What's happened to the Coyotes?

The College of Idaho baseball team looked poised to host the NAIA West tournament after taking three of four from British Columbia and holding a 3-game edge in the loss column on the T-birds to start April.

Then things changed quick.

A pair of road losses at Concordia, then a 1-of-4 weekend north of the border, and the C of I suddenly needed help to host the tournament, trailing UBC by a game in the loss column and a game and a half in actually standings thanks to a rain-out in California for the Yotes.

That help never came as Friday, Corban — who needed to win 2-of-4 from UBC for the Yotes even to have life — got swept by the T-birds 2-1 and 10-2.

OK, mathematically the Yotes are still alive as the Warriors could win two from UBC today, Saturday, then get swept next weekend when Corban visits the C of I. That's the only hope for a postseason game in Caldwell.

Let's be realistic, that's not going to happen. It's more likely that the T-Birds will win the opener against Corban today, then maybe throw out some bench players and the Warriors could take the nightcap.

As for the Yotes sweeping the Warriors next weekend? Well, I'd say the odds are pretty good the C of I will be pretty focused as the series will serves as a much-needed tune-up to get the Yotes back on track.

On track, after a couple of bad days at home against No. 6 Lewis-Clark State as the Warriors have banged the ball all over the place.

Like stats. Here they are: 33 runs; 38 hits; 2 LCSC wins at Wolfe Field.

It seems strange as the Yotes have basically fallen on hard times in terms of two things they usually do fairly well — pitching and hitting.

The reliable arms of Jason Barry and Andrew Brock struggled in both games against LCSC, hopefully just that rare bad outing that sometimes befalls a pitcher, which means it should be out of the way before the postseason.

Next up for the Yotes is Jared Arehart, who coach Shawn Humberger says has been locating great and giving the Yotes solid starts deep into ballgames of late.

"But Brocky had been doing that too," Humberger added of his starter against LCSC on Friday, as Brock walked five and hit a batter in 5 1-3 innings.

Making things worse, the Yote hitters have struggled just as much the last couple games. Yes, the Warriors typically pitch tough, but Friday, Matt Stabelfeld had as many control issues as Brock with the home plate umpire squeezing the strike zone, not calling the corners or the low strikes.

Stabelfeld walked two and hit two batters, and LCSC reliever Zach Clanton added three more bean balls.

"Obviously we feel like we should put up more runs with all the baserunners we were getting," Humberger said. "I thought we should have made more big hits."

For Coyotes fans, here's hoping the little slump is just one of those bumps in the road a good team has, rather than a sign the C of I is cooling off and in danger of a short postseason stint.

Big day for the Lady Yotes

It's back to league play after a busy weekend for the College of Idaho softball team as they host Northwest Christian today.

The Yotes have been plenty hot of late led by the pitching of Jody Zillner and hitting of Heather Dixon. Dixon gave the C of I a walk-off eight-inning win over NCAA Division I Boise State on Tuesday, as the C of I ladies took 6-of-8 games during a five day stretch.

Of course, the biggest wins came Saturday in a battle for first place with Southern Oregon — a sweep by the Yotes!

All was well in the 12-1 and 6-0 wins for the C of I as they hit the long ball — homers by Dixon and Zillner — played tough defense and played like the team they can be, much to coach Al Mendiola's pleasure.

Big wins as they moved the C of I into a tie with the Raiders for first in the Cascade Conference, and a game up on Concordia. And with the league champ getting an automatic berth to the NAIA Softball World Series, it's huge for the Yotes to be in first at the halfway point in the league season.

Now it just waits to be seen if the C of I continues to play like a World Series team the rest of the season. My guess is they will, starting today against the Beacons, and that means nothing good for the rest of the Cascade Conference.

A look at NNU

The spring season hasn't given Northwest Nazarene fans much to cheer for, but there's a couple things to look forward to for NNU fans.

First, the Crusaders softball team — despite an 8-33 overall record — will have a better season than last year and also will not be the last-place team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, as picked by the GNAC coaches.

OK, I am going out on a bit of a limb on both those, but the NNU ladies need just one win to match last season's win total of 9 — they'll get that, and when they do it will likely be against St. Martin's.

A big deal, as the Saints trail NNU by a game in the win column in the GNAC standings, which means that NNU should finish ahead of SMU, out of last, this year.

Those are both big deals considering the change in the GNAC schedule making 34 games league counters. Last season, NNU played 24 league games and filled its schedule with several nonconference contests. There's so little room on the schedule this year, the notable improvement in record — trust me, it will happen — means that NNU has improved quite a bit.

As for the NNU men, the baseball team might be battling the doldrums — 11-23 after being swept by Cal State Stanislaus on Friday 8-1 and 18-3 — but it's also a program on an upswing.

The addition of coach Tim Onofrei, who learned how a winning program is run playing for the College of Idaho (it was Albertson when he played for the Coyotes) has been a boon for NNU.

The former St. Louis Cardinals draft pick and minor league pitcher has made the Crusaders a legit threat in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and they'll be soon enough again.

This season, NNU's youth, and the lack of a few big boppers in the lineup, have hurt the team which Onofrei felt had promise at the start of the season — remember back when they were 6-1!

But take note of what Onofrei has done for this program — 32-22 last season, one of just a handful of winning campaign's all-time at NNU. A school record of 23 wins in 2006 as the club went 23-24. Obviously that win total has been surpassed. And a solid 21-26 campaign sandwiched between in 2007.

Also, NNU is getting noticed on the national stage — at least a few players as Roger Evenson was drafted by the Chicago Cubs after the 2005 season and Nick Ray was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles after the 2007 campaign.

So expect NNU to be back, and battling for the league title soon.

How about some track?

Northwest Nazarene and the College of Idaho will be in action next weekend at NNU for some college track action — a chance to see national champion Ashley Puga.

And the chance to see some great athletes as Josh Heidegger will be throwing the javelin for NNU — this guy is tops in the GNAC by nearly 17 feet and is inches, literally, away from an automatic NCAA qualifying mark. Hmm, another national champion for NNU in the making?

Be sure to pick up a copy of the Idaho Press-Tribune next Thursday for more on Heidegger.

As for the Coyotes, there's the possibility of seeing a maybe another future nationals champ — at the NAIA level, and it's quite possible — in Stephanie Helm.

Helm has the second fastest time in the 5,000 this spring and has qualified for two event, also the 1,500, at the NAIA national meet.

Tegan Troutner also has earned two spots at nationals, while Chantel Varland is qualified in the half marathon.

So there will be plenty of quality track action to catch next weekend — here's hoping the weather stays like this and a day at the track certainly will be enjoyable.