MONMOUTH, Ore. – Needing a win to stay in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, the Western Oregon University baseball team received a strong start from Mike Peterson, great relief work and some timely hitting to defeat Northwest Nazarene, 4-1, to leave all three teams 1-1 after two days. This means that there will be two games tomorrow (Saturday) with Western Oregon playing Montana State Billings in the first game and then the winner will face Northwest Nazarene in the championship game.
Northwest Nazarene defeated Montana State Billings by a score of 2-0 in the earlier game on Friday. After WOU then won the second game of the day, that left everyone with a 1-1 record. By virtue of being the top-seed in the field, NNU advances to the championship game and will await the winner of the first game between WOU and MSUB.
Peterson was able to limit Northwest Nazarene (30-20) to just one run in 5.2 innings to pick up his fourth win (4-0) of the season. Bryce Bond was solid in relief once again tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless work. Matthew Dunaway came on in the ninth to close out his fourth save of the season adding two strikeouts.
Western Oregon (32-18) received the big hit they needed from John Stark in the fourth inning. After the Nighthawks were able to get a run home in the first inning, the Wolves took the lead for good in the fourth. With Logan Ho on after being hit-by-pitch, Stark drilled a 1-1 pitch that sailed deep over the left field fence for a two-run shot and a 2-1 lead.
Peterson tossed a 1-2-3 fourth and then worked around a jam in the fifth stranding runners at the corners to preserve the one-run lead.
WOU added some insurance in the sixth. Justyn Herzog opened the inning with a double to deep left that kept traveling before settling in near the wall. Ho laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Herzog to third and then he scored when Jackson Holstad battled to a 2-2 count before unleashing a sharp double to left for the RBI and a 3-1 lead.
The Wolves collected the final run of the game in the seventh. Spencer Weston opened the inning with a single and then moved to second on a wild pitch. After a fielder's choice play cut down the lead runner at third, Jacob Maiben was hit-by-pitch to move another runner into scoring position. With the second out recorded, Herzog launched a single to left for the RBI and a 4-1 lead.
Bond worked around a leadoff single in the seventh before retiring the side after that. Then in the eighth, he continued to run through the lineup working a 1-2-3 inning.
Dunaway then came on in the ninth getting the first two outs before a single and an error prolonged the inning. Haden Keller worked a 2-2 count before Dunaway ended the game with the potential tying run at the plate with a strikeout for the 4-1 victory.
Each team tallied eight hits on the day and both teams committed an error. Herzog and Weston led the Wolves with two hits each, while Stark drove in two runs and both Herzog and Holstad added RBI hits.
Parker Price, Tyler Best and Duke Pahukoa posted two hits each to lead Northwest Nazarene. Alex Salsman drove in the only run for the Nighthawks. On the mound, Spencer Schwehr started and went the first five innings allowing three earned runs to end up with the loss (2-5). Joseph Ihli went the next three innings allowing one earned run before Shane Martin tossed the ninth. NNU left 11 runners on base in the game. WOU played as the road team in this game with NNU as the higher seed.
The tentative schedule right now for tomorrow (Saturday) is as follows. Updates/changes to the schedule if needed will be made in the morning.
WOU will play Montana State Billings in the first game starting at 12 p.m. The winner will play Northwest Nazarene in the championship game at 3 p.m.
