NAMPA, Idaho – It will be a familiar opponent for the Western Oregon University baseball team when they open up the NCAA West Regional Championship this Thursday facing GNAC opponent Northwest Nazarene at 11 a.m. (Pacific).
WOU and NNU play the first game of the double-elimination regional on Thursday, with the winning team advancing to game three on Friday and the losing team turning right back around and playing top-seed Azusa Pacific later in the afternoon on Thursday.
The rest of the schedule is as follows. Depending on results from Thursday, Friday's games will vary. If two teams remain after game two, games three through five will be a best-of-three series between the remaining teams to determine the title. If two teams remain after game three, the remaining teams will play in game four. The team that is 2-0 would win the regional title with a game four win. If the 1-1 team wins game four, then the same teams will play again in game five to determine the regional champion. If three teams remain and are each 1-1 after game three, then the #2 and #3 seeds will play in game four. The winner of game four will then face the #1 seed in a winner-take-all game five for the regional title.
Thursday, May 27 (All times updated to Pacific)
Game 1: #3 Western Oregon vs. #2 Northwest Nazarene - 11:00 AM
Game 2: Loser of Game 1 vs. #1 Azusa Pacific - 2:30 PM
Friday, May 28
Game 3: Winner/Loser of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 1 - 11:00 AM
Game 4: TBD vs. TBD - 2:30 PM
Saturday, May 29
Game 5: TBD vs. TBD - 11:00 AM (If Necessary)
The Wolves played four at Northwest Nazarene back on Apr. 9-10 with the teams splitting the series. WOU won the first two games by scores of 3-2 and 7-1, before the Nighthawks came back on day two with walk-off wins by scores of 9-8 and 4-3.
Since that series, WOU went on to win eight straight games against Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's.
WOU is 20-6 overall on the season, going 8-2 at home and 12-4 away from Monmouth. Derek Maiben leads the team with a .417 batting average, tallying 45 hits, five doubles, three triples and 17 RBI. He also leads the team in runs scored with 28. Connor McCord is hitting .395 with 32 hits, 11 doubles, nine home runs and 33 RBI. He leads the team in home runs and doubles. He has scored 24 runs, holds a .864 slugging percentage and has a 1.349 OPS. Jacob Maiben is hitting .360 with 31 hits, six doubles and 15 RBI with 21 runs scored. Blayze Arcano adds a .358 average with 34 hits, four doubles, two triples, six home runs and a team-high 37 RBI while scoring 22 runs. Josh Berman is hitting .369 with 23 hits, six doubles, six home runs and 21 RBI with 18 runs scored. Several others in the lineup have solid averages including Hunter Johnson (.367), Hank Forrest (.357), David Gibons (.341) and Sam Jones (.324). As a team, WOU is hitting .328 with 275 hits, 53 doubles, six triples, 32 home runs, 185 RBI and 215 runs scored.
On the mound, Matthew Dunaway leads the starters with a 3.04 ERA in seven appearances that includes six starts. He has 39 strikeouts to just nine walks in 26.2 innings and is 3-1 with a complete game shutout. Nick Parr adds a 3.16 ERA in five appearances that includes four starts in 25.2 innings, going 3-0 on the season. He has 33 strikeouts to just seven walks. Mike Peterson gives the Wolves three starters with below four ERA coming in at 3.40 in seven starts. He has logged 42.1 innings and is 6-0 with 30 strikeouts to just 11 walks. Out of the bullpen, Michael Moore has a 1.50 ERA in six innings, Ryan Shipley adds a 3.07 ERA in 14.2 innings. Nathan Bonck leads the team with three saves, while Alan Vasquez and Trae Perkins add two saves apiece. McCord has thrown one inning this season collecting a pair of strikeouts. As a staff, WOU has a 4.56 ERA in 205.1 innings, posting 225 strikeouts to just 92 walks.
As a team, WOU led the GNAC or finished second in several categories and ranks high nationally in multiple categories including leading the GNAC and 17th nationally in batting average (.328), first in the GNAC and 66th nationally in complete games (2), second in the GNAC and 55th nationally in doubles per game (2.04), second in the GNAC and 34th nationally in ERA (4.56), first in the GNAC and 60th nationally in fielding percentage (.966), first in the GNAC and 24th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (8.28), 97th nationally in home runs (32), 47th nationally in home runs per game (1.23), first in the GNAC and 26th nationally in on-base percentage (.423), second in the GNAC in sacrifice bunts (13), second in the GNAC and 34th nationally in scoring (8.3), first in the GNAC and 58th nationally in shutouts (2), second in the GNAC and 33rd nationally in slugging percentage (.520), second in the GNAC in stolen bases per game (0.85), second in the GNAC and 35th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.45), first in the GNAC and 34th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (9.9), second in the GNAC and 30th nationally in WHIP (1.37), second in the GNAC and 20th nationally in win-loss percentage (.769) and second in the GNAC and 63rd nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (4.03).
