Saturday, April 28, 2012

Grady Wood won his 18th consecutive game and Bo Folkinga had five hits as Western Oregon closed in on its 11th consecutive GNAC baseball title Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader from Central Washington, 8-0 and 9-4 at the WOU Baseball Field.

Meanwhile Northwest Nazarene (25-20, 14-14) completed a four-game sweep of Saint Martin's (14-30, 10-16) earning 4-2 and 7-6 victories to remain in second place.

The two wins assured the Wolves (29-8, 18-2) of at least a tie for the title. WOU has 12 games remaining with the opportunity to win it outright, including another doubleheader with the Wildcats (16-24, 8-14) Sunday.

Wood pitched a four-hitter and didn't walk a batter in the nine-inning opener. He fanned six increasing his season strikeout total to 70 in 75 innings. He's walked just eight and has a microscopic 1.32 ERA.

Wood is 10-0 this season and his 18-game win streak matches the fifth longest in NCAA Division II history. He has been involved in four shutouts, two in which he has gone the distance and two others he has shared with relief pitchers.

WOU didn't get on the board until the sixth inning of the opener as two CWU pitchers combined to blank the Wolves on three hits through five.

Western, however, scored twice in the sixth off CWU's third pitcher getting a two-run home run from Brady Locker before tacking on six runs in the eighth.

The big hits in that inning were a two-run single by Michael Gange and a two-run double by Matt Nylen.

In the second game, Travis Bradshaw (8-1) blanked CWU on two hits through six innings before the Wildcats scored four runs on five hits in the seventh.

WOU, however, led 9-0 by that point, banging out 15 hits including three each by Folkinga and Locker and two by Kyle Blackwell, Blake Miller and AJ Royal.

Folkinga had two doubles and a home run in the game finishing the twinbill with five hits in nine at bats. Locker and Miller each had four hits.

Brandon Wang and Derrick Webb were the only CWU players with more than one hit. They each had two.

Northwest Nazarene 4-7, Saint Martin's 2-6

Logan Parker had five hits and Sean McDonald picked up two saves as Northwest Nazarene opened up a two-game lead over idle Montana State Billings in the race for second place.

MSUB was scheduled to play the University of Sioux Falls in a four-game series this weekend in Billings but the entire non-conference series was cancelled due to rain.

In the first game, Parker had three hits and scored two of NNU's four runs. In the second inning, he led off with a single and advanced to third on a double before Jamie Mitchell singled to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead.

He had a bunt single in the sixth to set up NNU's third run and then had a single and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly providing the Crusaders an insurance run in the eighth.

In the second game, Parker had two hits and three RBI. Parker's RBIs came in the first on a single, in the fourth on a sacrifice fly and in the sixth on a double. Charlie Gorzo drove in two runs with a third-inning single.

McDonald had two hits in the first game and scored two runs in the second, but went 0 for 3, ending his hitting streak at 16.

He ended both games on the mound earning his second and third saves of the series. In NNU's 4-2 win, he pitched two hitless innings. In the 7-6 victory, he threw one inning allowing one hit.

Saint Martin's had seven hits in both contests, including three home runs. Chandler Tracy went deep in the fourth inning for SMU's only RBI of the opener.

Travis Shaw led off the second and Zach Leonard had a two-run blast in the fourth to account for SMU's first three runs.

Trailing 7-3 in the seventh, the Saints rallied for three more runs before McDonald came on to get the save.