BILLINGS, Mont. – In the finale of this weekend's five-game series between the baseball teams from Western Oregon University and Montana State University Billings, the Wolves took the final game by the score of 8-3 as a trio of relievers for WOU held the Yellowjackets without a hit over the final five innings Sunday at Dehler Park.

Western Oregon (23-22, 18-10 GNAC) clinched a berth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament and moves back into first place, as the Wolves are 2.5 games in front of MSU Billings with the two teams being separated by mere percentage points in winning percentage in league play.

Senior Marcus Hinkle and junior Adam Bloom led the Wolves offensively with a pair of hits, while junior Nathan Etheridge recorded Western Oregon's only other hit on the afternoon. Bloom would drive in a game-high two runs for the Wolves, while Hinkle, Bloom, and junior Cody Poznanski each scored two runs for WOU.

Getting the start for Western Oregon was senior Eric Huson, who allowed three earned runs on four hits over the opening 4.0 innings to go along with four strikeouts before he turned the ball over to the Wolves' bullpen. The relief trio of junior Houston Samuel, junior Shawn Domke, and junior Jacob Storedahl allowed a mere three walks over the final 5.0 innings with the bullpen combining to register a pair of K's. Samuel would get the win for Western Oregon, as he pitched the fifth inning en route to picking up his second victory of the season.

Montana State Billings (20-20, 15-9 GNAC) would get a pair of hits off the bat of Connor Holbrook, including the game's lone home run, while Trevor Nix and Casey Merritt were the only other 'Jackets to register a hit against Western Oregon pitching.

Jake Mills got the start for MSUB, as he allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits with a pair of strikeouts over 6.1 innings of work. The Yellowjackets' bullpen would then take over, as Lee Busto, Adam Cox, and Lucas Blehm allowed two runs (one earned) on zero hits despite walking a combined six WOU batters.

Neither team would score over the opening two innings until Montana State Billings broke a scoreless tie with a single run in the bottom of the third inning on Holbrook's home run over the right field wall that handed the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, Western Oregon would finally get on the board with four runs on two hits that included a run-scoring double to left field by Hinkle and a two-run double down the left field line by Bloom before Bloom scored on an error by MSUB that gave the Wolves a 4-1 lead.

Montana State Billings would answer back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull back within a single run (4-3) on sacrifice flies off the bats of Brody Miller and Kevin Toon.

That would be as close as MSUB would get, as Western Oregon added a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning when Sullivan drove home Hinkle on a fielder's choice before Bloom came home on a wild pitch.

In the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, Western Oregon scored single runs when Poznanski came home on another MSUB error before he drove in the Wolves' final run of the game on a fielder's choice that allowed senior Matt Taylor to score increasing WOU's lead to a final difference of five runs (8-3).

Western Oregon will take a break from competition over the next 11 days, as the Wolves will not return to the diamond until Friday, May 1, when they host Northwest Nazarene University in an afternoon double header beginning at 1 PM on the WOU Baseball Field in Monmouth.