Baseball | 3/15/2014 4:52:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University baseball team picked up its third straight 3-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference series win with a sweep over Northwest Nazarene University Saturday.

The Wolves (15-10, 9-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) held off NNU in a 1-0 win in Game 1, and then cruised to a 13-2 victory in the nightcap. Eric Huson pitched an eight-inning two-hit shutout performance in the first game. Marcus Madden went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and a double. Daniel McNabb had five RBI after going 2-for-5 with a triple. Tim Rausch hit a home run and Chris Bradshaw also hit a triple.

In Game 1, Huson's (3-0) gem on the mound paced WOU. The junior gave up only two hits over eight innings. He struck out four Crusaders and threw two walks. Sixty-eight of his 104 pitches were strikes. Kody Stone came in and picked up his fifth save of the season, allowing one hit and striking out two batters in the final inning.

The first game was a pitcher's duel, as Northwest Nazarene's Andrew Groves (1-3) threw a complete game, scattering only four hits. He fanned four Wolves and walked none.

The game's lone score came in the bottom of the fourth. The lead-off batter, Rausch drove a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall. It was only the second hit Groves allowed. He responded by retiring three straight batters, including striking out the next two.

The teams combined for seven hits, with WOU having four. The Crusaders committed both errors in the game. Rausch's home run was the lone extra base hit in the contest.

After the teams combined for 10 runs in the first three games, the Wolves' bats came alive in Game 4. NNU scored the first run of the game in the first inning, but WOU responded with the tying run in the bottom half of the inning. A double by the Crusaders in the third gave NNU the lead back, 2-1.

Five Western Oregon runs off of three hits in the bottom of the third broke the game open. McNabb had a two-RBI single, while Rausch and Harpole had RBI as well. Four more runs in the fourth, followed by three runs in the fifth completed the rout. McNabb hit a three-RBI triple in the fourth that highlighted the scoring.

Clark McKitrick (3-0) picked up the win. He gave up two earned runs on three hits through 3.1 innings. The junior struck out three NNU batters and has had three walks. Taylor Hetrick gave up one hit over 2.2 innings, and Christian Morrison pitched the last inning. Noah Starr (1-2) was credited with the loss.

Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon remain the top two teams in the conference, but the Wolves now have a three-game advantage. WOU has won 10 of the last 12 meetings with the Crusaders, and 14 of the previous 15 in Monmouth.

After the long homestand, the Wolves travel to Lacey, Wash., for a four-game series beginning next Saturday. The first doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for all four matchups on WOUWolves.com.

Western Oregon 1, Northwest Nazarene 0 (03/15/14 at Monmouth, OR) (Game 1)
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Northwest Nazarene.. 000 000 000  -  0  3  2      (10-14, 6-5)
Western Oregon...... 000 100 00X  -  1  4  0      (14-10, 8-3)
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Pitchers: Northwest Nazarene - Groves and . Western Oregon - Huson,Eric; Stone,Kody(9) and .
Win-Huson,Eric(3-0)  Save-Stone,Kody(5)  Loss-Groves(1-3)  T-1:50  A-123
HR WOU - Rausch,Tim.

Western Oregon 13, Northwest Nazarene 2 (03/15/14 at Monmouth, OR) (Game 2)
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Northwest Nazarene.. 101 000 0 -  2  4  0      (10-15, 6-6)
Western Oregon...... 105 430 X - 13 12  0      (15-10, 9-3)
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Pitchers: Northwest Nazarene - Starr; Reppert(3); Kuhn(4); Leitzinger(6) and . Western Oregon -
McKitrick,Clark; Hetrick,Taylor(4); Morrison,Christian(7) and .
Win-McKitrick,Clark(3-0)  Loss-Starr(1-2)  T-2:24  A-0