NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Oregon baseball team split a doubleheader on Saturday with Northwest Nazarene at Elmore Vail Field. WOU could not rally falling 9-6 in game one before holding off the Crusaders in the series final, 9-8.
 
The Wolves regained the top spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference by ½ game over NNU with their win to improve to 20-11 in league play and 25-16 overall.
 
In game one, NNU built a 3-0 lead before Western Oregon scored twice in the fourth and fifth innings. Trevor Podratz hit a two-run home run, his fourth of the season, to start the WOU scoring. During the fifth inning, Kyle Vanderkin led off the frame with a solo home run and Brandon Oliver brought home Jay Leverett with a ground ball.
 
Every time the Wolves inched closer to the Crusaders, the home team had responses. WOU had a RBI single from Oliver and an eighth-inning homer from Jay Leverett, but the comeback stalled after a double play in the ninth.
 
Cody Allison took the loss (1-2) for WOU giving up five run in three innings. Darrien Moran had his scoreless innings string snapped at 19 innings after allowing a run-scoring double in the NNU fifth.
 
In the finale, Western Oregon went off for seven runs in the first inning. RBI singles from Podratz and Cody Sullivan preceded a bases-clearing double from Joey Crunkilton for a 5-0 advantage. Cody Poznanski hit his second homer run of the season, a two-run blast, to left field to conclude the big offensive inning.
 
Starting pitcher Gary Steindorf cruised through his first two innings after striking out four including the side in order in the NNU first.
 
The Crusaders chipped away with five runs in the third inning and erased the Wolves' advantage with two more runs in the fifth.
 
Poznanski had another run-scoring, extra-base hit in the sixth with a double to plate Leverett. Again, NNU had an answer to tie the game 8-8 entering the final inning.
 
In the final frame, Podratz drew a one-out walk and Marcus Madden drew a pinch-running assignment. The move paid off immediately as Forrest Garcia doubled to center, scoring Madden all the way from first base for a 9-8 lead.
 
Elias Bedolla closed out two innings of relief work with a 1-2-3 frame for the win.
 
Each team had 10 hits in the finale with WOU getting three RBI performances from Poznanski and Crunkilton.
 
Western Oregon returns home on Wednesday, April 27 to make up a seven-inning contest rained out in Montana against the Yellowjackets of MSU Billings. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. The regularly-scheduled GNAC series with MSUB remains on the calendar this upcoming Friday and Saturday, April 29-30.