Baseball | 4/7/2013 6:57:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Western Oregon baseball team split the series finale against Montana State Billings on Sunday as the Wolves won a high-scoring game one, 22-18, before falling in game two against the Yellowjackets, 9-6. With the victory, WOU moves to 19-15 on the season, 14-6 in league play, while MSUB falls to 14-21-1 overall, 10-10 in conference action.

The Wolves won a wild game one as WOU built an 18-2 lead before holding on for a 22-18 victory. The game saw seven players get at least three hits as the Wolves broke the game open with an eight-run fifth inning.

Scott David provided a two run home run for the Wolves while Blake Miller went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI. David finished the game 4-for-5 with five runs score and four RBI as the Wolves took an 18-2 lead on a Vince Ampi RBI single in the sixth inning.

MSUB would answer with a 16-2 run over the next three innings as the Yellowjackets would close the gap to 20-18 when Colby Robison singled home Drew Fosnes in the eighth inning.

After WOU added a pair of insurance runs on a two-run triple by Kevin Smith, Kody Stone came into the game and retired MSUB in the ninth to preserve the Wolves win.

A.J. Burke picked up the win for WOU in game one as he improved to 3-3 on the season after allowing seven earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. Joe Andriolo took the loss for MSUB and fell to 2-5 overall after allowing seven runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings of work.

The contest featured 13 pitchers and 41 hits as Brody Miller and Fosnes each had five hits for the Yellowjackets.

Matt Nylen added three hits and four RBI for WOU with Daniel McNabb providing three hits, two runs and three RBI for the Wolves.

MSUB responded with a win in game two as a four-run fifth inning broke open a 5-5 tie as the Yellowjackets held on for a 9-6 win.

Trailing 5-2 in the fifth, WOU tied the game on a string of RBI hits as Tim Rausch and Josh Wong each delivered RBI doubles before Will Chavarria tied the game with a RBI single to left.

MSUB had an answer; however, as Mack Unruh delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the inning to give the Yellowjackets a 7-5 lead. MSUB would add two more runs in the inning as WOU would be able to overcome the four-run deficit, splitting the important four-game series.

Rausch was a perfect 4-for-4 in the game to lead the Wolves attack while Chavarria added a pair of hits for WOU.

Zach Nuno took the loss and fell to 3-2 on the season after allowing nine runs in 4.1 innings of work while Samuel Paterson tossed a complete game for MSUB, allowing three earned runs on nine hits in 7.0 innings of work.

Unruh led the MSUB attack, going 2-for-3 with a run and five RBI. In two games, the designated hitter had five hits, two home runs and nine RBI to lead the Yellowjackets.

WOU will return to action on Friday, April 12, when the Wolves host Northwest Nazarene in a four-game series, opening with a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.