(Editor's note: MSUB Athletics release)
PORTLAND, Ore. – Pacing the Montana State University Billings baseball team from the leadoff spot in its four-game series against Northwest Nazarene University last weekend, junior centerfielder Carson Green has earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors.
Green hit .471 on the weekend (8-for-17), with three doubles, his third home run of the year, and seven runs batted in. “Carson really stepped up with clutch at-bats this past weekend and led the team by driving in runs,” said MSUB head coach Derek Waddoups. “He was on base a lot from the leadoff spot and was able to keep putting pressure on NNU which led to a lot of our team’s offensive success on the weekend.”
Green’s double in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 2 of the series broke up a perfect game that NNU’s Brock Moffitt – the GNAC Pitcher of the Week – had going. It kicked off a rally that fell just short, as the ‘Jackets stranded the tying runner on second in the narrow 3-2 defeat.
Green keyed the offense in both of the team’s wins over the weekend, going 2-for-5 in the 10-5 triumph in Game 1 and saving his best performance for MSUB’s 11-6 victory in Game 3. Perhaps Green’s biggest hit of the weekend came with two outs in the fourth inning, with the Yellowjackets trailing 4-3. Green smoked a bases-clearing double to left-center, giving the Yellowjackets a lead they never relinquished in the win. He followed with a two-run home run to right field to seal the game in the bottom of the seventh, giving him a career-high five RBIs in the game.
Defensively, Green was kept busy in center field with at least one catch in each game and a total of 10 plays in the series. He handled all of his chances without an error, and is fielding .965 on the season after the weekend.
This is the first-career GNAC Player of the Week award for Green, who entered the program last season after transferring from Walla Walla Community College. It is the fifth weekly award of the season for the Yellowjackets and their first player of the week honor, after Dylan Barkley won three GNAC Pitcher of the Week awards and Connor Redmond claimed last week’s honor.
The Yellowjackets (15-15, 6-6 GNAC) take on Central Washington University in a four-game series this weekend in Ellensburg, Wash. Live coverage for the series will be available online here [msubsports.com].
