Monday, April 17, 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Oregon baseball’s perfect week on the diamond vaulted the Wolves into first place in the conference standings and earned GNAC Team of the Week honors.
The Wolves went 5-0 last week, outscoring opponents 44-13 in the process. They opened the week by winning a non-conference game at Bushnell, 6-5, on Tuesday before sweeping Central Washington in a four-game series at home. Western Oregon won Saturday’s games 9-3 and 10-2 and closed out the series with 14-1 and 5-2 wins on Sunday.
Western Oregon survived a late push by Bushnell in Tuesday’s win after leading from the first inning to the final out. Sophomore Cedric Gatter led the way for the offense in the non-conference victory, going 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored while also drawing two walks against a platoon of Bushnell pitchers.
In conference competition, the Wolves put an end to Central Washington’s three-game win streak with an emphatic sweep. Leading the way at the plate for the was GNAC Baseball Player of the Week AJ Cortese. The junior infielder finished the week with a .538 batting average, tallying seven hits, six RBIs, five runs scored, and a stolen base on three doubles, a home run and a walk.
In Saturday’s opener, the Maiben twins combined for five hits and scored two runs apiece with Derek Maiben going 3 for 4 and Jacob Maiben finishing 2 for 4. The win also saw sophomore Dylan Chalmers improve to 5-0 on the season with another win on the mound. Chalmers allowed three runs on five hits with three strikeouts through six innings of work.
In Saturday’s second game, the Wolves scored six runs in the first inning en route to victory. Senior Curran Mitzel got the ball rolling, knocking in the first two runs of the game with a two-RBI double. Mitzel finished the game 3 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored while also drawing a walk.
On Sunday, the Wolves never trailed after taking the lead in the first frame, using a seven-run fifth inning to cushion their advantage. Senior pitcher Arturo Alvarez earned the win on the bump, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out five batters in six innings.
Western Oregon led wire-to-wire once again in Sunday’s series finale after Jacob Maiben opened scoring in the first inning with an RBI single. Jacob Maiben finished the game 2 for 3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Cortese capped off his week with a solo home run in the sixth inning to finish the game 2 for 2 with an RBI and one run scored.
With the Wolves back at the top of the GNAC standings, head coach Kellen Walker is pleased with the team’s performance across the week heading into the final two weeks of the conference slate.
“It was great to see us play well for an entire weekend against a very good team in Central Washington,” Walker said. “Hopefully our daily work continues to be quality as we work to get better down the final stretch of the regular season.”
Western Oregon closes out its home schedule this week, hosting Montana State Billings for a rescheduled game on Thursday before a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday.