Coming Up – Montana State Billings (March 16, Lacey, Washington, 12:00 p.m.), Montana State Billings (March 17, Lacey, Washington, 12:00 p.m.).

COMPLETE MEDIA GUIDE
 
Live Stats/Live Video – Live Stats SMU's Baseball Games will be available with links found on smusaints.com. Live Video is TBA on a game-to-game basis. Live stats and video will be produced by the Host School.
 
Social Media – Follow the Saints on Twitter (@SMUSaintsBSB) and follow SMU Athletics on Facebook (Saint Martin's Saints), Twitter (SMUAthletics), Instagram (saints_athletics) and YouTube (SMU Athletics).
 
Saints Win First Conference Game In Series With NNU - In the home opener, powered a strong pitching performance by Clark Streby, followed by timely hits by Kahi Hirano and Austin Feist, the Saints pulled off a 4-1 victory over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.
 
Concluding the finale of the second game from Saturday, and the doubleheader scheduled for Monday, the Saints dropped all three games against Northwest Nazarene, despite strong pitching performances and offensive outings by Steven Sordahl and Austin Feist.
 
Mickey Walker Turning Into An Ace – Coming off his best outing of the season, a no-decision against Northwest Nazarene, where he threw 8.0 innings, allowing one run on five hits, one walk and eight strike outs. Walker has established himself as not only one of the best pitchers for the Saints, but also in the conference. Walker ranks in the top-ten in ERA (5.09), Opposing Batting Average (.221), Innings Pitched (23.0), Strikeouts (24), Runs Allowed (14), Earned Runs Allowed (12), and Walk Allowed (7) in the GNAC.
 
Tanner Inouye Off To Lights Out Start – In 15.2 innings of work, Inouye has been the most efficient pitcher for Saint Martin's, holding an ERA of 2.30. If Inouye qualified for the ERA leaderboard, he would be ranked third in the GNAC.
 
Steven Sordahl Picking Up Right Where He Left Off – As one of the best hitters for the Saints in 2017, Sordahl once again leads SMU in batting average. Hitting .311 in 16 games, Sordahl is tenth in conference with 19 hits, with one double, one triple, six RBIs, seven walks and four stolen bases.
 
Austin Feist Slugging The Ball – After a slow start, the All-Conference selection from 2017 found his grove in GNAC play. Feist enters the week hitting .295, while slugging .508, which ranks ninth best in GNAC. Feist's five double not only are tied for the team lead but rank tied for fourth in GNAC. Feist also leads the team with two home runs, eight RBIs.
 
Ryan Colvin On Base Machine – In 16 games for SMU this season, Colvin is second in the GNAC in walks at 12. Along with his 12 hits this season, Colvin boasts a .424 on-base percentage, good enough for eighth best in GNAC.
 
Projected Starting Rotation:
RHP Clark Streby (1-2, 5.52 ERA)
RHP Mickey Walker (0-3, 5.09 ERA)
RHP Ryan Dorney (0-2, 5.21 ERA)
LHP Aaron Shoup (0-4, 8.78 ERA)
 
Projected Lineup:
C Jake Leonard (.147 AVG, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
1B Ryan Colvin (.267 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI)
2B Kahi Hirano (.208 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI)
3B Micah McNicoll (.214 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
SS Ryne Oshiro (.246 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI)
LF Hunter Holmason (.167 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI)
CF Steven Sordahl (.311 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
RF Austin Feist (.295 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
DH Colton Peha (.258 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI)
 
2018 Season Preview – The Saints finished the 2017 season with a record of 17-30 overall, the most since 2014, and a 14-25 record in the GNAC, but return a strong core of players, with five All-Conference leading the way.
 
Aaron Shoup, developed into the leader of the Saints' pitching staff over the course of the 2017 season, leading in the team in innings pitched (76.1), games started (12), Wins (5), and strike outs (60). He dominated down the stretch, winning his last three games against Montana State Billings, Western Oregon and Concordia University over a combined 23 innings, 19 strike outs and only allowed six earned runs. Steven Sordahl joined Shoup as a member of the second team All-Conference after a terrific start to his Saints' career. The junior played in 42 games and lead the team with 55 hits while ranking second in: batting average (.348), runs scored (25), on-base percentage (.426), walks (19) and stolen bases (7) while maintaining a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
Returning selections to the Honorable Mention team were Adam Eskil and Austin Feist. Eskil finished the season hitting .292 at the plate with a team leading eight home runs and 37 RBIs, while pitching in 12 games and recording 19 strike outs in only 12.1 innings of work with three saves. Feist was the only Saint to play in all 47 games and managed a .306 batting average with four home runs and 36 RBIs to go along with a team leading 15 doubles and 10 stolen bases.
 
Pitcher Luke Hare earned All-Conference honors after a lights out 1.96 ERA in 36.2 innings of work. He appeared in 19 games and collected four saves while only allowing eight earned runs all season. Hare had a stretch of 12 straight innings without an earned run allowed. Hare was also named to the 2018 NCBWA Preseason West Region second team.
 
Other key impact returns include Shaan Kothari, the sophomore infielder, who hit .288 last season in 44 games, while making 39 starts. Kothari scored 14 runs and drove in nine runs. Looking to build on their 2017 campaigns, Micah McNicoll, Trevor Hirano, and Ryan Colvin could get significant innings for Saint Martin's.
 
Adding to the Saints depth on the mound is Ryan Dorney, who despite a 1-6 record, posted the lowest ERA of any starter at 3.73 in 50.2 innings of work. Making 10 starts and one relief appearance, Dorney struck out 38 batters and went the distance twice.  Benjamin Wadowski and Zach Stevenson will be important arms for the Saints, after combining for 56.1 innings last season and going 3-0 and 0-2 respectively. The 2016 GNAC Freshman of the Year, Mickey Walker, looks to rebound from a 6.51 ERA sophomore year. Walker still managed 44 strike outs in 47 innings pitched, both marks second and third best on the team.
 
New additions to the program include 14 high school players and four transfers. 10 of the 14 new players come from out of state, with a majority heading over from the islands of Hawaii.
 
The GNAC looks to remain one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA D-II level with Western Oregon favored to claim yet another conference title. The reigning GNAC Champion, Western Oregon, captured the top spot once again with two first place votes and 30 total points. Following closely behind was Montana State Billings with one first place and 29 points. Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene each received one first place and finished third and fourth in the poll at 24 and 21 points respectively. Rounding out the conference is Saint Martin's and Concordia at 16 and 7 points respectively.
 
Preseason Coaches' Poll -
Pos.     Team (1st Place Votes)                       Overall Record GNAC Record(Place)   Pts.
1.         Western Oregon (2)                           31-15               27-12 (1st)                  30
2.         Montana State Billings (1)                  23-29               21-19 (T3rd)                29
3.         Central Washington (1)                      30-23               23-17 (2nd)                 24
4.         Northwest Nazarene (1)                     25-29               21-19 (T3rd)                21
5.         Saint Martin's                                     17-30               14-25 (5th)                  16
6.         Concordia                                           15-35               13-27 (6th)                  7