Baseball | 5/8/2009 6:04:58 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 [Game 1: Box score]  [Game 2: Box score]

MONMOUTH, Ore. - The Western Oregon University baseball team split a doubleheader with Montana State Billings Friday (May 8) as the Yellowjackets won game one 3-2 before the Wolves took game two 4-3.

The wins moved the Wolves' regular season record to 33-12 as they improved to 24-4 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference. It also gave WOU the season series at 7-1 over MSUB as Western Oregon lost just one time to each league foe. The second place Yellowjackets wrapped up their season with 24-28 record and a 16-16 mark in the GNAC.

Game 1
Montana State Billings scored two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to overtake Western Oregon 3-2 in game one.

Both starting pitchers gave their clubs a chance to win the ballgame as Jacob Pettit pitched 7.2 innings for Western Oregon giving up nine hits and two runs while striking out five and not walking a batter. However, he was outdueled by MSU Billings' starter Steve Scott who pitched a complete game while allowing eight hits and two runs as he went to 6-5 on the season.

Both runs the Wolves got off Scott were early in the game as they were able to get their leadoff batter on, move him around the bases and drive him in. The first came in the second inning went Justin Speer started the inning with a double and advanced to third on a fly out by Jason Moseby before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Boe.

Western Oregon went on top 2-0 in the fifth as Drew Humphrey led off with a single and after being sacrificed down to second he was doubled in by JJ Mascolo.

Those were three of the eight hits the Wolves received for the game. Speer and Humphrey were the only WOU student-athletes to record a multi hit game as both went 2-for-3.

WOU maintained its 2-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth before MSU Billings got three singles for their first run and a balk by the Western Oregon starter knotted the game at 2-2.

The game-winning run would be scored in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out single by Patch Wirtzberger to plate Brian Dukart from second base.

Game 2
Alex Yeaney scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh as Western Oregon went on to take game two 4-3 as it continues to bolster its resume to host the 2009 NCAA West Regional.

With two outs in the seventh, Thomas McCarthy, who was 2-for-3 in the game, singled to shortstop and to second on an error by the pitcher. Yeaney then went in to run for McCarthy at second base and promptly stole third base. With the Wolves' leading RBI man Justin Speer at the plate MSU Billings' Cody Clark uncorked a wild pitch allowing Yeaney to scamper in from third for what proved to be the winning run.

Jesse Nunley earned the win in relief for WOU as he went the final three inning allowing just one hit and an unearned run to improve to 5-2 on the season. Kirk Lind started the game for Western Oregon pitching four innings while giving up five hits and two runs.

Travis Fox got the Wolves on the board in the first inning as he stole home, his 15th stolen base of the season. WOU put up two more in the second, the first on a sacrifice fly by JJ Mascolo and the second on an RBI-single by Fox, as it gave Lind a 3-0 lead to work with. He would hold that lead for Western Oregon through his four innings of work as he left with a 3-2 lead.

The Yellowjackets would tie the game on an unearned run in the top of the fifth as Cole Pryor scored with two outs on an error by the WOU shortstop. However, this did not discourage the Western Oregon bats as it put runners in scoring position each of the next two innings before coming through with the game-winning run in the seventh.

"Our student-athletes did a good job in this series, taking three of four games from the second place team in our division," said Western Oregon head baseball coach Jeremiah Robbins "I am proud of our kids and the way they have put the time and effort to grind out this season."

The Western Oregon baseball team will now await news about the possibility of hosting the NCAA West Region baseball championships May 14-17 at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, Ore.