Baseball | 5/8/2013 10:56:00 AM
2013 GNAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Thursday, May 9, 2013- Monmouth, Ore.
Game 1 - #3 Montana State Billings at #1 Western Oregon- 10:00 a.m.
Game 2 - #3 Montana State Billings vs. #2 Central Washington- 1:00 p.m.
Game 3 - #2 Central Washington at #1 Western Oregon- 4:00 p.m.
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm
Friday, May 10, 2013- Monmouth, Ore.
Game 4 - TBA vs. TBA- 12:00 p.m.
Game 5 - TBA vs. TBA- 3:00 p.m. (if necessary)
LIVE STATS: http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm
MONMOUTH, Ore.- The Western Oregon baseball team, winners of the GNAC regular season conference title for the 12th consecutive season, have earned to right to host the inaugural GNAC Baseball Championship as the Wolves open play against third-seeded Montana State Billings on Thursday, May 9, at 10:00 a.m. before a meeting with second-seeded Washington at 4:00 p.m. CWU and MSU Billings will meet at 1:00 p.m. in the other game slated for Thursday.
The Wolves clinched the regular season conference title this past weekend after winning three-of-four in the series against second place CWU to close out the regular season with a 31-19 overall mark and 24-8 record in conference play.
WOU shortstop Blake Miller and designated hitter Daniel McNabb lead the Wolves into the championship as Miller leads the conference in hitting at .376 while McNabb ranks second with a .365 batting average. After earning All-American honors a year ago, the senior shortstop continues to pace the league in a number of categories as he leads the conference in hits (70), runs (47), doubles (16), stolen bases (20) and on-base percentage (.451).
The Wolves pitching staff continues to set the standard for the conference as WOU leads the conference in ERA (4.44), opposing batting average (.269) and strikeouts (369). A.J. Burke paces the starting rotation as he has posted a 7-3 record and ranks first in the conference in ERA (2.83) and strikeouts (82). His complete-game shutout at Central Washington last week earned him NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week and GNAC Athlete of the Week honors.
The Wolves bullpen is led by Kody Stone as the junior has established a new single-season GNAC saves mark with 13 as he ranks third in the nation in the category.
The Yellowjackets enter the championship with the most productive offense, leading the conference with 276 runs scored, 34 home runs, and an on base percentage at .396. Their .303 batting average ranks second in the GNAC behind the Wildcats, who lead the conference in batting at .319. CWU catcher Kyle Sani leads the league with 18 home runs.
The championship format is double elimination and begins with the round robin on Thursday. Should one team lose both games, they are eliminated and the other two teams advance to the championship game on Friday, May 10, at 12:00 p.m.
In the event all three teams finish 1-1 after the round robin, the top-seeded Wolves automatically advance to the championship game. In that scenario, the 12:00 p.m. game on Friday would serve as a semifinal game between CWU and MSU Billings, with the winner advancing to the championship game against WOU on Friday at 3:00 p.m.
Daily passes to the championship are $8 for adults and $5 for students and children. Please note, the “WOU Spring Sports Pass” cannot be used for admission since this is a postseason event. For more information, contact the WOU ticket office at 503-838-8051.
