NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Oregon baseball team split the first two games of their four-game series against Northwest Nazarene on Friday afternoon, winning 6-1 in the opener before an 11-10 walk-off loss in the second game of the doubleheader at Vail Baseball Field.
The win in the opener extended the winning streak for Western Oregon (12-4, 10-4 GNAC) to five consecutive games, matching their longest winning streak of the season. The 6-1 victory also marked the fifth consecutive game the Wolves held an opponent to two or fewer runs while allowing just two runs over a stretch of 33 innings dating back to March 16 through the end of the first game on Friday.
Connor McCord cranked out two solo homeruns in the game for the second multi-home run game of his career, both of which have come on the road. He also threw the final 1.1 innings of the game, tossing shutout baseball while allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Dylan Myers added on 2.2 innings of shutout relief as well. It was a season-high in work for the sophomore and the third time he has held opponents scoreless this season.
The Wolves spread their scoring out throughout the game, plating a run in five separate frames. Two runs crossed the plate in the seventh on four hits, all singles.
Derek Maiben went 2-for-4 in game one, scoring twice. He recorded another two hits in the second contest, combining for a 4-for-8 day, scoring three runs, walking once and collecting one RBI.
Northwest Nazarene (10-12, 6-8 GNAC) snapped the Wolves' win streak in game two, earning a walk-off win, 11-10 in extra innings.
Both starting pitchers were knocked out of the game in the fourth, an inning that saw just one run score on each side.
The Nighthawks snagged their first lead of the day in the bottom of the fifth when they scored five runs on four hits and two errors. Jesse Hilyard cranked a two-run homer, his third of the season, to open up the rally before Michael Hults lined an RBI double to center to cap the big inning.
Trailing 9-5 going to the top of the seventh and down to their final three outs at the plate, Western Oregon mounted a comeback, scoring five runs on the back of three hits including a three-RBI triple from
Griffey Halle. It was Halle's conference-leading fourth triple of the season.
Now armed with a 10-9 advantage and putting NNU against the wall, the Wolves were unable to close the door for their sixth straight victory. NNU snuck in a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to keep the game alive.
Two innings later, Ben Johnson capitalized on his only at-bat of the game for a walk-off single to give the Nighthawks an 11-10 win.
Western Oregon has now lost on a walk-off in three of their four defeats this season.
Jared McDonald went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI in game two. It was his first three-hit game of the season and his eighth multi-hit performance.
Western Oregon and Northwest Nazarene will play another doubleheader Saturday at Vail Baseball Field. Originally scheduled for later in the day, first pitch in game one March 23 has been moved up to 10 a.m. PDT in Nampa.
