University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, April 29
Grand Forks, N.D.
4:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
North Dakota
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Photo by: Rob Trubia
@NCBearsBaseball Head to North Dakota for Key WAC Series
4/27/2016 9:14:00 AM | Baseball
UNC and UND baseball face off in a key three-game WAC series this weekend in Grand Forks
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado baseball faces a key series this weekend when they head to Grand Forks, North Dakota to take on the University of North Dakota in a Western Athletic Conference series. The Bears and Fighting Hawks are in the middle of a close race to make it to the last spot for the WAC Tournament in Mesa, Arizona over the last week of May.
Series Notes: Northern Colorado | North Dakota | WAC
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado went 1-3 last weekend, falling to Air Force in a midweek game, before dropping a series against Chicago State 2-1 over the weekend.
• The Bears continued their winning ways on Sundays, improving to 6-1 on the day with a 7-5 win.
• UNC's offense struggled in the first two games combining for just 12 hits, before topping that mark in Sunday's game with 13.
• The series against Chicago State last weekend saw a couple of streaks end for UNC. Dean Lawson was one of the only Bears to get a hit in the first two games of the series, but not on Sunday seeing his nine-game hit streak end. Nick Tanner's five game multi-hit streak came to an end on Friday.
• Although Tanner's streak ended on Friday, he was a key factor in UNC's win on Sunday, going 3-for-5 at the plate scoring a run, while also earning the win on the mound with a six inning performance allowing two runs on four hits, striking out three and walking two.
• Northern Colorado is looking for 2016 to be better against North Dakota compared to 2015. UND swept the Bears in Greeley last season, and defeated the Bears in the first round of the WAC Tournament last season.
• Dan Reese had a solid weekend against the Chicago State going 5-for-11 with four runs scored and one driven in.
Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota started the 2016 season with an impressive series win over nationally ranked USC. Since that series, the Fighting Hawks have struggled, coming into the weekend with a 7-24 record and 3-12 WAC record.
Both North Dakota's pitching and hitting are in the middle of the WAC. At the plate UND is hitting .247 on the season and have a 5.85 ERA on the mound, both one spot ahead of UNC. The team has struggled generating offense scoring just 117 runs this season.
The Fighting Hawks have two players hitting over .300 in Miles Lewis (.369) and Ben Reznicek (.306). The duo have also combined for 30 of the teams 107 RBIs.
UND has a solid Friday night pitcher in Zach Muckenhirn. The left handed junior has a 3.06 ERA this season and 65-11 strikeout to walk ratio. His most impressive performance of the season came on opening day when he threw a complete game three hit shutout against Southern California with nine strikeouts.
North Dakota is competing in its final season as a program after the University announced the discontinuation of the program in early April.
Series History vs the Fighting Hawks
Northern Colorado and North Dakota have been playing against each other dating back to the NCC days in the early 90s. The Bears just barly trail the Fighting Hawks in the series 20-22. UND has had the upper hand on UNC recently, winning the last seven games. In Grand Forks the Bears are just 5-9.
Tanner on a Terror
Nick Tanner has been terrorizing opposing pitchers since WAC play started in the middle of March. In WAC play he is hitting an outstanding slash line of .404/.462/.532. For the season he has UNC's second highest batting average at .322.
Lean Dean Hitting Machine
Since being inserted into the regular starting line-up for UNC on March 16th, Dean Lawson has been a tough out for opposing pitchers. He is hitting .340 since then and also drawn seven walks. He saw his hit streak end at nine last weekend, but is hitting .316 in WAC games.
Back In the Race To Mesa
Northern Colorado missed out on a good opportunity to distance itself between the others fighting for the last spot in the WAC Tournament last weekend. UNC has another big series this weekend, with a change to improve its three game lead over North Dakota. The Bears are currently 1.5 games in front of CSU Bakersfield for the final spot and also took the season series 2-0.
The Bears made their first trip to Mesa last season, and are looking to make a return trip this year. The WAC Tournament will take place over May 25-29 at Hohokam Stadium, the spring training home of the Oakland A's.
Bash Brothers
Northern Colorado has a pair of bash brothers in Cole Maltese and Brett Minnick. Minnick hit his sixth home run over the weekend to stay tied for the league high with Chicago State's Andy Gertonson. Maltese is just one behind Minnick, having taken off during conference play with four.
Turning Two
UNC has been doing a good job of turning two this season. The Bears have turned 27 double plays already for the year. Those 27 double plays rank 179th overall in the NCAA and fifth in the WAC. Utah Valley leads the conference with 36 turned.
Yamane The Man
• After missing last year with a foot injury, Ryan Yamane has a few different UNC baseball records within reach. Coming into the 2016 season, he ranks fifth in at bats with 660, tied for12th in hits (190) and now first in walks with 130. Yamane broke the program record of 121 set by Jeff Cheek who played from 1972-75.
• Having taken over the all-time walks record, Yamane is one of the top players to draw a walk this season. His 26 walks are the third most in the WAC. He ranks second in the conference averaging 0.81 a game.
Every Day is Sunday
UNC may want to name every day of the week Sunday since that is when the Bears have won most of their games this year. The team is 6-1 on Sunday and 3-24 on any other day of the week.
Swiping Bags
The Bears have been on the run this year, swiping 36 bags so far this season, to rank 159th nationally and sixth in the WAC. Jake Ek leads the team with seven stolen bases.
All Arms In
Tuesday's have become staff days for the Bears. Northern Colorado used seven pitchers again last week at Air Force, and eight this week against the Falcons
• Against Regis, the team used seven different pitchers who would hold the Rangers hitless for the first 5 1/3 innings
• Playing five straight games can take a toll on any pitching staff, for UNC they were able to string together a staff in the final game at Kansas. The Bears used eight pitchers lasting no more than 1 2/3 of an inning, but did see positive results. The eight pitchers combined to allow just two runs and six hits in the game.
Moving Runners Over
Senior Jake Ek moved plenty of runners over last year, finishing the season ranked 18th in the nation with 15 sacrifice bunts. Those 15 bunts helped produce nine runs for the team last year.
Following the Bears
Want to stay up to date with all things UNC Bears Baseball? There are a few ways to. During all games this year there will be live updates on the team's Twitter account @NCBearsBaseball.
For home games there will also be a live audio broadcast of the games as well as live stats on UNCBears.com.
Bear in the Big Leagues
For the first time since 2011, Northern Colorado had a player drafted in the MLB draft last June. Senior Jensen Park was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 32nd round. Before Park was drafted last year, Jarod Berggren was the last UNC player drafted back in 2011.
Making the Grades
Northern Colorado baseball had seven players earn their spot on the WAC All-Academic team for 2015. Those players were Allen Cook, Caleb Kirkman, Cole Maltese, Dan Reese, Reyn Sugai, Zach Heath and Brett Minnick.
Home Grown
Head coach Carl Iwasaki and his staff have done a good job of keeping the home grown talent in the state. 12 of UNC's 32 hail from the Centennial State.
Hawaii Five-0
The Bears have a little Hawaii flair to them with three players plus head coach Carl Iwasaki and assistant Kaiona Correa all coming to Colorado from the islands.
Exceeding Expectations
For the second straight year, UNC is going to have to exceed the expectations of the WAC coaches to make another trip to Mesa, Arizona for the conference tournament. The WAC coaches pegged the Bears to finish eighth in the conference. Last year the team was picked to finish last in the preseason, but exceed those expectations finishing 7th to make it to Mesa.
New Faces
Northern Colorado not only welcomes 11 new players to this year's ball club, but also has some new faces on the coaching staff. Kai Correa moves up to a full-time assistant after being a volunteer last season, while Coach Iwa also brought on Jordan Stouffer and Dan Siegfried as a volunteer assistant and director of baseball operations.
Class of 2017
While the 2016 season is just about to kick-off, UNC has already secured eight new players for its 2017 team. During the early signing period this year the Bears have brought in three infielders, a catchers, two utility players and a pair of right handed pitchers.
On Deck
UNC returns home for the first time in two weeks when they take on Grand Canyon for a weekend WAC series. The three-game series starts on Friday, May 6.
In the Hole
The Bears take on Air Force for the final time this season down in Colorado Springs on Tuesday, May 10th. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
Around the Den
Track and field head to the prestigious Drake Relays this weekend, starting on Thursday.
Men's golf looks to make its way to the NCAA Tournament with the Big Sky Championships this weekend.
Softball hosts its final home series of the season against Southern Utah, as they look to stay in contention for the Big Sky Tournament.
| Series Information |
| April 29 at 4:00 pm | RHP Corey Nakakura (3-2, 3.96 ERA) vs LHP Zach Muckenhirn (2-6, 3.06 ERA) | Video | Live Stats |
| April 30 at 2:00 pm | RHP Alex Werbach (0-3, 6.44 ERA) vs LHP Brett DeGagne' (1-6, 4.53 ERA) | Live Stats |
| May 1 at 11:00 am | LHP Nick Tanner (2-1, 3.69 ERA) vs RHP McKay McNair (1-4, 4.73 ERA) | Live Stats |
Series Notes: Northern Colorado | North Dakota | WAC
Leading Off
• Northern Colorado went 1-3 last weekend, falling to Air Force in a midweek game, before dropping a series against Chicago State 2-1 over the weekend.
• The Bears continued their winning ways on Sundays, improving to 6-1 on the day with a 7-5 win.
• UNC's offense struggled in the first two games combining for just 12 hits, before topping that mark in Sunday's game with 13.
• The series against Chicago State last weekend saw a couple of streaks end for UNC. Dean Lawson was one of the only Bears to get a hit in the first two games of the series, but not on Sunday seeing his nine-game hit streak end. Nick Tanner's five game multi-hit streak came to an end on Friday.
• Although Tanner's streak ended on Friday, he was a key factor in UNC's win on Sunday, going 3-for-5 at the plate scoring a run, while also earning the win on the mound with a six inning performance allowing two runs on four hits, striking out three and walking two.
• Northern Colorado is looking for 2016 to be better against North Dakota compared to 2015. UND swept the Bears in Greeley last season, and defeated the Bears in the first round of the WAC Tournament last season.
• Dan Reese had a solid weekend against the Chicago State going 5-for-11 with four runs scored and one driven in.
Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota started the 2016 season with an impressive series win over nationally ranked USC. Since that series, the Fighting Hawks have struggled, coming into the weekend with a 7-24 record and 3-12 WAC record.
Both North Dakota's pitching and hitting are in the middle of the WAC. At the plate UND is hitting .247 on the season and have a 5.85 ERA on the mound, both one spot ahead of UNC. The team has struggled generating offense scoring just 117 runs this season.
The Fighting Hawks have two players hitting over .300 in Miles Lewis (.369) and Ben Reznicek (.306). The duo have also combined for 30 of the teams 107 RBIs.
UND has a solid Friday night pitcher in Zach Muckenhirn. The left handed junior has a 3.06 ERA this season and 65-11 strikeout to walk ratio. His most impressive performance of the season came on opening day when he threw a complete game three hit shutout against Southern California with nine strikeouts.
North Dakota is competing in its final season as a program after the University announced the discontinuation of the program in early April.
Series History vs the Fighting Hawks
Northern Colorado and North Dakota have been playing against each other dating back to the NCC days in the early 90s. The Bears just barly trail the Fighting Hawks in the series 20-22. UND has had the upper hand on UNC recently, winning the last seven games. In Grand Forks the Bears are just 5-9.
Tanner on a Terror
Nick Tanner has been terrorizing opposing pitchers since WAC play started in the middle of March. In WAC play he is hitting an outstanding slash line of .404/.462/.532. For the season he has UNC's second highest batting average at .322.
Lean Dean Hitting Machine
Since being inserted into the regular starting line-up for UNC on March 16th, Dean Lawson has been a tough out for opposing pitchers. He is hitting .340 since then and also drawn seven walks. He saw his hit streak end at nine last weekend, but is hitting .316 in WAC games.
Back In the Race To Mesa
Northern Colorado missed out on a good opportunity to distance itself between the others fighting for the last spot in the WAC Tournament last weekend. UNC has another big series this weekend, with a change to improve its three game lead over North Dakota. The Bears are currently 1.5 games in front of CSU Bakersfield for the final spot and also took the season series 2-0.
The Bears made their first trip to Mesa last season, and are looking to make a return trip this year. The WAC Tournament will take place over May 25-29 at Hohokam Stadium, the spring training home of the Oakland A's.
Bash Brothers
Northern Colorado has a pair of bash brothers in Cole Maltese and Brett Minnick. Minnick hit his sixth home run over the weekend to stay tied for the league high with Chicago State's Andy Gertonson. Maltese is just one behind Minnick, having taken off during conference play with four.
Turning Two
UNC has been doing a good job of turning two this season. The Bears have turned 27 double plays already for the year. Those 27 double plays rank 179th overall in the NCAA and fifth in the WAC. Utah Valley leads the conference with 36 turned.
Yamane The Man
• After missing last year with a foot injury, Ryan Yamane has a few different UNC baseball records within reach. Coming into the 2016 season, he ranks fifth in at bats with 660, tied for12th in hits (190) and now first in walks with 130. Yamane broke the program record of 121 set by Jeff Cheek who played from 1972-75.
• Having taken over the all-time walks record, Yamane is one of the top players to draw a walk this season. His 26 walks are the third most in the WAC. He ranks second in the conference averaging 0.81 a game.
Every Day is Sunday
UNC may want to name every day of the week Sunday since that is when the Bears have won most of their games this year. The team is 6-1 on Sunday and 3-24 on any other day of the week.
Swiping Bags
The Bears have been on the run this year, swiping 36 bags so far this season, to rank 159th nationally and sixth in the WAC. Jake Ek leads the team with seven stolen bases.
All Arms In
Tuesday's have become staff days for the Bears. Northern Colorado used seven pitchers again last week at Air Force, and eight this week against the Falcons
• Against Regis, the team used seven different pitchers who would hold the Rangers hitless for the first 5 1/3 innings
• Playing five straight games can take a toll on any pitching staff, for UNC they were able to string together a staff in the final game at Kansas. The Bears used eight pitchers lasting no more than 1 2/3 of an inning, but did see positive results. The eight pitchers combined to allow just two runs and six hits in the game.
Moving Runners Over
Senior Jake Ek moved plenty of runners over last year, finishing the season ranked 18th in the nation with 15 sacrifice bunts. Those 15 bunts helped produce nine runs for the team last year.
Following the Bears
Want to stay up to date with all things UNC Bears Baseball? There are a few ways to. During all games this year there will be live updates on the team's Twitter account @NCBearsBaseball.
For home games there will also be a live audio broadcast of the games as well as live stats on UNCBears.com.
Bear in the Big Leagues
For the first time since 2011, Northern Colorado had a player drafted in the MLB draft last June. Senior Jensen Park was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 32nd round. Before Park was drafted last year, Jarod Berggren was the last UNC player drafted back in 2011.
Making the Grades
Northern Colorado baseball had seven players earn their spot on the WAC All-Academic team for 2015. Those players were Allen Cook, Caleb Kirkman, Cole Maltese, Dan Reese, Reyn Sugai, Zach Heath and Brett Minnick.
Home Grown
Head coach Carl Iwasaki and his staff have done a good job of keeping the home grown talent in the state. 12 of UNC's 32 hail from the Centennial State.
Hawaii Five-0
The Bears have a little Hawaii flair to them with three players plus head coach Carl Iwasaki and assistant Kaiona Correa all coming to Colorado from the islands.
Exceeding Expectations
For the second straight year, UNC is going to have to exceed the expectations of the WAC coaches to make another trip to Mesa, Arizona for the conference tournament. The WAC coaches pegged the Bears to finish eighth in the conference. Last year the team was picked to finish last in the preseason, but exceed those expectations finishing 7th to make it to Mesa.
New Faces
Northern Colorado not only welcomes 11 new players to this year's ball club, but also has some new faces on the coaching staff. Kai Correa moves up to a full-time assistant after being a volunteer last season, while Coach Iwa also brought on Jordan Stouffer and Dan Siegfried as a volunteer assistant and director of baseball operations.
Class of 2017
While the 2016 season is just about to kick-off, UNC has already secured eight new players for its 2017 team. During the early signing period this year the Bears have brought in three infielders, a catchers, two utility players and a pair of right handed pitchers.
On Deck
UNC returns home for the first time in two weeks when they take on Grand Canyon for a weekend WAC series. The three-game series starts on Friday, May 6.
In the Hole
The Bears take on Air Force for the final time this season down in Colorado Springs on Tuesday, May 10th. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
Around the Den
Track and field head to the prestigious Drake Relays this weekend, starting on Thursday.
Men's golf looks to make its way to the NCAA Tournament with the Big Sky Championships this weekend.
Softball hosts its final home series of the season against Southern Utah, as they look to stay in contention for the Big Sky Tournament.
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