Individually, Derek Maiben is ranked 27th nationally and leads the GNAC in batting average (.417), he ranks seventh nationally and first in the GNAC in hits per game (1.73), second nationally and first in the GNAC in toughest to strikeout (27.0), second in the GNAC and 75th nationally in triples (3) and first in the GNAC and 47th nationally in triples per game (0.12).
Connor McCord ranks 75th nationally in batting average (.395), 12th nationally and first in the GNAC in doubles per game (0.48), 26th nationally and first in the GNAC in home runs per game (0.39), 15th nationally and second in the GNAC in runs batted in per game (1.43), 10th nationally and first in the GNAC in slugging percentage (.864).
Dunaway ranks 61st nationally and first in the GNAC in hits allowed per nine innings (6.75), 80th nationally and second in the GNAC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.33), 21st nationally and second in the GNAC in strikeouts per nine innings (13.16) and 59th nationally and first in the GNAC in WHIP (1.09).
Peterson ranks 70th nationally and first in the GNAC in victories (6), 76th nationally and second in the GNAC in WHIP (1.13) and first in the GNAC in walks allowed per nine innings (2.34).
Jacob Maiben ranks 37th nationally and second in the GNAC in on-base percentage (.513).
Arcano is 12th nationally and first in the GNAC in runs batted in per game (1.48).
Bonck ranks 82nd nationally and second in the GNAC in saves (3).
WOU will open the regional with NNU on Thursday as this will be the first appearance in the postseason for the Nighthawks. NNU is 31-7 overall and have won their past three games including a win over Biola and two over Central Washington to claim the GNAC Tournament Championships. The Nighthawks are 17-5 at home this year.
Grant Kerry leads the team with a .369 average, tallying 52 hits, 11 home runs and 48 RBI with 29 runs scored. Ryan Dearing has a .367 average with 51 hits and 18 RBI, with 48 runs scored. Ben Johnson has a .333 average with two home runs and 15 RBI. Shawn Grandmont adds a .329 average with 46 hits, four doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 54 RBI. As a team, NNU is hitting .308 with 384 hits, 329 runs scored, 68 doubles, 11 triples, 54 home runs and 304 RBI.
On the mound, Blake McFadden holds a 1.93 ERA in 23.1 innings and is 4-0. Max Holtzclaw has a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings and is also 4-0. Shane Martin holds a 4-1 record and a 3.89 ERA in 41.2 innings. Kyle Ethridge is 6-1 in 53.2 innings and has a 4.02 ERA. As a staff, NNU has a 4.53 ERA in 313.2 innings.
Azusa Pacific enters with a 33-8 overall record, having win 10 straight games entering regionals. They hold a 11-5 record away from home. This past week, the Cougars went 4-0 winning two games each against Academy of Art and Hawaii Hilo.
WOU and Azusa Pacific faced each other during the 2018 season with the Cougars winning all three games in Azusa. The final two games of the series were close, with APU winning in 11 innings (4-3) and the finale (7-6).
Osvaldo Tovalin leads Azusa Pacific with a .402 average with 14 home runs and 49 RBI, along with 66 hits and 50 runs scored. Casey Dykstra has a .397 average with 11 doubles, 48 hits, 10 home runs and 29 RBI. Evan Banks has a .392 average with 38 hits, five doubles, a triple, six home runs and 20 RBI. As a team, APU is hitting .337 with 467 hits, 73 doubles, four triples, 99 home runs, 359 RBI and 384 runs scored.
On the mound, A.J. Woodall has a 2.02 ERA in 66.2 innings, going 8-0 with 65 strikeouts and 14 walks. Korey Shepard has a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings and Cory Dawson has a 6-1 record in 52.2 innings of work with a 3.93 ERA. As a staff, the Cougars have a 4.66 ERA in 338.1 innings. They have 355 strikeouts to just 124 walks.
This is the first trip to regionals for WOU since 2012 and is the eighth overall trip to the postseason since the team moved to NCAA in 2002. The Wolves have five postseason wins, picking up two wins each in 2005 and 2006, with the last win in regionals coming in 2006.
Live video and stats will be available throughout the regional. Please click here for the NCAA West Regional Championships page that includes links and other information in regards to the championships. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here.
