Wednesday, February 12, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – The 2014 baseball season has already begun for three Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams, and the other two are set to kick off their seasons with games scheduled for this week.

After being rained out of its season-opening series against Puget Sound last weekend, Saint Martin’s takes on Cal Baptist in a 4-game set beginning Wednesday and wrapping up Saturday.

Montana State Billings will also make its 2014 debut this weekend, in the form of a 4-game series against NAIA No. 2-ranked Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho, beginning Friday.

Western Oregon (4-2) takes on a powerhouse from another division as well, as the Wolves are set for a doubleheader against reigning NCAA Division III National Champion and currently No. 1-ranked Linfield on Sunday in McMinnville, Ore. Western Oregon is coming off of a doubleheader split with Sonoma State last week, but the teams only completed two of their five scheduled games due to unplayable field conditions.

Northwest Nazarene (0-5) returns to the mainland after having lost its first five games of the season in Honolulu against Hawaii Pacific. Though the Crusaders did not collect a victory, they twice battled the Sea Warriros into extra innings and three of the five games were decided by a single run. NNU looks to award first-year head coach Rocke Musgraves his first career victory in a 4-game tilt against Cal State Dominguez Hills this weekend.

After a week away from the diamond, Central Washington (1-1) is back in action this weekend in San Francisco against the Academy of Art. CWU completed its first doubleheader of the season on Feb. 1, but was rained out the following day and has not played a game since. The Wildcats will make up the missed games with San Francisco State following the AAU series, slating CWU for six games in five days beginning Friday.

RECAP

Western Oregon extended its California road trip last week and dropped Game 1 of a doubleheader with Sonoma State 7-1. The Wolves were held to just six hits in the contest, and Tim Rausch drove in WOU’s only run of the game with an RBI single in the top of the ninth that plated Matt Taylor.

WOU responded in Game 2 however, downing the Seawolves 5-3 to earn a split in what turned out to be the teams’ only games of the week. Taylor and Rausch each notched two hits in the second game, and Daniel McNabb came through with a clutch two-out RBI in the seventh to supply the insurance run. McNabb was named Red Lion Player of the Week as his total line was 7-for-13 with seven RBI and three runs scored in the team’s four games during Feb. 3-9.

Andrew Groves tossed four stellar innings of relief for Northwest Nazarene in Hawaii, earning Red Lion Pitcher of the Week honors. The junior right hander gave the Crusaders several chances to pick up the win, as he shut down Hawaii Pacific’s offense from the sixth through the ninth in an eventual 3-2 defeat in Game 2 of a Saturday doubleheader.

The Crusaders competed on Friday as well, falling 4-3 in 10 innings of the first game, and dropping Game 2 6-5 in seven innings to open the season. The NNU bats went quiet in Game 1 on Saturday as the Crusaders fell 12-1, and again on Monday in an 8-1 defeat to close the series. Ryan Johnson led NNU at the plate with a line of 7-for-20 with two doubles, a triple and three RBI on the weekend.