MONMOUTH, Ore. – Using a pair of big innings, Western Oregon cruised to a 14-5 victory over Montana State University Billings in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball game Saturday afternoon at the WOU baseball field.
The Yellowjackets scored one run and had the bases loaded in the top of the first in the second game of the scheduled doubleheader, before play was halted due to rain. The final game will be resumed when the Wolves travel to Billings, Mont., for a four-game series April 17-18 at Dehler Park.
Game 1 – Western Oregon 14, MSU Billings 5 Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead through two innings, the Yellowjackets could not avoid allowing big innings as Western Oregon scored six in the fourth and packed on five more in the eighth to secure its third win in the series.
The Yellowjackets (7-16, 2-5 GNAC) were hampered by three errors in the game, while the Wolves (13-14, 9-2 GNAC) played error-free baseball.
Garrett Alvarez started for WOU and threw 4 1/3 innings, allowing four walks and five runs while striking out four and giving up four hits. Shawn Domke, Brady Miller, and Jacob Storedahl combined to finish the game without allowing a run out of the Wolves' bullpen.
Yellowjacket starter
Tanner Johnson (1-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing eight runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.
Matt Taylor went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored for the Wolves, as the team's third-place hitter propelled their offense. Marcus Hinkle and Nathan Etheridge also had multiple hits in the game, and Garret Harpole scored three runs.
For the 'Jackets,
Brody Miller went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored, and catcher
Conner Holbrook also drove in a pair of runs.
Corey Morris was 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored, and three assists defensively for MSUB.
Johnson retired the side in order in the bottom of the first, and the 'Jackets jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second.
Kevin Toon drew a leadoff walk – his sixth of the series – and after a double by Morris a sacrifice fly by Holbrook plated the former and gave MSUB a 1-0 lead. Two more walks loaded the bases, and a two-out, two-run single by Miller gave Johnson some breathing room with a 3-0 edge.
MSUB's starter retired the first seven batters he faced overall, but the Wolves started a rally in the bottom of the third by executing a double steal of second and home. A wild pitch allowed Jacob Whisler to score, as WOU pulled within a single run, 3-2.
After Alvarez cruised through the Yellowjackets' batters 1-2-3 in the fourth, the Wolves rewarded him with six runs in the bottom of the frame. A bunt single by Cody Sullivan loaded the bases, and an ensuing groundout by Whisler followed by a single from Hinkle gave WOU its first lead of the day, 4-3.
WOU didn't look back after that, tacking on four more runs in the fourth and taking an 8-3 advantage.
The Yellowjackets showed signs of life in the fifth as they responded with a pair of runs.
Colter Sternhagen punched an RBI-single through the left side, and Miller crossed the plate on a walk drawn by Holbrook.
MSUB's bats went quiet after the fifth however, as the 'Jackets managed just two more hits the rest of the way.
Five different Wolves drove in a run in the eighth, as WOU put any thought of an MSUB comeback out of question.
Miller was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game.
Game 2 – MSU Billings 1, Western Oregon 0 (Suspended Top 1) Four-straight Yellowjackets reached base to start Game 2, before the action was halted due to unplayable conditions.
Trevor Nix was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in the first run, and the game has been halted with the bags full of Yellowjackets and no outs in the top of the first.
Play will be continued at the exact moment where it left off, at some point during WOU's visit to Billings for the teams' second four-game series midway through April.
"We didn't play very well in Game 1 but came out strong in Game 2," commented MSUB head coach
Rob Bishop. "Western is a good team, and we have some work to do this week to prepare for a good NNU club on the road."
COMING UP: Just four more games lie between the 'Jackets and their home opener, as MSUB will face Northwest Nazarene next weekend in a four-game GNAC series in Nampa, Idaho. The teams are set to play doubleheaders on March 20 and 21, with the first to start at 3 p.m. and the second set for 1 p.m.
