Thursday, May 12, 2016

NAMPA, Idaho – Western Oregon kept its season alive with an offensive explosion to grab a 14-3 victory over Northwest Nazarene in game two of the GNAC Baseball Championships.

After not being able to muster much offense against Montana State Billings, the bats came alive for Western Oregon in game two with 14 runs on 20 hits and three home runs.

Garrett Alvarez had a dominant performance on the mound for Western Oregon, drawing the start in game two.  The senior threw a complete, allowing three runs on eight hits with one strikeout. Apart from the seventh inning - in which Northwest Nazarene scored all three runs - Alvarez was stifling, limiting base runners and pitching well to his defense.

Seven different Wolves’ hitters tallied multiple hits and all nine hitters had at least one. Second baseman Jay Leverett had three hits, two runs and two RBI while outfielder Cody Poznanski and designated hitter Nathan Etheridge each had three hits. The Wolves crushed three home runs, including solo shots by catcher Justin Wakem and first baseman Trevor Podratz, and a two run home run by Etheridge.

Western Oregon got off to a hot start, scoring four runs in the first two innings off of Crusaders’ starting pitcher Colton Loomis. After a few shutout innings, the Wolves’ bats exploded for four runs in the seventh and five runs in the eighth to put the game well out of reach.

Northwest Nazarene shortstop Tucker Campbell went 2 for 3 at the plate with a double, RBI and run scored to lead the offense. Loomis threw six innings with six strikeouts, allowing eight runs.

The Wolves advanced to Friday where they will play Montana State Billings at 1 p.m. Mountain time. Northwest Nazarene plays Montana State Billings in game three of the tournament, needing a win to advance to the championship game on Friday.