MONMOUTH, Ore. – It will be the second straight weekend that the Western Oregon University baseball team will be hosting a Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent in conference play when Central Washington comes to Monmouth to play a four-game series this Friday and Saturday as the teams will play doubleheaders each day starting at noon at the WOU Baseball Field.
WOU (10-7, 3-1 GNAC) has won four of their last five, including a 3-1 series win over Montana State Billings last weekend. It was a dominant start to the series against the 'Jackets as the Wolves outscored MSUB 18-3 in the first two games. The final two games of the series were tighter, with WOU pulling out the 2-1 win in game three, before MSUB claimed the final game thanks to a big seventh inning for the 7-2 win.
The Wolves played a mid week game against George Fox this past Tuesday, coming away with the 8-5 victory.
WOU and Central Washington just played two games against each other in Ellensburg back on Feb. 26 with the Wildcats taking both games by scores of 7-6 and 9-2. In fact, the past 10 meetings in the series have all been played in Ellensburg. The last time the teams faced each other in Monmouth was a four-game set on Apr. 19-20, 2019 with WOU taking the four-game series sweep.
Pitching, defense and stolen bases have helped carry the Wolves to start the season. The pitching staff holds a 3.96 ERA in 141 innings this season, coming away with 158 strikeouts to just 64 walks. The defense has committed just 19 errors in 569 chances for a 96.7 fielding percentage. On the base paths, WOU has come away with 26 stolen bases in 30 chances on the season.
Jacob Maiben leads the way with a .321 batting average, collecting 17 hits, nine runs, a double, a triple and five RBI. He has 10 walks and is 7-7 on stolen bases. Derek Maiben is hitting .306 with 19 hits, 13 runs, a double and nine RBI. He is 5-6 on stolen base attempts. Jackson Holstad, coming off of his three-hit game at George Fox, is hitting .300 on the season with 18 hits, six runs, four doubles, a triple and nine RBI. He has gone 4-5 on stolen base attempts. Spencer Weston is approaching a .300 average sitting at .288 with 15 hits, 13 runs, three doubles and eight RBI. He has 13 walks and is 3-4 on stolen base attempts. Sebastian Morales is hitting .348 in 23 at-bats this season, posting a pair of doubles. Anthony Zellner is at .289 with 13 hits, six runs, four doubles and seven RBI. Darian Noll is off to a .286 average in seven at-bats, along with a stolen base. John Stark leads the team with two home runs and has six RBI in 27 at-bats, while hitting .259. Levi Cummings has six hits and is 4-4 in stolen bases. Justyn Herzog collecting a pair of hits against George Fox and now has eight RBI on the season. As a team, WOU is hitting .236 with 129 hits, 84 runs, 21 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 62 RBI. The Wolves have drawn 73 walks. Opponents are hitting .238 with 129 hits, 76 runs, 25 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 67 RBI. Opponents have drawn 64 walks and are 24-26 in stolen base attempts.
Sebasten Boivin leads the pitching staff with a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings. He picked up his first save of the season with a 1-2-3 striking out the side ninth inning at George Fox. He has 12 strikeouts on the season and teams are hitting .191 against him. Arturo Alvarez has the top ERA of the starters at 2.25 in 20 innings. He is 2-0 with 12 strikeouts to just three walks. Bryce Bond is right behind with a 2.51 ERA having started two games this season. He is 1-0 in 14.1 innings, coming away with 17 strikeouts to just four walks. Matthew Dunaway holds a 2.60 ERA in 17.1 innings, he has 32 strikeouts to just six walks and opponents are hitting just .148 against him. Parker Johnson is 3-1 on the season in 13.1 innings and has a 2.70 ERA. He came on in relief to pick up a big win against MSUB and has 15 strikeouts to just four walks. Seth Kuykendall added a save this past weekend and has pitched 18.2 innings, going 2-1 with a 3.37 ERA. He has 25 strikeouts to just two walks. Michael Moore has the other win on the staff in eight innings pitched. He also has two saves, while Chris Hardin is tied for the team lead with Moore in saves with two. Opponents have a 3.55 ERA in 142 innings, coming away with 133 strikeouts to 73 walks.
Central Washington is 7-12 overall on the season and 1-3 in GNAC play. The Wildcats are 4-9 in road games this year. This past weekend, CWU hosted Northwest Nazarene, as after winning the first game of the series, the Nighthawks then came back to win the final three games.
Adam Fahsel leads CWU with a .392 average, coming away with 31 hits, 22 runs, nine doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI. Austin Ohland is hitting .352 with 25 hits, 11 runs scored, 14 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI. Zach Berryman holds a .316 average, tallying 25 hits, 18 runs, two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. Austin Hauck is hitting .340 in 12 games this season, tallying four home runs and six RBI. As a team, the Wildcats are hitting .290 with 189 hits, 122 runs, 45 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 105 RBI. They have gone 12-19 in stolen base attempts. Opponents are hitting .336 with 227 hits, 163 runs, 38 doubles, five triples, 17 home runs and 151 RBI. Opponents are 40-43 in stolen base attempts.
On the mound, Gabe Bustamante leads the way with a 0.00 ERA in four innings. Brayde Hirai has a 1.29 ERA in seven innings. Josh Touhey and Ryan Arredondo lead the team in wins with both picking up two. As a staff, CWU holds a 7.37 ERA in 156.1 innings, posting 106 strikeouts to 70 walks. Opponents have a 5.17 ERA in 162 innings, coming away with 166 strikeouts to 74 walks.
WOU holds a 119-48 series record against CWU since 2002 and have gone 57-18 in Monmouth during that time. Central Washington is 6-4 against the Wolves in the past 10 meetings that all took place in Ellensburg.
Live video and stats will be available for both days against Central Washington. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here.
Tickets can be purchased here or can be purchased at the gate by cash only.
