Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Western Oregon took three of four from CCAA foe Stanislaus State, treating the crowd in Turlock to plenty of free baseball in the process.

The Wolves recorded two 11-inning wins in as many days, using the conference’s top pitching staff in the early going to keep games within reach. After losing the series opener, WOU took the first game of a doubleheader Saturday after finishing nine innings tied at 1-1. Designated hitter Hideki Ouchi hit a tie-breaking solo shot in the top of the 11th, and Jackson Holstad had an RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch to lift WOU to a 4-1 victory.

In Sunday’s series finale, it was Holstad who came through with a go-ahead single in the 11th before Anthony Zellner doubled to score Holstad and Jacob Maiben. The Wolves won that game 7-4.

That wasn’t even the longest game of the week, however. That honor goes to Central Washington and Cal State San Bernardino, who played 14 innings in the final game of an already grueling five-game series. Charlie Larson finally gave the Wildcats the lead when he scored on a CSUSB fielding error before Jonathan Garza slammed the door in the bottom of the inning to end the game. The Wildcats won two of five overall against the Coyotes.  

Maiben won GNAC Player of the Week for Western Oregon after hitting .438 with four runs scored and three stolen bases as a table-setter for the Wolves’ line-up.

He was joined in weekly honors by back-to-back GNAC Pitcher of the Week Dylan Barkley, who threw seven shutout innings to run his scoreless streak to 12 innings to start the season. Barkley struck out nine while allowing only three hits. His 17 strikeouts on the year rank second in the conference to Western Oregon’s Matthew Dunaway, whose 21 rank fourth in Division II.

In the week ahead, Saint Martin’s will head to Hawaii for five games against Hawaii Pacific while Montana State Billings will face No. 3 Colorado Mesa on the road. Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon both have their home openers this week, with WOU hosting Eastern Oregon and NNU’s games as part of a four-game home-and-home with Mayor’s Cup rival College of Idaho.

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GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Player
Jacob Maiben, Western Oregon
OF • 5-9 • Sr. • Newburg, Ore.
Maiben batted .438 as the Wolves took three of four games at Stanislaus State, going 7 for 16 with four runs, a double, an RBI and three stolen bases. Maiben went 2 for 3 in Friday’s 6-3 loss with a double and a run scored. He went 2 for 4 in both Saturday games, hitting a sacrifice fly and in the 4-1 opening game win while scoring runs in both games. Maiben went 1 for 5 in Sunday’s 7-4 win, scoring the final run of the game in the 11th inning.

Also Nominated: Zach Berryman (Central Washington), Cooper Dulich (Montana State Billings), Tyler Best (Northwest Nazarene), Hunter Kosmider (Saint Martin’s).

Pitcher
Dylan Barkley, Montana State Billings
LHP • 5-11 • Jr. • Missoula, Mont.
Barkley threw seven shutout innings for the win in Thursday’s 9-4 win at Cal Poly Pomona. Barkley allowed just three hits, all doubles, and three walks while striking out eight to pick up the win. Of his 105 pitches thrown, 67 were for strikes.

Also Nominated: Ryan Arredondo (Central Washington), Blake McFadden (Northwest Nazarene), Finnley Butler (Saint Martin’s), Parker Johnson (Western Oregon).

