Western Oregon (7-9, 2-2) vs. Central Washington (9-9, 4-0)
12 p.m. Friday (DH) | WOU Baseball Field (Monmouth, Ore.)
12 p.m. Saturday (DH) | WOU Baseball Field (Monmouth, Ore.)
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GNAC STANDINGS | GNAC STATISTICS | WOU STATS | WOU STAT RANKINGS

SERIES HISTORY ...
VS. CENTRAL WASHINGTON

• All-time: 149-68
• Streak: Won 5
• 2023 Record vs. NNU: 8-1 (4-0 at home, 3-1 at Ellensburg, 1-0 neutral - GNAC Championsihps)

THE WOLVES ...
LAST WEEK: 2-2 at #10 Northwest Nazarene
STREAK: Won 2
SPLITS: Home 3-1 | Road 4-6 | Neutral 0-2
TEAM STATS (GNAC Ranking: Out of 5 Teams):

• Runs/Game: 6.75 (2nd) | AVG: .290 (3rd) | ERA: 6.04 (3rd) | Fielding %: .964 (2nd)

Western Oregon went on the road to open GNAC play at then-No. 10 Northwest Nazarene and dropped the first two games 2-0 and 7-3 before coming back the next day to beat the Nighthawks 6-5 in 13 innings and 4-1 in the series finale to pick up the series split.

The Wolves have three players with an .OPS above .900 in John Oleson (.962 - 2 HR, 3 2B, 14 RBI, 12 R, .375 AVG), Curran Mitzel (.959 - HR, 5 2B, 3 3B, 16 RBI, 10 R, .338 AVG) and Collin Irwin (.912 - 3 2B, 1 3B, 11 R, 4 RBI, .450 OBP, .365 AVG). On the mound, Jacob Memmott leads the starters with a 3.70 ERA (4th in GNAC), a 3-0 record, 24.1 innings and 22 strikeouts. Devin Bell leads the Wolves out of the bullpen with a 2.19 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12.1 innings of work.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT ...
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: 4-0 vs. Saint Martin's
STREAK: Won 4
SPLITS: Home 4-0 | Road 5-7 | Neutral 0-2
TEAM STATS (GNAC Rankings out of 5)

• Runs/Game: 6.17 (3rd) | AVG: .313 (1st) | ERA: 4.78 (2nd) | Fielding %: .940 (5th)

The Wildcats opened GNAC play with a four-game sweep of Saint Martin's at home - 14-6, 9-8, 11-10 (10 inn.) and 13-1 - scoring an average of just under 12 runs per game in the series. 

Austin Ohland leads the Wildcats at the plate with a 1.062 OPS (2 HR, 8 2B, 12 RBI, 15 R) while four other Wildcats are hitting above .360 that qualify (two plate appearances per game). Daniel Charron leads the starters with a 3.98 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. Drew Richardson leads the bullpen with a 2.45 ERA, including a 0.82 WHIP, in 7.1 innings or work.

WOU NOTES ...
ALVAREZ NAMED GNAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK (FEB. 26) | RELEASE
Western Oregon's Arturo Alvarez was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after hurling a complete game Feb. 25 at Oregon Tech. The senior went all seven innings and surrendered just one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks in the Wolves' 14-2 win over the Owls. Alvarez got stronger as the game went on - retiring the final nine batters of the game in order. 

WOLVES PICKED TO WIN GNAC, SIXTH IN REGION | GNAC RELEASE / NCBWA RELEASE
The two-time defending GNAC champion Western Oregon baseball team has been picked to win the conference when the GNAC released its preseason coaches poll on JAN. 25. The Wolves, who have won both the regular-season GNAC title and GNAC postseason tournament the last two years, picked up two of the five first-place votes and finished with 21 points, a point ahead of Northwest Nazarene - who had one first-place vote. Central Washington and Montana State Billings each received a first-place vote as well and tied for third with 13 points while Saint Martin's finished last with eight points. The rankings are the same order the conference finished last season with the Wolves atop the conference with a 20-9 record (30-15 overall) - 4.5 games ahead of second-place NNU.

In the National College Baseball Writer's Association NCAA Division II West Region Preseason Poll released Jan. 22, the Wolves were picked sixth in the conference. WOU was one of two GNAC teams in the rankings along with Northwest Nazarene at No. 9.

CHALMERS, SHIPLEY NAMED NCBWA PRESEASON WEST ALL-REGION | RELEASE
Western Oregon pitchers Dylan Chalmers and Ryan Shipley were selected to the NCBWA NCAA DII Preseason West Region Team on Jan. 23. Chalmers is coming off a 2023 where he was named the GNAC Co-Pitcher of the Year and was named to three different all-region first teams (ABCA/Rawlings, NCWBA and D2CCA) after going 7-1 with a 3.13 ERA - striking out 36 and holding opponents to a .245 average in 63.1 innings of work. Shipley was named the regional reliever selection after going 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA and five saves. The senior had 23 strikeouts and a held opponents to a .160 batting average in 29 innings of work.