PORTLAND, Ore. – Not only have the Wolves gotten off to a strong start on the field, but in the classroom as well with 12 Western Oregon University baseball student-athletes being named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference Team, Presented by Barnes & Noble College on Tuesday.
Four return to the list for the second straight year, while Dylan Myers is on the list for the third time. Nick Parr led the way with a 3.61 GPA, followed by Jacob Maiben (3.50), Myers (3.42), Derek Maiben (3.37), Anthony Zellner (3.36), Mitchell Hulse (3.35), Justyn Herzog (3.31), Mike Peterson (3.28), David Gibons (3.25), Christian Hammerich (3.25), Trae Perkins (3.25) and Ryan Santa Cruz (3.21).
Parr is a senior from Las Vegas, Nev., majoring in business. He lands on the list for the second straight year. The right-handed pitcher is off to a strong start this year, going 2-0 in three appearances that includes a pair of starts. He has thrown 13.2 innings, holding teams to a 1.98 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and has 19 strikeouts to just three walks. His past two starts have both been strong and ended up in wins. Against Montana State Billings he went five innings and allowed just a run on a hit with six strikeouts. Most recently this past Saturday against Saint Martin's, Parr went 5.2 innings and allowed just a run with eight strikeouts.
Jacob Maiben is a junior from Newberg, Ore., majoring in criminal justice. Jacob has played left field throughout the season starting 13 games and is hitting .342 with 13 hits. He has added two doubles and five RBI, along with six walks, eight runs scored and a stolen base. Jacob has a hit in eight games this season going for a season-high four in the season-opening series against Saint Martin's. He has three multi-hit games and drove in three runs against the Saints in that same opening week series. He has a perfect fielding percentage handling all 19 putouts this year.
Myers earns the honor for the third straight year as the senior from Eugene, Ore., is majoring in business. The right-handed relief pitcher has thrown in two games so far this season and has a strikeout. He threw 1.1 innings against Central Washington and two-thirds of an inning versus Montana State Billings. Myers threw in three games last year during the shortened 2020 campaign.
Derek Maiben is a junior from Newberg, Ore., and is majoring in interdisciplinary studies. The slick-fielding shortstop has played in all 14 games this year that has included 13 starts. He is hitting .360 with 18 hits, two triples, a double and seven RBI, along with six walks and two stolen bases. He leads the team in hits, runs scored with 10 and triples, while being tied for the team lead in steals. Derek has a hit in 11 games this season, going for a season-high four at Central Washington. He has five multi-hit games and drove in a season-high three against Saint Martin's in the season-opening series. Derek has 22 putouts and 20 assists at shortstop this year.
Zellner is a junior from Salem, Ore., and is majoring in business. He lands on the list for the second straight year as the catcher has played in seven games this season that includes six starts. Zellner has four hits, a double, an RBI and four runs scored, along with three walks. He posted a three-hit game against Saint Martin's in the season-opening series that included a double and an RBI. Zellner has a perfect fielding percentage behind the plate handling 60 total chances with 56 putouts and four assists. He has helped catch a pitching staff that holds a 4.09 ERA in 110 innings of work, tallying 121 strikeouts to just 37 walks.
Hulse is a senior from Littleton, Colo., and is majoring in exercise science. He lands on the list for the second straight year. The infielder has played in one game this season in the season-opening series against Saint Martin's where he scored a run. During the 2020 shortened season, Hulse played in all 11 games, driving in three runs, along with a double, triple and home run.
Herzog is a sophomore from Hillsboro, Ore., and is majoring in exercise science. The third baseman is off to a strong start this season collecting 11 hits with three home runs and eight RBI, along with seven runs scored. He has started 13 games this season at the hot corner. He sits second on the team in homers and third in RBI. He has tallied four putouts and 17 assists in the field this year. Herzog has two multi-hit games this season, reaching a season-high three at Central Washington in which he had a pair of home runs and drove in three. He added a two-RBI game against Montana State Billings. Herzog has a hit in eight games this season and an RBI in five games this year.
Peterson is a senior from Pullman, Wash., and is majoring in exercise science. Coming off of his second GNAC Pitcher of the Week honor this season, the right-hander was also tabbed the NCBWA Regional Pitcher of the Week. He leads the team with a 3-0 record this season, logging the most innings on the team as well at 23. He holds a 1.57 ERA with a 0.74 WHIP posting 18 strikeouts to just three walks in four total appearances (all starts). He is holding teams to a .175 batting average. Peterson is coming off of his best start of the season in which he went eight shutout innings against Saint Martin's, allowing just a hit and two baserunners over the minimum while posting nine strikeouts. He has added a pair of strong six inning wins over both Central Washington and Montana State Billings in which he allowed just three total runs and collected eight strikeouts over the 12 innings of work.
Gibons is a junior from Redmond, Wash., and is majoring in business. The utility player is second on the team with a .361 batting average collecting 13 hits, four doubles and three RBI. He has added three runs scored. In the field, he has a perfect fielding percentage collecting 20 putouts at first base. Gibons has four multi-hit games this year going for a season-high four against Saint Martin's in the season-opening series. He has a hit in six games this year and drove in a run each against Montana State Billings (twice) and Saint Martin's. Gibons hit a pair of doubles against Montana State Billings.
Hammerich is a junior from San Francisco, Calif., and is majoring in exercise science. The left-handed pitcher has seen action out of the bullpen against Montana State Billings so far this season. During the 2019 season, he pitched in seven games, holding a 2-0 record with a 2.45 ERA, striking out 13 batters in 11 innings of work. He tossed a season-high 2.1 innings in the GNAC Championships against Montana State Billings.
Perkins is a senior from Eagle Point, Ore., and is majoring in business. The right-handed pitcher has been one of the top relievers out of the bullpen so far this season picking up a pair of saves in seven innings of work. He holds a 1.29 ERA with seven strikeouts to just one walk in three appearances, holding a 0.86 WHIP and a .200 batting average against. Both of his saves this season were three innings as he recorded his first save against Central Washington allowing just a hit and a walk with two strikeouts in a shutout effort. Perkins then came back to toss a three inning save against Montana State Billings allowing just a run, while striking out four. He pitched this past weekend against Saint Martin's going an inning without allowing a run with a strikeout.
Santa Cruz is a senior from Irvine, Calif., and is majoring in communication. The catcher has caught seven games this season and has tallied two hits, with a pair of walks and a run scored at the plate. Santa Cruz tallied a hit against Central Washington and a hit against Saint Martin's, while scoring a run against Montana State Billings. Santa Cruz has tallied 52 putouts and nine assists behind the plate this year. He has helped catch a pitching staff that holds a 4.09 ERA in 110 innings of work, tallying 121 strikeouts to just 37 walks.
WOU will return to action this coming Friday when they will open another four-game GNAC series at No. 15 Northwest Nazarene beginning at 2 p.m. (Pacific)
