PORTLAND, Ore. – The Western Oregon baseball team returned to the field for the first time in 16 days and swept its Great Northwest Athletic Conference opening doubleheader over Montana State Billings on Saturday in games played on the turf at Porter Park on the campus of Concordia-Portland. The Wolves got a strong effort from junior Brady Miller in a 9-4 opening win while a late MSUB rally was halted in the 3-2 nightcap.
 
GAME ONE – Western Oregon 9, Montana State Billings 4

• Jacob Martinez drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first inning and moved to second on a Brock Pradere sacrifice bunt. Joey Crunkilton, the WOU designated hitter, doubled to left field to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.
• The Yellowjackets (2-10, 0-2 GNAC) tied the game with a RBI groundout from Adam Cox in the top of the third.
• Another Martinez leadoff walk set the table for Western Oregon (3-3, 2-0 GNAC) to take the lead for good. Pradere singled and Crunkilton walked to load the bases. Nyles Nygaard pushed across the first run with a sacrifice fly to center field, cashing in Martinez. A wild pitch from MSUB starting pitcher Cody Cooper allowed the speedy Pradere to score from third for a 3-1 lead. Crunkilton tried to score another run, but he was put out at the plate on a good throw from MSUB's Matt Dillon.
• In the bottom of the sixth, Koty Fallon doubled to left field and scored two batters later on a RBI single from Jay Leverett. Leverett stole second and reached third base on a wild pitch. With two outs, Martinez singled to right-center and plated Leverett for a 5-1 lead.
• MSUB tallied three runs with a two-run triple doing the most damage. With the tying run at third and two outs, Connor McCord got a big strikeout to maintain the score at 5-4.
• Insurance came for Western Oregon in seventh with Nygaard hitting the first of his two late RBI singles followed by a two-run Leverett double. Nygaard's RBi hit in the eighth inning gave the Wolves a four-run cushion.

 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Miller evened his season record to 1-1 tossing six quality innings. He allowed one run on three hits while striking out nine.
• Kade Mechals struck out five of the six batters he faced in closing out the game.
• Nygaard and Leverett each went 2 for 3 with three RBI as WOU outhit the Yellowjackets 10-6.

 
GAME TWO – Western Oregon 3, Montana State Billings 2

• After Elias Bedolla retired MSUB in order in the top of the first, WOU picked up a two-out run in the home half. Crunkilton tripled to deep center field and scored when Nygaard singled through the left side for a 1-0 lead.
• MSUB had a chance to equalize the game in the next frame, but Pradere fired a throw home in time to get Kade Hall trying to score from second on a single with two outs.
• Each team had multiple opportunities with runners in scoring position over the next innings, but nobody could plate a run.
• Two critical runs for Western Oregon came in the bottom of the sixth. Fallon singled reached second on an error. A wild pitch, a plunking of catcher Justin Wakem and a sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position. Hunter Johnson brought home the eventual game-winning runs with a single for a 3-0 lead.
• MSUB staged a two-out rally in the seventh getting a two-run double from Cox to make him the tying run at second. Cam Walker was able to shut the door with a strikeout to end the game.

 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Bedolla threw 4.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn his first victory of the year (1-2).
• Fallon had the only multi-hit game for the Wolves.
• Shawn Domke allowed no hits in 1.2 relief innings.

 
UP NEXT:
Western Oregon will return to action on Monday at 11 a.m. when the close out the four-game league series with MSUB in Newburg, on the campus of George Fox University. Fans can follow the action via live stats at WOUWolves.com/Live.