GAME 45/46/47

QUICK HITS INSIDE THE SERIES QUOTING NEISIUS: “The guys are very confident right Overall FRU leads 34-19 now. We hope they continue to play well.” Home 21-9 Away 13-10 LAST TIME OUT: Junior shortstop Elerie Rivera Neutral Site 0-0 swiped a school-record six bases Tuesday (Apr. 27) Current Streak FRU, 1W at as the Falcons downed the Central Christian College Longest FRU Winning Streak OTTAWA FRIENDS UNIV. Tigers 7-2 at West Side Athletic Field for their fifth Longest OU Winning Streak • April 30 - May 2, 2021 • straight win. Wes Kuzminsky hit a solo shot off the Last Meeting 3/17/19 Twitter: @FriendsFalcons scoreboard in the first inning. LAST MEETING: Down to their last strike, Emilio Instagram: @FriendsFalcons Navarro deposited a three-run homer to left field Facebook: @FriendsFalcons CAREER WEEK: Shortstop Elerie Rivera had a series to propel the Falcons to a 5-3 victory over Ottawa RECORD BREAKDOWN to remember last weekend at Saint Mary. Rivera hit in the rubber game of the series on Mar. 17, 2019. Overall Conf. Overall Conf. three triples in as many games, including two triples in The Falcons routed Ottawa 15-5 in game one of the 30-16 20-10 Overall 25-19 12-18 the second game which is the most by any Falcon since series, but the Braves rebounded to pull out a 5-4 19-9 12-6 Home 17-9 4-8 accurate records began in 2006. He now has a team- win in the second game. 10-6 8-4 Away 8-10 8-10 1-1 0-0 Neutral — — high six triples on the season while the rest of the team — — Rank — — has six combined. He is tops on the team with a batting 2021 SCHEDULE STATISTICAL COMPARISON average of 0.394. Date Opponent Location Time Jan. 22 Peru State West Side Athletic Field W, 5-4 Rank* Total Category Total Rank* Rivera continued his career week with a school-record six stolen bases in Tuesday’s non-conference tilt Jan. 23 Peru State West Side Athletic Field W, 2-1 7-32 Win/Loss 25-19 Jan. 23 Peru State West Side Athletic Field W, 4-1 3rd .325 Batting Average .272 8th against Central Christian. His 26 stolen bases is the Jan. 29 TX A&M-Texarkana West Side Athletic Field W, 3-2 5th 86 Doubles 72 9th third most in a season by a Falcon since 2006 when Jan. 29 TX A&M-Texarkana West Side Athletic Field W, 5-1 8th 9 Triples 12 T-5th accurate records began. Jan. 30 TX A&M-Texarkana West Side Athletic Field L, 6-25 3rd 64 Home Runs 24 10th Feb. 5 St. Mary West Side Athletic Field W, 12-2 4th 314 RBIs 198 10th VS OTTAWA: Since the Falcons have not squared off Feb. 5 St. Mary West Side Athletic Field W, 15-0 3rd .525 Slugging % .397 9th against the Braves since 2019, very few Falcons have Feb. 23 Mid America Christian West Side Athletic Field W, 5-0 Feb. 23 Mid America Christian West Side Athletic Field W, 4-2 181 Walks 178 seen them. Pitcher Austin Eggleston had a career- 301 Strikeouts 302 Feb. 27 Mid America Nazarene West Side Athletic Field W, 1-0 3rd 95 Stolen Bases 53 10th high 12 strikeouts against the Braves in 2019, while Feb. 27 Mid America Nazarene West Side Athletic Field W, 2-0 T-6th .955 Fielding % .978 1st Jordan Burnett is 4-for-11 in his career against Mar. 2 at Oklahoma Wesleyan* Bartlesville, Okla. L, 4-10 Mar. 5 at Wesleyan* Salina, Kan L, 3-6 3rd 4.86 ERA 5.17 4th Ottawa with an RBI, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Burnett Mar. 6 at Kansas Wesleyan* Salina, Kan L,3-6 5 Shutouts 5 also has one stolen base in his only attempt against Mar. 6 at Kansas Wesleyan* Salina, Kan W, 8-4 5 Saves 11 the Braves. Mar. 9 Southwestern* West Side Athletic Field W, 8-2 5th 3.5 Walks/Game 3.5 T-3rd Mar. 11 Bethany* West Side Athletic Field W, 4-3 (16) T-3rd 8.3 Strikeouts/Game 6.7 9th FIELDING %: The Falcons have been elite in the field Mar. 14 Bethany* West Side Athletic Field W, 1-0 * Out of 12 KCAC Teams this season as they rank third in the NAIA in fielding Mar. 15 Bethany* West Side Athletic Field L, 6-7 percentage with .978. Mar. 16 USAO West Side Athletic Field W, 6-2 Mar. 19 at York* York, Neb. L, 3-4 CLOSER: Senior pitcher Austin Eggleston has been Mar. 20 at York* York, Neb. L, 3-13 Mar. 20 at York* York, Neb. L, 3-6 a force for the Falcons this season. Eggleston is tied Mar. 23 Oklahoma Wesleyan* West Side Athletic Field L, 0-10 for third in the country in saves with nine. He also has Mar. 26 at Sterling* Sterling, Kan. L, 1-2 Overall Conf. Home Away Neutral 28 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched, and is holding Mar. 27 at Sterling* Sterling, Kan. W, 3-1 Oklahoma Wesleyan 40-6 25-4 22-0 17-5 1-1 Mar. 27 at Sterling* Sterling, Kan. W, 4-3 Tabor 31-15 22-8 6-5 20-4 5-6 his opponents to a batting average of .167. Mar. 30 at Southwestern* Winfield, Kan. L, 4-8 McPherson 33-9 21-9 23-4 10-5 0-0 Apr. 2 Tabor* West Side Athletic Field L, 0-11 Kansas Wesleyan 29-15 21-9 13-8 14-3 2-4 POLLS: The Falcons were picked to finish sixth in the Apr. 3 Tabor* West Side Athletic Field L, 5-7 Ottawa 30-16 20-10 19-9 10-6 1-1 KCAC Coaches Poll. Prior to last season’s cancellation, Apr. 3 Tabor* West Side Athletic Field L, 3-7 Bethany 25-19 16-14 15-10 8-9 2-0 the Falcons enjoyed a nine-game winning streak during Apr. 9 at Avila* Kansas City, Mo. L, 4-9 Southwestern 18-20 13-16 10-7 6-13 2-0 the campaign. Apr. 10 at Avila* Kansas City, Mo. W, 7-4 Friends 25-19 12-18 17-9 8-10 0-0 Apr. 10 at Avila* Kansas City, Mo. W, 10-4 Sterling 20-26 10-20 12-12 8-14 0-0 Apr. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan* Bartlesville, Okla. L, 1-11 York 13-30 9-21 5-7 7-19 1-4 UP NEXT: Apr. 17 McPherson* West Side Athletic Field L, 3-8 Saint Mary 7-39 6-24 3-16 4-18 0-5 Apr. 17 McPherson* West Side Athletic Field L, 0-17 Avila 6-33 4-26 5-16 1-14 0-3 Apr. 18 McPherson* West Side Athletic Field L, 2-9 Apr. 20 Southwestern* West Side Athletic Field W, 11-1 Apr. 23 at St. Mary* Leavenworth, Kan. W, 16-6 Apr. 24 at St. Mary* Leavenworth, Kan. W, 12-2 Apr. 24 at St. Mary* Leavenworth, Kan. W, 17-2 Apr. 27 Central Christian West Side Athletic Field W, 7-2 Athletics is excited to have Home2 Apr. 30 Ottawa* West Side Athletic Field 3:00 PM Suites by Hilton as an official sponsor this season! Apr. 30 Ottawa* West Side Athletic Field Game 2 For more on what they can offer, click HERE to visit May 2 Ottawa* West Side Athletic Field 12:00 PM their official webpage. * KCAC Conference Game (25-19, 12-18 KCAC) Head Coach: Adam Neisius (Dakota Wesleyan) Assistant Coaches: Mark Carvalho, Scot Palmer, Brian Yount Record at Friends: 260-283-1 (11th Season) / Career: 522-491-1 (18th Season) Graduate Assistants: Zach Biery, Joe Pedlowe No. Name Pos. HT YR Hometown COACHING BIO 2 JOHN COOGAN OF 5'9 SO Broomfield, Colo. Adam Neisus is entering his 11th season as head coach of the Friends University 3 SAM ENGBERG OF 5'8 FR Kearney, Neb. Baseball program and his 23rd season overall in College Baseball, including 18 of 4 ELERIE RIVERA INF 5'9 JR Patillas, Puerto Rico those as head coach. 6 DAKOTA HARDING INF 5'10 FR Wichita, Kan. 7 PRYCE ANDERSON CAT 6'1 SO Coffeyville, Kan. A highlight of his tenure came in the 2017 campaign, when Neisus guided the 8 BRANDON FARNSWORTH RHP 6'1 SO Canon City, Colo. Falcons to a 33-22 overall record, their most wins since the 2013-14 season. The 9 ERIC ESCAMILLA INF 5'10 JR Wichita, Kan. season included a berth in the NAIA National Tournament, where they went 2-2 in 10 MAX COYT INF 6'0 JR Hanford, Calif. the Oklahoma City Region for their first NAIA Opening Round victory since the format 11 AUSTIN EGGLESTON RHP 5'11 SR Arlington, Texas began in 2009. 12 CARSON SMITH UTIL 5'10 SO Larned, Kan. Then in 2018, Neisius’s Falcons equaled that mark with another 33 win season, while 13 BRETT WESTERMAN INF 5'7 SO Derby, Kan. winning their most KCAC games (22) in at least the past 15 years. 14 JORDAN BURNETT INF 5'8 SR Goodyear, Ariz. 15 VaLENNY DE LOS SANTOS RHP 6'1 JR Santo Domingo, DR Under Coach Neisius, thirteen players have moved on to play professionally, including 16 KYLE LANDWEHR RHP 6'1 FR Wichita, Kan. the Oakland A’s 2006 13th round draft pick, Ben Jukich. 17 RICKY HOCKETT RHP/OF 5'10 JR Plainville, Kan. Neisius came to the Falcons from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where 18 MALIK MELVIN INF 5'8 SO Tampa, Fla. he was assistant head baseball coach for two years. As an assistant, Neisius was 19 JACOB COOGAN RHP 5'11 SO Broomfield, Colo. responsible for offensive and defensive aspects along with recruiting. 20 JOSH DRURY 1B 5'10 SR Pueblo, Colo. 21 WES KUZMINSKY OF 6'2 JR Salkum, Wash. Prior to University of Nebraska at Kearney, Neisius spent 10 seasons from 1998 22 JARED BERARD INF 5'9 JR Tacoma, Wash. - 2008 as head baseball coach at Dakota Wesleyan University. During his 10 year 23 TREVEN VELTMAN CAT 6'0 SO Goddard, Kan. stint, Neisius led his team to two regular season titles in 2002 and 2005 and two 24 NIJAI ARMBRISTER UTIL 6'0 FR Nassau, Bahamas consecutive conference tournament titles in 2004 -2005 in the Great Plains Athletic 25 PABLO ODEN INF 5'10 JR Hollywood, Fla. Conference. In 2005, he was named NAIA Region IV Coach of the Year and GPAC 26 JARED HERNANDEZ INF 5'9 FR Cherry Hill, NJ Coach of the Year. Neisius is currently the winningest coach at DWU compiling a 27 GARRETT McCLAIN RHP 6'4 SO George West, Texas record of 263-202 overall. 29 TRISTEN SAUNDERS OF 6'3 FR Andover, Kan. As a player, Neisius began his collegiate career at Mesa State College where he 30 DEVIN DODSON RHP 6'4 FR Colorado Springs, Colo competed for two years before transferring to Dakota Wesleyan University where he 31 ANDRES LARA 1B 6'2 FR Wichita, Kan. finished his collegiate career. Neisius then spent two years in the Texas-Louisiana 32 ERIC LINDSAY RHP 6'1 SR Cambridge, ONT, CAN Professional Baseball League with the Lubbock Crickets. 33 ZACH DEMCHENKO RHP 6'1 SR Okotoks, ALB, CAN 35 MATTINGLY MILLEDGE RHP 6'1 FR Goddard, Kan. Neisius holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Behavioral Sciences from Dakota Wesleyan 36 BLAKE ROBINSON RHP 6'1 SO Clearwater, Kan. University and a Master of Arts in Physical Education/Sports Administration with an 37 JACOB McCALEB RHP 6'1 JR Georgetown, Texas emphasis in coaching administration from University of Northern Colorado. 