Box Score PORTLAND, Ore.—Behind a pair of extra-base hits from Mitchell Hulse and a 7-inning gem by Alex Roth, Western Oregon defeated Northwest Nazarene, 10-2, in the opening game of the 2019 GNAC Championships on Wednesday.

With the win, Western Oregon (30-11) will await the winner of the evening game between No. 1-seed MSU Billings and No. 4-seed Saint Martin's. First pitch between the two winners will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

After providing an RBI-triple in the 4th, Hulse delivered the swing of the day with a 3-run homer to right-center to make it a 5-0 contest.

Pitching with the early lead, Roth (7-0) held Northwest Nazarene (24-23) scoreless in 7 innings of work from the bump. Roth, the GNAC Pitcher of the Year, struck out seven and allowed just six hits in a 130-pitch performance.

The Nighthawks squandered multiple opportunities to break through against Roth as NNU stranded runners in each of the first four frames. NNU placed runners at third base in back-to-back innings only for a Roth strikeout to end the threat in the 3rd while an out on a would-be stolen base attempt wiped out the scoring chance in the 4th.

The Nighthawks avoided the shutout with a 2-run double by Shawn Grandmont while facing the WOU bullpen in the 8th. Entering the game with the tying run at the plate, WOU's Cam Walker immediately forced an inning-ending double play on a comebacker to thwart the rally.

WOU batted around in the 9th inning with seven straight batters reaching base and five additional runs coming in to score for the final tally. 

Hulse ended the day with a 2-for-3 line with the three RBI to lead WOU at the plate. Jacob Maiben added a 3-for-4 performance that included one RBI and three runs scored.

Walker recorded the final five outs of the game for WOU with two coming via a strikeout.

The win also gave the Wolves their 30th victory of the season. Western Oregon has now reached the 30-win plateau in 15 of the last 18 seasons since joining the GNAC in 2002.

They will play again tomorrow, May 10, at 3:30 p.m. PDT against the winner of the Yellowjackets and Saints.