MONMOUTH, Ore. --- The Western Oregon baseball team split its doubleheader with Northwest Nazarene, taking game one, 3-0, before dropping game two, 6-1, Friday in the Wolves home-opening series at WOU Baseball Field.

In game one, the Wolves (3-7 overall, 1-1 GNAC) quickly took a 1-0 lead when John Oleson hit an RBI single to right-center in the first. In the third the Wolves scored two, with the second coming off an RBI single by Collin Irwin, to make the score 3-0 where it stayed for the remainder of the game.

Devin Bell picked up the win for WOU, tossing a three-hit shutout while racking up a career-high 13 strikeouts - the most in a game by a Wolf since Alan Vasquez struck out 13 March 8, 2020, against Central Washington (the day before Vasquez did it, current WOU pitching coach Logan Hatley also struck out 13). It's tied for the sixth-most in WOU history.

Irwin finished 2-for-4 with an RBI while Owen Bischoff finished 2-for-4 - including a double - and a run scored. Oleson went 1-for-4 with a with an RBI and a run scored and Ruban Cedillo finished 2-for-3.

In game two, the Wolves again jumped out to an early 1-0 first-inning lead before the Nighthawks answered back in the second to tie the game 1-1. NNU took the lead in a five-run fourth, making the final 6-1.

Bryce Bond took the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 3.1 innings of work. Oleson finished 1-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch while Andre Jackson II went 1-for-3 with a run scored.

The Wolves return to the field Saturday, closing out the series against Northwest Nazarene with a doubleheader starting at noon.