38 KYLE STARCHER OF 5'10 SO Kennewick, Wash. 39 RJ LARA OF 5'11 SO Wichita, Kan. 41 DAVID PEWENOFKIT 1B 6'0 SR Burkburnett, Texas SCOUTING THE BRAVES: Ottawa enters the contest with a 30-16 record (30-16, 20-10 KCAC) overall and a 20-10 mark in the KCAC. The Braves are coming off a series Head Coach: Gabe Grinder Assistant Coaches: Josh Larrinaga, Lance Spongberg Record at OU: 67-51 (3rd Season) Paul Benoit, Rob Saghy against Oklahoma Wesleyan where they won two out of three. Ottawa has No. Name Yr. Pos. Ht. Hometown won five of their last six games. 1 Yaniel Ramos JR INF R/R 6-0 Carolina, Puerto Rico The Braves are 10-6 on the road this season and 8-4 on the road in KCAC 2 Benjamin Koler SR OF R/R 5-9 Federal Way, Wash. play, but have not played a road game since Apr. 13 when they traveled to 4 Eric Reece JR RHP R/R 5-8 San Antonio, Texas 5 Gabe Eckstaine JR OF R/R 6-4 LeMars, Iowa Kansas City to defeat Avila 13-3. Ottawa has played eight home games in 6 Hector Sepulveda JR RHP R/R 6-1 Douglas, Ariz. a row. 7 Elliot Antonetty SR C R/R 6-3 Gurabo, Puerto Rico 8 Zachary Spradlin JR OF R/R 5-8 Hoquiam, Wash. Senior first baseman Rylan Cratsenberg paces the Braves with a batting 9 Matthew Aguilar JR INF/RHP R/R 5-11 Keizer, Ore. average of .429, a mark that ranks him third in the KCAC. He also leads the 10 Dillon Burris FR RHP R/R 5-9 Nacogdoches, Texas way with 69 RBIs putting him tied first in the conference. Cratsenberg is tops 11 Jeremiah Arellano SR OF L/R 5-11 Pueblo, Colo. on the team with 70 hits, 22 home runs, and a slugging percentage of .896. 13 Austin Warfel JR RHP R/R 6-1 Oklahoma City, Okla. 14 James Benham FR RHP R/R 6-4 Poway, Calif. Holland Boan is hitting .423 this season for the Braves with an OBP of 15 Jeremy Husband JR LHP L/L 5-11 Kingwood, Texas .503 and 12 home runs. He has driven in the second-most runs this season 16 Zach Henry SR OF R/R 6-2 Kent, Wash. (47)and has drawn 19 walks. 17 Jakob Billingham FR C R/R 6-4 Denver, Colo. 18 Alec Almeida FR INF/OF R/R 5-10 Rogers, Ark. Junior pitcher Stephen Norrell has started 11 games for the Braves and 19 Tony Oreb JR RHP R/R 6-2 Valley Center, Calif. holds a record of 4-2 and has a 4.19 ERA and a team-high 92 strikeouts. 20 Holland Boan JR INF R/R 6-4 Pike Road, Ala. 21 Ryan Stejskal SO OF R/L 6-4 Arlington Heights, Ill. Freshman pitcher Dillon Burris is 4-1 this season in 11 starts for Ottawa, 22 Kyle Banister SR INF R/R 5-11 SeaTec, Wash. and has an ERA of 4.83 and has struck out 40 batters. 23 Rylan Cratsenberg SR IN R/R 6-3 Federal Way, Wash. 24 Yadiel Cruz JR RHP R/R 6-5 Caugus, Puerto Rico Hector Sepulveda has provided ten starts for the Braves with a 4-4 25 Sheldon Paramore SR INF L/R 5-11 Mansfield, Texas record and a 5.01 ERA. 26 Austin Skelhorn SR RHP R/R 6-3 Aurora, Ontario, Canada 27 Logan Zozaya SR INF R/R 6-2 Grants Pass, Ore. The Falcons hold a 34-19 advantage over Ottawa all-time with a 21-9 edge 28 Stephen Norrell JR RHP R/R 6-4 Keller, Texas in Wichita. The Falcons have won nine of the last 11 games between the 29 Eli Crall JR RHP R/R 6-5 Mount Orab, Ohio two teams. 31 Angelo Florendo FR C R/R 5-8 Richardson, Texas 32 Merrick Brown SR C R/R 6-1 Richmond, Kan. 33 Jakob Edwards JR OF L/R 6-3 Katy, Texas 35 Jackson Flack SR RHP R/R 6-2 Shawnee, Kan. 36 Jonathan Ward SR RHP R/R 6-3 Chiefland, Fla. 37 Jared Gray SR RHP R/R 6-4 Auburn, Wash.