Blayze Arcano
Loren Orr
12
Winner Northwest Nazarene NNU-BB 34-8
6
Western Ore. WOU 34-11
Winner
Northwest Nazarene NNU-BB
34-8
12
Final
6
Western Ore. WOU
34-11
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northwest Nazarene NNU-BB 5 1 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 12 11 1
Western Ore. WOU 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 6 8 2

W: Ihli,Joseph (1-0) L: Hatley, Logan (2-2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Brian Kortz

Great Season Comes to an End for Baseball in NCAA West Regional Title Game

NAMPA, Idaho – It all came down to one last game to see who would advance past the NCAA West Regional and to the NCAA National Championships. The #23 Western Oregon University baseball team rallied in the middle innings but couldn't come all the way back with #15 Northwest Nazarene claiming the 12-6 win on Saturday to clinch the West Region title.

NNU (34-8) came out right away and plated five runs in the first inning. WOU (22-8), playing as the home team on Saturday, were trailing 6-0 into the bottom of the third before getting on the board. With one out, Derek Maiben singled to right-center and later stole second. After the second out was recorded, Connor McCord hit a deep drive to center for an RBI double leaving NNU with a 6-1 lead after three.

The Nighthawks pushed across four more runs in the fifth on a pair of two-run homers to move ahead 10-1. It ended up being a big fifth inning for both teams, with WOU answering back with five runs in the home half. With two outs quickly recorded, WOU put together an impressive two-out rally. Derek Maiben battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk. Jacob Maiben singled on the first pitch to right-center. McCord added a single through the right side to bring in Derek Maiben. Josh Berman walked to load the bases. Following a pitching change, Justyn Herzog was hit-by-pitch on the first offering he saw to bring in a run. Anthony Zellner capped the big inning with a bases-clearing double to left for three RBI and pulled WOU to within four at 10-6. It was the second straight day in which Zellner had recorded a bases-clearing double.

NNU tallied runs in the sixth and eighth innings both off solo home runs to move out to a 12-6 lead. The Wolves couldn't get much going offensively after the fifth inning. Blayze Arcano was hit-by-pitch in the sixth but was left stranded at third. In the seventh, McCord walked before three straight outs were recorded. WOU then had to face Nate Ethridge over the final two innings, as the Wolves got a single by Tyler Brandenburg in the eighth, but that would be it over the final two innings with the Nighthawks claiming the 12-6 win.

NNU held an 11-8 edge in hits with Jacob Maiben and McCord leading the Wolves with two hits apiece. Zellner drove in three runs and McCord added two RBI. On the mound, Logan Hatley started and ended up with the loss (2-2) allowing six runs (five earned) in one-plus innings. Joe Kinsky was the next one in for the Wolves, and he tossed a solid 3.1 innings, allowing three earned runs with four strikeouts. Seth Kuykendall went two-thirds of an inning allowing one earned run with a strikeout. Mike Peterson came back on short rest and pitched the sixth inning allowing one earned run with two strikeouts. Nick Parr pitched in back-to-back days going two innings and allowing just one earned run with a pair of strikeouts. Alan Vasquez tossed the ninth inning allowing no runs with one hit.

Ben Johnson, John Gonzalez and Kyle Payne all led the Nighthawks with two hits apiece. Gonzalez drove in four runs on a pair of homers. Payne added three RBI on two homers. On the mound, Shane Martin started and went the first 4.2 innings, allowing five earned runs. Blake McFadden got the final out in the fifth and allowed an earned run. Joseph Ihli picked up the win (1-0) working two scoreless innings. Ethridge then went the final two innings allowing only a hit.

It's the third time in program history that the Wolves have won two games in regional play, also occurring in 2006 and 2005. Overall, WOU now has seven wins in NCAA regional play as this was their first trip to the postseason since 2012. The Wolves finish the season 22-8 overall, going 8-2 at home, 13-6 on the road and 1-0 in neutral games. Their only neutral game was the 16-5 win over Azusa Pacific that eliminated the Cougars and was the most runs scored in program history in a regional game.

Saturday's game was the final game as Wolves for the 18 seniors: Mitchell Hulse, Ryan Santa Cruz, Hunter Johnson, Jayden Hanna, Blayze Arcano, Sam Jones, Logan Hatley, Tyler Brandenburg, Alan Vasquez, Josh Berman, Dylan Myers, Hank Forrest, Connor McCord, David Gibons, Nick Parr, Nathan Bonck, Christian Hammerich and Wryland McKnight.

Senior notes: McCord finished this year with 11 home runs which is the second time he has reached that mark in his career, also doing so as a sophomore in 2018...he drove in 40 or more RBI in three seasons...Arcano posted WOU career highs in home runs (7) and RBI (39) this year and posted a four-hit game against Azusa Pacific to tie a season-high...Berman put together an impressive one and only season with the Wolves, collecting eight home runs and 26 RBI, while hitting .354, he tallied five hits during regionals...Bonck worked a scoreless 2.2 innings against Azusa Pacific and had three saves this year...Brandenburg had a hit in all four regional games...Forrest saw time in all four regional games, starting games one and four...Gibons saw time at first base in the third game of regionals and finished the regular season with hits in four of his last five games...Johnson saw time in the first game of regionals against NNU and posted four multi-hit games during the regular season...Parr tossed in two games and logged 7.2 innings during regionals...he collected five strikeouts and allowed just three earned runs...Santa Cruz started behind the plate in the regional opening win over NNU...Vasquez pitched in three games during regionals, logging five innings and posted five strikeouts, allowing two earned runs.
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