MONMOUTH, Ore. – For the third straight week to open Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, Western Oregon University's baseball team won a series earning a three-game sweep over Montana State University Billings, 14-5 in Game #1, before the final game of this weekend's four-game series was postponed due to unplayable field conditions.

After Western Oregon (13-14, 9-2 GNAC) erupted for 14 runs on 14 hits in Saturday's opener against Montana State Billings, the fourth and final game of this weekend's series was postponed due to unplayable field conditions with the Yellowjackets holding a 1-0 lead after the first four batters.

Senior Matt Taylor led the Wolves in Game #1 with a 2-for-3 performance that included scoring a pair of runs and driving in a game-high three runs batted in, while junior Nathan Etheridge and senior Marcus Hinkle also registered multiple hits with Etheridge recording three with Hinkle registering two. Senior Michael Sherwin drove in a pair of RBI for Western Oregon, while six other Wolves – Hinkle, senior Austin Hamilton, Etheridge, senior Garret Harpole, junior Cody Sullivan, and senior Jacob Whisler – also driving in a run in WOU's sixth straight victory.

GAME #1 — WESTERN OREGON 14, MONTANA STATE BILLINGS 5

Saturday's opener would be a pitching dual during the opening inning before Montana State Billings scored three runs on two hits with Conner Holbrook bring in the Yellowjackets first run on a sacrifice fly to right field that allowed Kevin Toon to score. Three batters later, Brody Miller drove in a pair of runs on a single up the middle that plated Corey Morris and Myles Berkram resulting in a 3-0 lead for MSUB.

In the bottom of the third inning, Western Oregon put two runs on the board on three hits with the first run coming when Whisler and junior Cody Poznanski executed a perfect double steal that allowed Poznanski to score and pulled the Wolves within two runs (3-1). One batter later during Taylor's at-bat, Whisler would come home from third on a wild pitch as WOU cut its deficit to a single run (3-2) after three innings of play.

One inning later, Western Oregon erupted for six runs on six hits that included a bases-clearing triple by Taylor after Whisler and Hinkle each registered an RBI for the Wolves. After a pitching change by MSUB, Sherwin would bring home Taylor to extend the Wolves' lead to five runs (8-3).

In the top of the fifth inning, Montana State Billings would answer back with a pair of runs on two hits that included RBI hits by Colter Sternhagen and Holbrook that pulled the Yellowjackets back within three runs (8-5).

Neither team would score again until the bottom of the seventh inning when Western Oregon added its ninth run of the game when Harpole scored on a MSUB error that gave the Wolves a 9-5 lead.

One inning later, Western Oregon added five more runs on RBIs from Hamilton, Sherwin, Etheridge, Harpole, and Sullivan. The Wolves would score 10-or-more runs for the third time this season, as WOU has tallied 17 runs twice as well in single games so far this season.

Junior Garrett Alvarez picked up his third win of the season for Western Oregon allowing five earned runs on four hits over the opening 4.1 innings of work with a game-high four strikeouts, while junior Shawn Domke, freshman Brady Miller, and junior Jacob Storedahl combined to allow a mere two hits over the final 4.2 innings with a combined four K's.

Miller and Morris led Montana State Billings with two hits each, while Miller and Holbrook both drove in a pair of runs for the Yellowjackets. Tanner Johnson suffered the loss for MSUB allowing eight earned runs on seven hits over the first 3.2 innings before turning the ball over to Lee Busto and Dylan Goldsack for the final 4.1 innings.

GAME #2 — MONTANA STATE BILLINGS 1, WESTERN OREGON 0 (POSTPONED UNTIL 4/17/15)

Four-straight Yellowjackets reached base to start Game 2, before the action was halted due to unplayable conditions. Trevor Nix was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in the first run, and the game has been halted with the bags full of Yellowjackets and no outs in the top of the first.

Junior Houston Samuel got the start for Western Oregon, as play will be continued at the exact moment where it left off at some point during WOU's visit to Billings for the second four-game series between the Wolves and MSUB midway through April.

Western Oregon will return to the diamond next against in the opening double header of a four-game GNAC series against Northwest Nazarene University beginning on Friday, March 27, beginning at 3 p.m. (MT) in Nampa, Idaho.