Official Tournament Website
Tournament Bracket
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Third-seeded Houston Baptist faces sixth-seeded Texas-Pan American in the first round of the 2011 Great West Conference Tournament Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Kraft Field.
The Huskies are led by junior first-team all-conference designated hitter Robbie Buller, who is hitting .298 for the season with a conference-leading 15 home runs and also has 15 doubles, 50 RBIs and 51 runs. In league play, he hit .350 with 11 doubles, seven home runs, 31 RBIs, 29 runs and a .660 slugging percentage. Buller enters the tournament tied with Jeremy Green (2003) for HBU's single-season home run record and is tied with Brandon Curtis (1994-97) on the all-time list with 25. He also ranks fifth all-time with 44 doubles.
Junior rightfielder Kolby Arnst, a second-team all-conference selection, leads HBU with a .330 batting average for the season with 14 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 30 RBIs and 30 runs. He hit .386 in conference play with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs, 22 RBIs and 26 runs. Senior first baseman Beau Warren hit .381 in league games with six doubles, four homers and 27 RBIs, while junior leftfielder Luke Clements hit .329 with eight doubles, three triples, four home runs, 13 RBIs and 27 runs. Sophomore centerfielder Jake Gonzalez hit .292 in conference play with 10 doubles, a home run, 19 RBIs and 18 runs, and junior shortstop Collin Hetzler hit .297 with five doubles, a triple, 21 RBIs, 21 runs and nine sacrifices.
On the mound, junior righthander Dalton Schafer went 3-2 with a 6.45 ERA in seven conference starts. Senior lefthander Jamie Storey went 1-4 with a 4.15 ERA and tied for the team lead with 27 strikeouts in Great West contests. Senior righthander Chase Hernandez went 3-2 with a 4.96 ERA and also had 27 strikeouts, while freshman righthander Kyle Dickerson, a second-team all-conference pick, went 5-1 with a 3.53 ERA and 23 strikeouts. Out of the bullpen, freshman righthander Kobie Hajdik went 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA and four saves, senior righthander Stephen Nikonchik went 2-1 with a 3.76 ERA and two saves, while sophomore righthander Scott Moore went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and two saves.
The Huskies split the four-game regular season series with the Broncs April 29-May 1 at Husky Field. UTPA claimed the first two games, 16-4 and 10-2, but HBU rallied from an eight-run deficit for a 13-12, 10-inning victory in the third game and salvaged the split with a 12-9 win in the finale.
The audio broadcast for each HBU game can be heard on HBUHuskies.com 15 minutes prior to the first pitch. Tuesday's broadcast will begin at 3:45 p.m.