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington took two of five from Cal State San Bernardino. The Wildcats dropped two games on Friday, 12-8 and 6-3, before splitting on Saturday with a 5-4 win and a 5-4 loss. On Sunday, CWU earned a 10-9 victory in a marathon 14-inning game.
• Austin Hauck broke out with a big offensive week, hitting .348 to keep his batting average at a GNAC-leading .400 on the season. Hauck hit a home run in both Friday games and the first game on Saturday to give him a league-leading three on the year.
• Outfielders Zach Berryman and Adam Fahsel continue to be a problem for opposing teams at the top of the Wildcats’ line-up. Berryman went 8-for 23 with a home run and seven RBI, including the game-winner in the 14-inning game on Sunday when his hard grounder was misplayed by the CSUSB shortstop, allowing Charlie Larson to score. Fahsel went 9-for-24 with a home run and five RBI. Fahsel (16), Berryman (15), Austin Ohland (13) and Hauck (12) are the top four in the GNAC in hits.
• Ryan Arredondo recorded Central’s best start of the week on Saturday, where he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out four and walking none, earning the win in a 5-4 Wildcats triumph. Arredondo has a 6.52 ERA in 9.2 innings this season.  
• Central Washington leads the conference with a .309 batting average. They rank third in Division II with 25 doubles and Ohland is Division II’s individual leader with seven. On the mound, the Wildcats have a 7.68 team ERA.
• Central Washington will play a four game set at Lewis-Clark State, with one game on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings split a four-game series at Cal Poly Pomona, getting a 9-4 win on Thursday, taking a 15-8 loss on Friday and splitting a doubleheader on Saturday with a 7-3 win and a 15-1 loss in seven innings.
• Dylan Barkley won his second consecutive GNAC Pitcher of the Week award after twirling seven shutout innings on Thursday, and unlike his last start, he was given enough run support to get the win. Barkley allowed three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. He has pitched 12 consecutive shutout innings to start the season.
• Shortstop Cooper Dulich hit 6-for-13 for the week with three doubles and four RBI. Dulich had three hits, two runs scored and an RBI in Thursday’s win. Dulich leads the conference with a .500 on-base percentage.  
• First baseman James Anderson went 4-for-10 with four RBI. His best performance came in Friday’s loss with three hits, including a two-run double in the third inning and an RBI double in the fifth. Anderson leads the GNAC and ranks fifth in Division II with 10 walks.
• Relief pitcher Tyler Elliott locked down Saturday’s victory with a four-inning save. Elliott gave up no runs, one hit and struck out six without walking a batter. Elliott has a 7.11 ERA in 6.1 innings pitched this season.
• The Yellowjackets are batting .271, second in the GNAC, and have an 8.58 ERA on the mound. They rank 12th in Division II with 47 walks and lead the GNAC with 7.5 runs per game.
• Montana State Billings has a tough test this week, facing No. 3 Colorado Mesa on the road for four games, with one on Thursday, two on Friday and one on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene were swept at the hands of No. 8 Point Loma over four games. The Nighthawks lost 6-0 on Thursday, 13-2 and 2-0 on Friday and 8-5 on Saturday.
• Tyler Best was NNU’s best hitter over the course of the week, going 5-for-15 with two RBI, a double and a home run. Both the double and the home run were among three hits in Sunday’s loss, with his third-inning two-run shot tying the game at 3-3.  Best is hitting .318 with a team-high .423 on-base percentage this season.
• Haden Keller has been a two-way player for the Nighthawks. He started three of four games in the outfield, batting .300 with a double. Keller then made his second start of the year on the mound in Saturday’s second game, throwing 3.2 innings and giving up two runs on five hits. Keller has a .250 batting average and a 8.10 ERA this season.
• The Nighthawks’ starters have been struggling, but several relievers had strong outings. Blake McFadden pitched 3.1 innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts and Max Holtzclaw pitched two shutout innings in Sunday’s game, and Joseph Ihli threw 2.1 hitless innings in relief of Keller in Saturday’s nightcap.
• Northwest Nazarene has a .194 team batting average and a 7.03 ERA. Nighthawks pitchers have issued just 30 walks, the fewest in the GNAC.
• The Nighthawks fell out of the latest NCBWA Poll after their 2-6 start. Interestingly, all eight of NNU’s games have been against teams ranked No. 8 in the country in Point Loma and preseason No. 8 Azusa Pacific. They remain at No. 7 in the Collegiate Baseball National Poll, which has not updated since preseason.
• Northwest Nazarene will look to get back on track with a home-and-home Mayor’s Cup series against College of Idaho. The teams will play Thursday and Friday in Caldwell before NNU hosts a doubleheader on Saturday for its home opener. College of Idaho previously split a four-game series against Central Washington.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s recorded a 2-2 week playing against Evergreen State competition. The Saints lost at Puget Sound 7-1 on Friday, then split a road doubleheader with Pacific Lutheran, winning the first game 15-3 and losing the second 8-5. The Saints then won their home opener on Sunday against Puget Sound 5-3.
• Shortstop Ryne Oshiro was in the middle of SMU’s 15-run explosion in the Saturday opener with PLU. Oshiro went 3-for-5 with three doubles, two RBI and two runs scored. He is hitting .346 and slugging .538 this season, which ranks fifth in the GNAC. Michael Yamaguchi put the exclamation point on the rout with a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning. Yamaguchi is 2-for-5 this season.
• Catcher/designated hitter Mark Steward had a 4-for-13 week with two walks and was hit by pitches three times. Steward ranks third in the GNAC with a .483 on-base percentage and sixth with a .375 average.
• Emerging as a possible ace for the Saints, Finnley Butler recorded his second consecutive strong start in Sunday’s win. Butler threw five innings and gave up one run on three hits along with three walks and three strikeouts. Butler has a 3.00 ERA on the year, which ranks fifth in the GNAC among qualifying pitchers.
• The Saints have a .259 team batting average and a 9.84 team ERA. They lead Division II with 10 double plays turned.
• Saint Martin’s heads to Hawaii for a five-game series with Hawaii Pacific in Honolulu. The teams will square off once on Friday and twice on Saturday and Sunday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon was the only GNAC team to win a series this week, taking three of four from Stanislaus State. The Wolves dropped the series opener 6-3 on Friday, but swept a doubleheader with a 4-1 win in 11 innings followed by a 5-2 win. They had another 11-inning win on Sunday, coming out on top 7-4.
• Jacob Maiben earned the GNAC Player of the Week award after hitting .438 with four runs scored, a double, an RBI and three stolen bases. Maiben recorded multi-hit games in each of the first three games of the series and scored 11th-inning runs in both games that went to extra innings.
• Although his brother took home weekly honors, Derek Maiben had a stellar week as well. He hit .368 with three RBIs, including a game-tying single in the sixth inning of Sunday’s win. Derek and Jacob each went 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts this week, and Derek leads the GNAC with four stolen bases this season.
• The Wolves are setting themselves apart on the mound. Matthew Dunaway had another strong start, striking out 12 in six innings while giving up three runs and four hits on Friday. Dunaway ranks fourth in Division II with 21 strikeouts. Arturo Alvarez gave up one run in 6.1 innings in Saturday’s first game, which Parker Johnson finished by throwing 4.2 shutout innings of relief. Sebasten Boivin pitched 3.2 two-hit, shutout innings of relief on Sunday.
• Western Oregon has a .236 team batting average and a GNAC-leading 4.43 ERA. The Wolves’ pitching staff leads the conference with 76 strikeouts. Western Oregon received votes in the latest version of the NCBWA Poll.
• Western Oregon hosts Eastern Oregon for a four-game series. The two schools will play two games apiece on Saturday and Sunday.