ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Oregon University baseball team will play their first games against a Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent this season when they travel to face Central Washington in a non-conference doubleheader in Ellensburg this Saturday starting at noon. WOU will see the Wildcats just a few weeks after in Monmouth on Mar. 12-13 in a series that will count towards the conference standings.
WOU (6-4) was able to play two games this past weekend at home against Eastern Oregon to open the home portion of the schedule. The Wolves split the two low-scoring affairs with the Mountaineers winning the first game in extra innings, 3-1, before WOU came back with the 2-1 win in the nightcap. Sunday's doubleheader was wiped out due to weather.
Jacob Maiben and Derek Maiben lead the offense with Jacob hitting .333 with 12 hits, eight runs scored, a double, a triple and two RBI. He has seven walks to just three strikeouts, along with going 5-5 on stolen base attempts. Derek is hitting .317 with 13 hits, seven runs scored and five RBI. He has two walks to just four strikeouts on the season, along with going 4-4 on stolen base attempts. Jackson Holstad holds a .297 average, tallying 11 hits, three runs scored, two doubles and five RBI. He has added three stolen bases. Spencer Weston is hitting .233 with seven hits, seven runs scored, two doubles and six RBI, along with 12 walks and two stolen bases. Hibiki Ouchi and Curran Mitzel each have home runs for the Wolves. Anthony Zellner and Justyn Herzog have driven in five RBI each. As a team, WOU is hitting .224 with 74 hits, 46 runs scored, 13 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 36 RBI. They have 51 walks and 16 stolen bases. Opponents are hitting .251 with 85 hits, 44 runs scored, 16 doubles, two triples, a home run and 39 RBI. Opponents have 41 walks and 16 stolen bases.
On the mound, Mike Peterson made his return and tossed a scoreless inning. Michael Moore has two saves on the season in seven innings, posting a 1.29 ERA, while adding five strikeouts. He also has a win to go 1-0 on the season. Sebasten Boivin has a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings, tallying eight strikeouts. Parker Johnson has a 2.25 ERA in eight innings, going 2-0 with eight strikeouts. Arturo Alvarez has the lowest ERA of the starting staff at 2.38 in 11.1 innings, he is 1-0 with nine strikeouts. Matthew Dunaway is right behind with the next lowest ERA for the starting staff at 2.40 in 15 innings. He already has 29 strikeouts on the season and teams are hitting just .151 against the right-hander. Bryce Bond has a start on the season in 7.2 innings and holds a 3.52 ERA with four strikeouts. Seth Kuykendall is 2-1 in 14.1 innings, collecting 19 strikeouts and a 4.40 ERA. As a staff, WOU has a 3.98 ERA in 86 innings, allowing 44 runs (38 earned) and 100 strikeouts to just 41 walks. Opponents have a 3.48 ERA in 88 innings, allowing 46 runs (34 earned) and 85 strikeouts to 51 walks.
WOU holds a 119-46 series record against Central Washington since 2002 as the teams split their four-game series in Ellensburg last year. The series in Monmouth was canceled. The Wolves have gone 6-4 over the past 10 meetings and are 55-26 playing at Ellensburg during that time.
Central Washington is 4-9 on the season and this will be their first home series of the new season. The Wildcats split a four-game series with College of Idaho and after going 2-3 in a series at Cal State San Bernardino, CWU dropped all four at Lewis-Clark State in Idaho.
Adam Fahsel leads the Wildcats with a .368 average, tallying 21 hits, 13 runs, six doubles, a home run and 11 RBI. Austin Ohland is hitting .360 with 8 hits, 10 doubles, a home run and 13 RBI. Austin Hauck is hitting .348 with 16 hits, 10 runs, four doubles, dour home runs and six RBI. Zach Berryman is also hitting over .300 at .316 with 18 hits, nine runs, two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. As a team, CWU is hitting .281 with 130 hits, 73 runs, 32 doubles, a triple, 10 home runs and 60 RBI. Opponents are hitting .346 with 163 hits, 116 runs, 27 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs and 104 RBI.
On the mound, Gabe Bustamante has a 0.00 ERA in three innings. Brayde Hirai has a 2.25 ERA in four innings. In terms of starting pitchers, Josh Touhey is 1-2 with a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings. Beau Kearsey is 0-2 wit ha 7.15 ERA in 11.1 innings. Ryan Arredondo is 1-1 in 14 innings and has an 8.36 ERA. Jake Bradley has started two games and holds a 5.52 ERA in 14.2 innings and is 0-1. As a staff, CWU has a 7.81 ERA in 108.1 innings, allowing 116 runs (94 earned), along with 71 strikeouts and 58 walks. Opponents have a 5.00 ERA in 117 innings, allowing 73 runs (65 earned), along with 112 strikeouts and 48 walks.
Live video and stats will be available for the doubleheader on Saturday. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here.
