earned run average. 

Last spring they carved out a GNAC-record 2.86 ERA, breaking their own record of 3.65 set during the 2008 season.

They were even better in conference games allowing just 2.14 earned runs per nine innings.

This year shouldn't be any different.

“I like where we are on the mound,” WOU coach Jeremiah Robbins, who begins his seventh season, said  in a video interview recently on the school's web site.

“We have three starters back who have the ability to be even better than they were last year,” Robbins said.

Back from last year's starting rotation is GNAC Pitcher-of-the-Year Grady Wood who led the conference in wins with eight, strikeouts with 77 and shutouts with three and ranked third in ERA with a 2.32 figure.

As good as Wood (6-2, 200, Sr., Eugene, OR – Junction City/Chemeketa) was,  teammate Kirk Lind (6-0, 210, Sr., Vancouver, WA – Prairie) was nearly as good and he also returns this spring. 

Lind had a 7-1 record, saved five games and led the GNAC with a 1.53 ERA and received serious consideration for the Pitcher-of-the-Year award, as well.  Lind allowed only 10 runs, all earned, in 58 2/3 innings.

Jason Wilson (6-1, 200, Sr., Bend, OR – Summit/Chemeketa) also posted impressive numbers in 2011 before encountering some academic difficulties that sidelined him for most of the season.

In four starts, Wilson had a 3-0 record and a 3.62 earned run average.

The Wolves also return three other pitchers, including their best reliever Ian MacDougall (6-0, 175, Sr., Bend, OR – Summit/Columbia Basin), who joined Wood and Lind on the GNAC first-team all-conference team.

MacDougall was voted the GNAC's top reliever.  In 18 appearances he had a 3-0 record and a 2.08 ERA surrendering just 16 hits and seven  runs in 26 innings.

Travis Bradshaw (6-7, 215, Sr., Woodinville, WA – Lower Columbia), who has shown great progress according to Robbins, and Travis Shigeta (6-0, 220, Sr., Kapaa, HI – Shoreline) were also members of the Wolf staff a year ago. 

Bradshaw made seven appearances, pitching 8 1/3 innings.  Shigeta took the ball four times, pitching four innings.

JC transfers will fill out the rest of the staff, including at least three who were all-stars at the junior college level.

Alex Bailey (6-2, 215, Jr., Federal Way, WA – Decatur) was a second team all-star at Pierce CC in 2010 splitting four decisions and posting a 4.14 ERA.  He is one of three lefthanders along with MacDougall and Shigeta on the staff.

AJ Burke (6-3, 210, Jr., Hillsboro, OR – Glencoe) earned second team JC honors last season at Linn-Benton where he had a 7-4 record and a 3.18 ERA. 

Tyson Flannery (6-4, 230, Jr., Fruitland, ID) also was a second team pick   at Treasure Valley winning four of six decisions and posting a 2.24 ERA.

Outfielders Bo Folkinga (6-4, 215, Sr., Twin Falls, ID – Olympic) and AJ Royal (6-3, 210, Sr., Roseburg, OR 0 Chemeketa), third baseman Griff  Boyd (6-1, 185, Sr., Medford, OR – South Medford/Mt. Hood) and shortstop Josh Solemsaas (5-9, 165, So., Lake Stevens, WA) are returning position player starters.

Folkinga ranked second in the GNAC in hitting (.375) last season and was a first team DH all-conference selection, while Royal hit .247.

Solemsaas made just four errors and Boyd made 11 as WOU led the GNAC in fielding for the sixth consecutive year and the eighth time in 10 seasons.

Both were all-stars.  Solemsaas, who hit .277, was a second team GNAC pick, while Boyd hit ,291 and drove in 27 runs, third best on the team.

Of WOU's other returning letter winners only Eric Copenhagen (5-11, 160, Sr., Canby, OR – Mt. Hood) had more than 26 at bats.  He played in 28 games, starting 21, and batting .355. He also stole  10 bases.

Copenhagen finished the season with a six-game hitting streak batting .500 (8 of 16 during that stretch).

Among the new position players for the Wolves are two Division I players and three JC all-stars.

Shortstop Blake Miller (6-2, 195, Jr., Salem, OR – South Salem) was a two-year starter at Sacramento State, batting .293 and .289 in his freshman and sophomore seasons.  He had nine home runs and 52 RBI including, seven and 30 last season and already has 108 career hits.

Catcher Scott David (6-1, 205, Jr., Pleasanton, CA – Amador Valley) played in 32 games in two seasons at Fresno State and had five hits in 34 at bats.

From the JC ranks, Robbins added second baseman Michael Gange (5-6, 150, Jr., Marysville, WA – Pilchuck) and outfielder David Amberson (6-2, 205, Jr., Everett, WA – Cascade) from Everett CC and outfielder Matt Nylen (6-2, 205, Jr., Damascus, OR -  Clackamas) from Mt. Hood.

Gange was a first team all-star at Everett, hitting .311 and driving in 31 runs, while Amberson was a second team selection batting .323 and driving in 15.

Nylen earned second team honors at Mt. Hood in 2010 when he hit .328 and had four home runs and 24 RBI.

[For a look at capsules of other teams and the complete GNAC season preview click this link]