MONMOUTH, Ore.—With seven games left on the season's regular-season slate, Western Oregon clinched one of the top four spots in the GNAC Tournament with a Saturday split against Central Washington.
Western Oregon (20-17, 20-13 GNAC) posted a 14-6 win in the opener before Central Washington (24-20, 19-15 GNAC) returned with a 5-3 win in the nightcap. The Wolves can clinch a top-3 seed in the tournament with one additional win or one Concordia loss.
The Wolves will play their final home games of the season on Sunday with another doubleheader against the Wildcats. Opening pitch is set for 12 p.m. with WOU honoring its 10 seniors prior to the game.
Game 1: Western Oregon def. Central Washington, 14-6
Clubbing 15 hits, Western Oregon topped Central Washington, 14-6, in the opener on Saturday.
The Wolves scored three runs in the 2nd and pulled away for good with five more runs in the 4th inning.
Griffey Halle started the spree with a 2-run homer for the initial scores.
The Wolves tallied five hits in the game-turning 4th, including a 3-run shot by Jared McDonald that cleared the center-field fence.
Pitching with the hefty lead, WOU's Alex Roth allowed three runs in the first seven innings before being touched for three more in the 8th. Roth struck out four and walked two while improving to 5-0 on the season from the mound.
Koty Fallon closed out the ninth inning for the Wolves.
The first five batters in WOU's order all registered two-hit games, including McDonald, who drove in five of the team's runs. Halle went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored.
Game 2: Central Washington def. Western Oregon, 5-3
After seeing a pair of leads erased by Western Oregon rallies, Central Washington scored two late runs to defeat the Wolves, 5-3, and earn a split on Saturday.
Held to two hits through the first four frames, Western Oregon tied the contest at 3-3 in the home half of the 5th when Connor McCord placed a single to right to usher Jacob Martinez home from second.
McCord was stranded in scoring position as CWU starter Griffin Davis (6-5) induced a fly to left to end the inning.
Buoyed by a WOU throwing error, the Wildcat offense responded immediately with two runs on two hits, including a Ro Ball two-run double to stake a 5-3 advantage in the top of the 6th.
Armed with the lead again, Davis sent WOU down in order in the bottom of the 6th and reliever Jacob Forrester continued the string with two quick outs.
Jay Leverett stopped the streak by roping a two-out single to right to place the tying run at the plate, but Forrester forced a grounder to second for the final out of the game and the completion of the save opportunity.
CWU outhit the Wolves 9-to-5
