Baseball | 3/23/2014 5:34:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

LACEY, Wash. – The Western Oregon University baseball team grabbed one victory at Saint Martin's University (Wash.) Sunday, to claim another 3-1 series win in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The Wolves (18-11, 12-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) finished the first half of conference play with a split at SMU, 5-0 and 9-5. WOU beat all four series against its GNAC opponents, 3-1, in the first half of the conference schedule. At the halfway mark, Western Oregon sits atop the standings by a good margin.

Eric Huson was a large reason for the first game victory Sunday. The junior tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout. He struck out five Wildcats and did not walk a batter. Sixty of Huson's 79 pitches were strikes against the 29 batters he faced.

Daniel McNabb went 5-for-9 at the plate with two doubles. Garret Harpole was 4-for-9 with two RBI and also had two doubles. Austin Hamilton finished 3-for-6.

In Game 1, Huson pitched the fourth complete-game in the conference so far this season. His two hits allowed matched the GNAC season-low, as teammate Clark McKitrick gave up two in a seven-inning performance against Montana State Billings. A lead-off double in the fourth and a two-out single in the seventh was all the Saints could muster against Huson.

The Wolves hit a conference season-high six doubles in the first game. Matt Taylor had two of them, including one in the fifth to open the scoring. His shot to right center drove in Chris Bradshaw and Jacob Whisler. Michael Sherwin then brought in Taylor with a single to center field. In the eighth, a Harpole double down the left field line scored McNabb. Parker Miles completed the scoring in the ninth on a fielding error.

Western Oregon improved to 14-1 this season when it out-hits its opponent. The Wolves scattered 11 hits in the first game to SMU's two. The Saints committed both errors in the game. WOU stranded 11 runners on base, compared to Saint Martin's two. Taylor and Miles both had a stolen base for WOU. Josh Sontag (1-3) was credited with the loss.

In the second game, Western Oregon opened the game with four runs in the top of the first. After an RBI single from Miles, Tim Rausch drove his ninth pitch at the at-bat over the left field wall. His third home run of the season drove in two runs. Harpole then tacked on another RBI single to complete the inning. In the top of the fourth, Bradshaw hit an RBI single to finish the Wolves' scoring.

Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth, SMU racked up eight runs on seven hits. The outburst was highlighted by a Lucas' Besel two-run home run. The Saints also had a pair of two-run doubles. Saint Martin's added an insurance run in the fifth.

Brad Banker (2-1) grabbed the win on the mound. He allowed five earned runs on 11 hits through 5.1 innings. Joseph Balfour recorded his second save of the season. Six Wolves made an appearance on the mound, but Jacob Storedahl (0-1) was credited with the loss after throwing only 10 pitches. McKitrick had the start, throwing the first 3.1 innings.

Western Oregon travels to Concordia (Ore.) for a non-conference matchup Tuesday. The single nine-inning game will have live coverage on WOUWolves.com. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Cavaliers won the first meeting between the schools on Feb. 25 in Monmouth, 6-3.

Western Oregon 5, Saint Martin's 0 (Mar 23, 2014 at Lacey, Wash.) (Game 1)
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Western Oregon...... 000 030 011  -  5 11  0      (18-10, 12-3 GNAC)
Saint Martin's...... 000 000 000  -  0  2  2      (6-17, 3-8 GNAC)
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Pitchers: Western Oregon - Huson,Eric and Sherwin,Michael. Saint Martin's - Sontag; LaDue(8);
Mahnken(8) and Raczok.
Win-Huson,Eric(4-0)  Loss-Sontag(1-3)  T-2:00  A-0
Saint Martin's 9, Western Oregon 5 (Mar 23, 2014 at Lacey, Wash.) (Game 2)
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Western Oregon...... 400 100 0 -  5 12  2      (18-11, 12-4 GNAC)
Saint Martin's...... 000 810 X -  9  7  1      (7-17, 4-8 GNAC)
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Pitchers: Western Oregon - McKitrick,Clark; Storedahl,Jacob(4); Egli,Zev(4); Tokunaga,Chase(5);
Morrison,Christian(5); Keller,Nick(5) and Chavarria,Will; Sherwin,Michael. Saint Martin's -
Banker; Balfour(6) and Tracy.
Win-Banker(2-1)  Save-Balfour(2)  Loss-Storedahl,Jacob(0-1)  T-2:10  A-187
HR WOU - Rausch,Tim.
HR SMU - Besel.
Weather: 50 and sunny