AZUSA, Calif. – Another return trip to the postseason is here for the Western Oregon University baseball team as they will travel to Azusa Pacific to compete in the NCAA West Regional #2 this Thursday through Saturday. WOU will open the regional against #24 Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday at 2 p.m. that will be played at Azusa Pacific.
#16 Azusa Pacific is the second seed in the region and will have a bye to the second game. The winning team between sixth seed Western Oregon and third seed Cal State Monterey Bay will advance to game three that will be played on Friday. The losing team will have to turn around and play Azusa Pacific at 6 p.m. on Thursday night. Games three and four of the regional will be played at the same times of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday. If necessary, there will be a game five played on Saturday at 1 p.m.
In the other West Regional, top seed Point Loma will host fourth seed Northwest Nazarene and fifth seed Cal Poly Pomona. The winners of the two regionals will advance to the Super Regional that will take place the following week at the highest remaining seed.
WOU is making their ninth overall trip to the postseason since moving to NCAA Division II in 2002. WOU has seven postseason wins in regional action, collecting two last year in Nampa. Last year's NCAA West Regional saw the Wolves advance to the regional title game after picking up wins over host Northwest Nazarene and eliminating top seed Azusa Pacific. The Nighthawks were able to win the final two games of the regional and advance to the College World Series.
Western Oregon enters with a record of 34-18 and are coming off of a three-game winning streak to take the GNAC Championships. WOU started the run with a 4-1 win over Northwest Nazarene. Then on the final day, the Wolves opened with a 7-2 win over Montana State Billings and then defeated Northwest Nazarene in the GNAC Championship game by a score of 5-2.
The Maiben twins power the offense with Jacob Maiben holding a .333 average, along with 58 hits, 38 runs, six doubles, two triples, a home run, 21 RBI, 28 walks and 20 stolen bases. Jacob leads the team in average, hits, walks and stolen bases. He is second on the team in runs scored and triples. Derek Maiben is hitting .301 with 56 hits, 39 runs, seven doubles, a triple, a home run, 35 RBI, 19 walks and 19 stolen bases. Derek leads the team in runs scored and RBI. He is second on the team in hits, walks and stolen bases. Jackson Holstad is hitting .270 with 47 hits, 21 runs, 11 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 34 RBI and eight stolen bases. He leads the team in doubles and is second on the team in RBI. Justyn Herzog is hitting .261 with 35 hits, 29 runs, eight doubles, four triples, three home runs and 28 RBI. He leads the team in triples. Anthony Zellner has tallied 36 hits, 10 doubles and 22 RBI. He is second on the team in doubles. John Stark leads the team in home runs with 10 and is third on the team with 31 RBI. Levi Cummings has 23 hits, 31 runs, four doubles and 14 RBI. Spencer Weston has 20 RBI and Logan Ho adds 10.
On the mound, Sebasten Boivin has a 2.38 ERA in 41.2 innings, posting two wins, a save and 20 strikeouts. Bryce Bond has three wins on the season and three saves in 40.2 innings, holding a 2.66 ERA and has 48 strikeouts. Arturo Alvarez has seven wins on the season in 65.2 innings, holding a 2.74 ERA with 48 strikeouts. Matthew Dunaway leads the team with five saves in 31.2 innings, posting a 2.84 ERA with 49 strikeouts. Mike Peterson added his fourth win of the season at GNAC's, to go along with a 2.97 ERA in 57.2 innings and 50 strikeouts. Dominic Miller has a win in 13.1 innings, along with a 3.38 ERA and 18 strikeouts. Parker Johnson has a team-high eight wins in 57.2 innings, coming away with 43 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA. Chris Hardin has three saves in 22.2 innings, along with 25 strikeouts. Seth Kuykendall has five wins and two saves in 46.2 innings, along with a 4.82 ERA and 45 strikeouts. Joe Kinsky and Michael Moore also have wins on the season, with Moore adding two saves.
In terms of the NCAA rankings, Alvarez is 51st nationally in ERA, 41st in hits allowed per nine innings (6.99), 89th in victories (7), and 30th in WHIP (1.05). Peterson is 67th in ERA, and 69th in WHIP (1.14). Cummings is 78th in sacrifice bunts (6) and 87th in sacrifice bunts per game (0.14). Derek Maiben is eighth in sacrifice flies (8), 88th in stolen bases, and 10th in toughest to strikeout. Dunaway is 61st in saves. Jacob Maiben is 78th in stolen bases. Herzog is 61st in triples and 60th in triples per game (0.10).
