Baseball | 2/5/2014 9:21:00 AM
MONMOUTH, Ore. – After taking a series at the No. 2 team in NCBWA NCAA Div. II West Region Preseason Poll, Cal State-Monterey Bay, the Western Oregon University baseball team is at the No. 4 team, Sonoma State University (Calif.) for five games this weekend.
The Wolves (3-1) are ninth in the West Region poll, and looking for their second straight road series upset. WOU reeled off three straight victories over Cal State-Monterey Bay after falling 15-0 in the season-opener last week. Taking a series at last season's No. 1-ranked team in the region was a statement made by Western Oregon early in the season. The No. 18 Otters only lost six of their 31 games at home last year.
Matt Minnich was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week Monday. He threw four scoreless innings against CSUMB last Saturday, earning the victory in the seven-inning second half of the Wolves' doubleheader. The senior allowed just two hits while striking out three batters in the solid effort.
Daniel McNabb had a stellar line of 6-for-9 with six RBI and three runs scored in Monday's 7-5 and 7-1 victories.
Relief pitcher,
Kody Stone recorded two saves last weekend, moving him into a tie for second place all-time in the GNAC record books with 15 career saves after a single-season record 13 in his first year last season.
Western Oregon, which is ranked 40th in the Collegiate Baseball NCAA Div. II poll, has won 14 of the 25 all-time meetings against Sonoma State, but the Seawolves took three of four early in last year's season.
The five-game series, which begins Thursday, will be the season-openers for SSU. The Seawolves' John Goelz enters the 2014 season with 951 career coaching victories, the fifth-most victories among active NCAA Division II head coaches. He needs 49 victories to be the the 12th coach in NCAA Div. II history to reach the 1,000-win plateau. Goelz has guided SSU to the NCAA tournament 10 out of the last 16 years.
Sonoma State was picked third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association preseason poll. The Seawolves received one first place vote in the annual poll. Garrett Schwartz earned preseason recognition by the NCBWA, being named to the Preseason All-West Region Second Team. The senior outfielder was an All-CCAA Second Team performer last season.
Western Oregon and Sonoma State begin their five-game series with a doubleheader Thursday at 11 a.m. The teams return to the diamond Friday for another doubleheader which begins at 11 a.m. The series ends with a single game Saturday at 11 a.m. Live stats will be available on WOUWolves.com.
