Friday, May 12, 2023

LACEY, Wash. – Western Oregon weathered a late push with clutch pitching and reliable batting to secure its second consecutive GNAC Baseball Championships title with a hard-fought 5-4 win over Northwest Nazarene.

The Wolves had to scrap and claw all the way to the finish against the No. 2 seed Nighthawks, but showed why they were regular-season champions with a gritty performance to secure the title. Western Oregon junior Levi Cummings was named the GNAC Championships MVP after going 4 for 10 at the plate with four RBIs and three runs scored across the tournament including a home run on Thursday.

The Western Oregon offense came into an already warm day with hot bats, scoring the first run of the game in the first inning. Jacob Maiben got the inning started for WOU with a single before Curran Mitzel drove him in to score with a two-out double. Western Oregon starter Arturo Alvarez followed up the offense with a shutdown frame to end the first with a 1-0 lead.

Alvarez went on to secure the win on the mound for Western Oregon after throwing six innings and allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Sophomore Bryce Bond picked up the save for the Wolves by earning the final three out of and while allowing just one walk in relief.

That Western Oregon lead grew even further with a two-run second inning courtesy of MVP Cummings. The Wolves led off the frame with a pair of singles from AJ Cortese and Justyn Herzog before Cummings delivered with a two-out, two-RBI single to make the score 3-0. Alvarez put WOU back in the batter’s box quickly, retiring the Nighthawks in order to end the inning.

Co-GNAC Pitcher of the Year Ty Pohlmann entered the game in relief for the Nighthawks in the fifth inning for his first appearance of the tournament. After inheriting runners on the corners with one out, Pohlmann ended the frame swiftly, forcing Cortese into a double play. Northwest Nazarene starter Spencer Schwehr finished his afternoon allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out four.

It was Derek Maiben who brought the offense next for Western Oregon, capitalizing on an NNU error at first base earlier in the inning to drive in two more runs in the sixth. Both of the Wolves’ sixth-inning runs were put on base with walks with Herzog leading off the inning and Collin Irwin also drawing a free base.

After five shutdown innings from Alvarez, Northwest Nazarene finally found its offense in the sixth. The Nighthawks mounted a two-out rally to score a pair of runs that was sparked by a Shane Jamison single. Small-ball carried NNU through the inning, with Colby Moran singling and advancing to second on an error. Jamison came around to score on a wild pitch before Manny Casillas shot a single up the middle to make the score 5-2.

The Nighthawks pushed through two more runs in the bottom of the seventh after a leadoff walk to Kyle Payne. Senior Tyler Best brought home the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to score Payne. Jamison brought home the second run of the frame with a hard-hit single up the middle to make the score 5-4 heading into the top of the eighth.

Northwest Nazarene continued to pressure Western Oregon all the way to their final out. In the eighth inning, the Nighthawks loaded the bases on a single and two walks, all with two outs. Wolves’ reliever Chris Jones got Western Oregon out of the jam with possibly the biggest strikeout of WOU’s season. Jones baited a swinging strike three from NNU’s leadoff batter Mason Leavitt to eliminate the Nighthawks’ threat and put Western Oregon firmly on the path to victory.

A leadoff walk to Northwest Nazarene was all the Wolves would allow for the remainder of the game as  Bond recorded the final three outs with a ground-ball double play and a fly-out in foul territory.

With the win, Western Oregon receives the conference automatic berth to NCAA Championships. The West Regional will take place from May 18-21 following Sunday’s NCAA Division II Baseball Championships selection show at 8 a.m. (Pacific).