As a team in the NCAA rankings, WOU is 13th in ERA, fourth in fielding percentage (.977), 17th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.23), 16th in sacrifice bunts (35), 71st in sacrifice flies (24), 36th in shutouts (4), 94th in stolen bases (66), 34th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.49), 83rd in strikeouts per nine innings (8.6), 10th in WHIP (1.30), 50th in win-loss percentage (65.4), 32nd in walks allowed per nine innings (3.47).
Head Coach Kellen Walker is now just three wins away from 250 during his time at Western Oregon following the three wins this past weekend. The 34 wins this season ties for his career-high at WOU matching the 2013 team that went 34-20.
WOU will open with Cal State Monterey Bay, as the Otters are 36-15 and compete in the CCAA. After winning five straight games, Cal State Monterey Bay dropped the regular season finale to Chico State. Then in the CCAA Tournament, the Otters lost by a run to Cal State Dominguez Hills and by three runs to Cal State San Bernardino. They didn't face any teams from the GNAC this year, but did host Azusa Pacific earlier this season with APU taking three of four.
Brady Miguel leads the offense with a .397 average, along with 12 doubles, six triples, three home runs and 44 RBI. Jacob Martin is hitting .346 with 14 doubles, five home runs and 60 RBI. Jason Ajamian is hitting .337 with seven home runs and 52 RBI. Nico Hartojo is hitting .317 with five home runs and 31 RBI. Chase Lindemann rounds out the team hitting over .300 at .303 with four home runs and 29 RBI.
On the mound, Christian McInerney leads the way with a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings, adding three wins. Colby Harrison has a 1.71 ERA in 21 innings, tallying a win and a save. Joseph Standley has six wins to lead the team, along with a 2.04 ERA in 57.1 innings. Parker Fokken adds five wins and a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 innings. Ethan McRae, Ryan Platero also have five wins on the season. Chris Tonna leads the team in saves with four.
WOU is 8-10 against Cal State Monterey Bay since 2007, with the Otters winning the past four meetings. The teams last played in 2018 in Seaside, Calif., with CSMB winning all three games. The last win for WOU in the series was in 2015 claiming the 7-6 victory in Seaside. Of the 18 meetings, 14 have been played at CSMB.
Azusa Pacific is 34-16 on the season and have gone 14-11 at home. After a slot start to the season in which the Cougars were 6-10, they reeled off 16 straight wins. Playing in the PacWest, the conference doesn't have a conference tournament, so APU completed the regular season this past week playing Biola four times and split the series. The Cougars played one team from the GNAC in Northwest Nazarene to start the season way back on Feb. 4-5. The teams split the four-game set in Azusa.
George Christison is hitting .346 with 55 hits, 43 runs, eight doubles, four home runs and 32 RBI. Aaron Roose holds a .337 average with 60 hits, 60 runs, 12 doubles, six home runs and 31 RBI. Omar Lopez is hitting .327 with nine doubles, five home runs and 33 RBI. Then the power in the lineup starts after that with Tido Robles hitting 16 home runs and 57 RBI, while holding a .311 average. Spencer Rasmussen also has 16 home runs and 47 RBI while hitting .296. Casey Dykstra has 12 home runs and 24 RBI while hitting .280.
On the mound, Isaac Mendez has a 3.11 ERA in 55 innings, collecting four wins and a save. Steven Silvas has a 3.67 ERA in 34.1 innings, adding a win. A.J. Woodall has eight wins in 79.2 innings, holding a 3.84 ERA. David Hays is 5-0 with a 4.64 ERA in 64 innings. Brendan Dixon adds six wins and a 5.95 ERA in 39.1 innings. Hayden Merda leads the team with six saves, while Declan Kearney adds five.
WOU has gone 3-5 against Azusa Pacific since 2016, having won the last meeting that occurred at the NCAA West Regional last season in Nampa with the Wolves claiming the 16-5 victory. That snapped a five-game winning streak in the series for APU. That was also the first neutral site game played between the teams, with the previous seven meetings being played at Azusa.
Live video and stats will be available for all games.
Click here for video
Click here for stats
NCAA West Regional #2
Thursday, May 19
#3 Cal State Monterey Bay vs. #6 Western Oregon: 2 p.m.
#2 Azusa Pacific vs. Winner of game one: 6 p.m.
Friday, May 20
Winner of game one vs. winner/loser of game two: 2 p.m.
Game four will be played at 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
If necessary game at 1 p.m.
