MONMOUTH, Ore. – Playing in front of its home fans for the first time all season, Western Oregon University's baseball team split a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) double header with Central Washington University falling in the opener, 4-1, before rebounding with a convincing 7-3 victory in the night cap Saturday at the WOU Baseball Field.

When asked about his team's split with the GNAC Preseason favorite Central Washington, Head Coach Kellen Walker said, "Obviously it's good to rebound from Game #1. Johnson threw well as we were not able to take advantage of a couple of opportunities. They played well and we didn't play that well. Being able to rebound and have that big inning off of Brandon Williams, the returning GNAC Pitcher of the Year, is a testament to our guys and being resilent and finding a way to get that second one."

Western Oregon (8-14, 4-2 GNAC) would get a combined five hits in eight at-bats from senior Matt Taylor, while junior Nathan Etheridge and senior Marcus Hinkle also tallied a combined four hits on the afternoon. Senior Jacob Whisler scored a pair of runs for the Wolves, while Etheridge registered two RBI in the two games.

On the mound, junior Darrien Moran got the start in Game #1 allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits in 6.1 innings of work with a pair of strikouts before turning the ball over to the relief duo of freshman Brady Miller and junior Michael Bennett. The Wolves' bullpen would combine to allow three earned runs on four hits over the final 2.2 innings. In the finale, senior Jesse Pratt outshined reigning Pitcher of the Year Brandon Williams of Central Washington as the Wolves' right-hander allowed three earned runs on four hits in a complete-game performance that included a game and season-high 11 strikeouts.

Central Washington (9-7, 3-3 GNAC) was led offensively by Kasey Bielec and Myles Wesener with three hits each, while Cory Welch drove a combined three runs for the Wildcats. In Game #1, Zach Johnson went the first 8.0 innings allowing one earned run on eight hits to go along with a game-high five strikeouts before Welch came in and got the final three outs en route to registering his third save of the season. Williams would get the start for CWU in Game #2, as he allowed seven earned runs on 12 hits despite going the distance with four K's for Central Washington.

GAME #1 — CENTRAL WASHINGTON 4, WESTERN OREGON 1

In Saturday's opener, Central Washington got on the board with three unanswered runs in the top of the second and third innings, respectively, as Wesener broke a scoreless tie with a single down the left field line that plated Jonathan Dailey before Welch ripped a single through the left side that scored Jeff Beckman to give the Wildcats an early 2-0 lead.

One inning later, CWU increased its lead to 3-0 on a RBI single up the middle by Benjamin Dunbar that brought home Bielec.

Western Oregon would finally get on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning when Whisler led off with a triple to left field before coming home on Hinkle's single to left field that cut the Wolves' deficit to two runs (3-1).

In the top of the seventh inning, Central Washington would cap the game's scoring with a run-scoring single to right field by Dunbar that brought home Darren Honeysett for the final margin of three runs (4-1).

Western Oregon would not threaten over the final three innings, as the Wolves tallied just two hits and did not get a base runner past first base.

Four WOU players – Hinkle, Taylor, Etheridge, and Whisler – combined for eight of the Wolves' nine hits in the game, while senior Garret Harpole was the only other Western Oregon batter to record a hit against Central Washington pitching.

CWU would get three hits from Bielec and a pair off the bat of Dunbar, while Dunbar drove in a game-high two runs as well.

GAME #2 — WESTERN OREGON 7, CENTRAL WASHINGTON 3

The double header finale would see both pitchers – WOU's Pratt and CWU's Williams – go the distance, as Central Washington scored three runs in the top of the second inning on a infield hit by Zach Reay that scored Dailey before Welch ripped a two-run double to left field that plated both Wesener and Reay for an early 3-0 lead for the Wildcats.

Western Oregon would answer quickly in the bottom of the third inning, as the Wolves put seven runs on the board on seven hits and took advantage of three CWU errors. WOU would start the at-bat with seven straight hits, as Taylor brought home Western Oregon's first run on an infield single before senior Michael Sherwin ripped a single through the left side to tie the game (3-3). The very next batter – Etheridge – would bring home the eventual game-winning runs on a two-run double down the right field line before Harpole added to Western Oregon's lead with a RBI double of his own down the left field line that extended WOU's lead to 6-3. The game's final run would come on CWU's third error of the inning, as Harpole scored when junior Brandon Oliver reached on a throwing error by the Wildcats' third baseman for the Wolves' seventh and final run.

Over the final four innings, both teams combined to record only two hits as Western Oregon would get both off the bats of Taylor and junior Cody Poznanski. Pratt would hold Central Washington without a hit over the final five innings, as the Wildcats would only get a runner to first base in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.

Taylor led Western Oregon's offense in Game #2 with three hits, while Hinkle and Etheridge each tallied a pair of hits for the Wolves. Etheridge also drove in two of the Wolves' five RBIs, while seven different WOU players scored in the night cap.

Central Washington would get hits for four different players with Welch bringing home a pair of runners for the Wildcats.

When asked about Pratt's performance in Game #2 and how the staff will be set up for tomorrow, Walker said, "It is similar to the hitters in Game #1, as he gave up three runs early and was able to bounce back and get his composure and execute his pitches again. It puts us in a good spot for tomorrow not having to get too deep into our pen, but definitely a quality start and a very, very competitive start by Jesse."

Both teams will close out this weekend's four-game GNAC series tomorrow – Sunday, March 8 – with a double header beginning at noon on the WOU Baseball Field in Monmouth.