Baseball | 4/23/2014 3:34:00 PM
MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon University baseball team debuted at No. 6 in the NCAA Div. II West Region rankings Wednesday, and has a chance to capture its 13th straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular season title this weekend when it hosts Saint Martin's University.
The Wolves (27-15, 20-8 GNAC) need two wins to claim the conference regular season title and the top spot in the GNAC tournament. The top seed hosts the second annual tournament on May 8-9. WOU, which already has locked up a spot in the postseason, has won all 12 of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference titles since the league began in 2002.
Western Oregon's No. 6 ranking in the region is vital, as the top six teams advance to the NCAA tournament and the regionals. The Wolves have seven games left in their regular season schedule, the four this weekend against Saint Martin's, and three non-conference contests against the No. 3 team in the NAIA, Lewis-Clark State. All seven games are at WOU.
Last week, Western Oregon swept a series for the first time this season at Northwest Nazarene. The Wolves outscored NNU, 44-15, and outhit the Crusaders 56-25.
Matt Taylor had a big weekend for WOU, batting 12-for-18 with three doubles, a home run, five runs scored and five RBI. Also making major offensive contributions was
Garret Harpole, who batted 8-for-18 with four doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and eight runs scored.
Eric Huson and
Spenser Watkins each had strong outings on the mound for the Wolves, pitching 8.0 and 7.0 innings, respectively. Huson allowed one run on five hits and struck out four, while Watkins surrendered two earned runs with four strikeouts in his start.
Clark McKitrick was named the conference's Pitcher of the Week Monday. He entered a 3-2 game against Northwest Nazarene with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and struck out the final batter of the inning to strand the three runners and preserve the lead. McKitrick pitched a scoreless fifth inning, and the Wolves went on to beat NNU 5-3 in Game 2 of the series. The victory was crucial in helping WOU to a four-game sweep, as the two run win was the closest margin of the series. McKitrick did not allow a hit and struck out two batters in the performance, earning his fourth victory of the season.
Saint Martin's (13-26, 9-15 GNAC) enters the week after three straight victories at Montana State Billings. Chandler Tracy stole the show last week, tying the GNAC all-time home run record as he reached 29 with three long balls. Tracy homered twice in Game 3, and tied Jamie Nilsen's GNAC record with another home run in the series finale. Tracy now leads the GNAC in home runs with nine this season, and his 27 RBI are fifth-most after he drove in nine last week.
Zach Raczok had a big game for SMU in the 21-7 victory, driving in a GNAC season single-game high eight runs withtwo doubles and a home run. After losing Game 1 8-7 in extra innings, SMU responded with a tight 4-3 victory in Game 2. Adding an 8-6 win in the series finale, SMU moved into fourth place in the GNAC standings and back into contention for a GNAC postseason berth. The Saints are two games behind third place Northwest Nazarene and the final spot in the GNAC tournament.
The Wolves won three of four at Saint Martin's in the first meeting this season. WOU outscored the Saints, 13-0 in those three wins. Western Oregon owns the all-time series against SMU, 95-26, including 46-10 in Monmouth.
Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start. Live stats from all four games will be available on WOUWolves.com.
