BILLINGS, Mont. – Taking both ends of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at Dehler Park, visiting Western Oregon University topped the Montana State University Billings baseball team twice.
 
The Wolves held on for a wild 19-15 win in the opener, before overcoming a six-run deficit and blasting their way to an 18-6 triumph in the nightcap. WOU remained in second place in the GNAC standings with the victories, improving to 14-6 overall and 13-5 in league play.
 
MSUB's playoff hopes slimmed down even further, as the Yellowjackets fell to 8-26 overall on the year and 8-18 in conference play. Tanner Cantwell hit his ninth home run of the season in Game 2, after Tanner Parker hit his fifth of the year in the opening game.
 
Derek Maiben went 8-for-11 in the doubleheader, while Connor McCord homered twice in Game 2 to highlight a five-home run day for the visitors.
 
Game 1 – Western Oregon 19, MSU Billings 15
 
The Wolves led 9-0 after the top of the third an 12-2 after the top of the fifth, but the Yellowjackets refused to go away and fought back the rest of the game. A three-run fifth and five-run sixth got MSUB within two runs down 12-10, but the Wolves sucked momentum away with a game-defining seven-run seventh inning.
 
The 'Jackets added four more runs in the eighth to make it close, but ran out of gas in the ninth inning. WOU starter Mike Peterson battled through five innings to earn his fifth win of the year, allowing six runs on six hits with three strikeouts and four walks. The Wolves used four pitchers to get through the rest of the game, with Alan Vasquez pitching effectively to close things out over the final 1 2/3 innings.
 
MSUB starter Matthew Houlihan gave up nine runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings of work, before Mason Powell, Cort Dietrich, and Hunter Runion combined to finish the game. The collegiate debut for Runion was one of the brightest spots of the day for MSUB, as the left-hander allowed just one baserunner while striking out a pair in 2 2/3 shutout innings of relief to start his career on the right foot.
 
A mammoth three-run home run to right field off the bat of Justyn Herzog got the Wolves on the board in the second inning, and six more runs scored in the third as the lead ballooned to 9-0.
 
After a two-run single off the bat of Cantwell in the fifth, the 'Jackets got back into the game thanks to RBI-doubles from Sam Powers, Will Riley, and Cantwell in the sixth.
 
Things fell apart in the seventh however, when the Wolves put the game out of reach scoring seven times. Parker's three-run home run came in the eighth to give the 'Jackets a glimmer of hope, but Vasquez retired MSUB in order in the ninth to finish the game.
 
Game 2 – Western Oregon 18, MSU Billings 6 (7 Innings)
 
The Yellowjackets came out of the gates on fire, driving WOU starter Matthew Dunaway after recording just two outs in the first inning. Green had an RBI-triple, Cantwell hit a three-run shot, and Hayden Foltz and Riley followed with RBIs to make the score 6-0.
 
The tables turned immensely however, as MSUB failed to score the rest of the game with Joe Kinsky and Ryan Shipley combining to throw 6 1/3 shutout innings out of the bullpen. The duo for the Wolves allowed just four hits the rest of the way, while striking out seven Yellowjackets.
 
WOU got back into the game immediately with a four-run second inning, highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Blayze Arcano and Jayden Hanna. MSUB starter Connor Redmond was lifted in the second inning, and four MSUB relievers combined to pitch the rest of the game.
 
Any chance for an MSUB comeback evaporated in the fifth inning, when WOU sent 14 hitters to the plate and scored 10 times to make the score 14-6. Five walks, a hit batter, and a two-run home run by McCord told the story in the Wolves' biggest inning of the day.


McCord's second homer of the game came in the sixth inning to add two more runs, and Maiben capped his incredible day at the plate with a two-run single in the seventh to finish the scoring for the Wolves.
 
THE BUZZ: Runion was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…WOU is now 5-1 against MSUB this season.
 
AHEAD: The series wraps up on Friday with another doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m. Live video will be available online here and live statistics will be available online here.