Monday, April 22, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing its final home games of the season, the Western Oregon baseball team gave its fans and their seniors something to remember last weekend.

The Wolves won each contest in a four-game series against visiting Central Washington, a set that was highlighted by a pair of clutch one-run victories to start each day. The quartet of wins has WOU sitting in second place in the conference standings and tied with league-leader Montana State Billings in the loss column. The series sweep also earned the club the selection as GNAC Team of the Week. 

"It has been a group that has enjoyed playing at home," said head coach Kellen Walker. "It was a good last weekend to send off the seniors on the right note."

That weekend started on Friday, when Western Oregon rode a pair of solid pitching performances to 6-5 and 5-1 decisions. Southpaw Connor McCord shined on the mound in the opener, striking out eight in 7.2 innings of work without allowing an earned run. Offensively, it was third baseman Collin Runge who sparked things at the plate, tallying five runs and three RBI on the day. 

The team stayed hot a day later as the offense exploded for 15 runs in the pair of victories. Left fielder Griffey Halle led the way, driving in four runs while scoring three himself.

A constant source of offense for the club is nothing new, most recently recording 45 runs in a big series split at Montana State Billings. 

"This group does a good job of competing in every at-bat," Walker said. "We usually don't throw too many of them away. That consistent competitive effort has given us quite a few scoring opportunities over the course of weekends throughout the year."