Baseball | 3/14/2013 10:32:00 AM

BASEBALL - WESTERN OREGON AT CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY
Friday, March 15 - Seaside, Calif. - Otter Sports Complex - 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 16 - Seaside, Calif. - Otter Sports Complex - 12:00 p.m. (DH)

LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/csumb/baseball/scoreboard.aspx

MONMOUTH, Ore.- Facing a key out-of-conference series, the Western Oregon baseball team returns to action this week for a three  game series at Cal State Monterey Bay, opening with a single game on Friday, March 15, at 3:00 p.m. before closing out the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 16 at 11:00 a.m.

The Wolves enter the week with an overall record of 11-8 and are 6-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play after winning three-of-four over Northwest Nazarene last week.

Daniel McNabb continues to be the Wolves leader at the plate, leading the team and the conference with a .380 batting average and .452 on-base percentage. The junior also leads the team with 16 runs and 17 RBI. mcNabb looks to continue his play from the series against NNU after he earned GNAC Player of the Week honors after going 8-for-14, with two doubles, a triple and five RBI.

Blake Miller is also off to a strong start for the Wolves at the plate as the senior is hitting .300 on season and ranks second on the team with 12 RBI. As a team, WOU ranks third in the GNAC in batting average (.251) and runs scored (86).

On the mound, the Wolves pitching staff continues to lead the conference in a number of categories, including ERA (3.24), opponent's batting average (.236) and strikeouts (132). The Wolves pitching staff is lead by Spenser Watkins, who has posted a 3-2 mark with a 1.72 ERA in his five starts. Last week, Watkins pitched six shutout innings while only allowing one hit and striking out two to earn the victory against the Crusaders as he earned GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors.

Cal-State Monterey-Bay enters the series with an overall record of 15-8 and a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) mark of 10-6 after splitting a four-game series against nationally-ranked Chico State.

The Otters, who have a .278 team batting average, are lead at the plate by Brian Haggett, who is hitting .333 on the season. Jeff Owen leads the Otters on the mound as he has posted a perfect, 5-0 mark with a 1.80 ERA in 35.0 innings of work. As a staff, CSMB posts a 4.29 team ERA.

The Wolves lead the all-time series with the Otters, 5-1, after WOU took 3-of-4 from CSMB in Monmouth during the 2008 season.

Following this series, the Wolves will return to conference play when they travel to Saint Martin's for a four game series opening with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 23 at 1:00 p.m.