Sunday, May 14, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – With its second consecutive GNAC Championships title in hand, Western Oregon is headed to the 2023 NCAA Division II Baseball West Regional in San Bernardino, California to take on the best in the west.

The Wolves are the lone GNAC representative in the West Regional following their conference championship against Northwest Nazarene on Friday. The Wolves enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the region with a 30-13 overall record (20-9 GNAC). They will face No. 3 seed Azusa Pacific Cougars who come into the West Regional with a 34-17 record after winning the PacWest Championships on Thursday.

Western Oregon last faced Azusa Pacific on the diamond in 2021, defeating the Cougars 16-5 in the West Regional held that year in Nampa, Idaho. The Wolves are 3-5 against the Cougars in program history. On the season, Western Oregon leads the GNAC with a .313 batting average and a 3.84 ERA while Azusa Pacific ranks fourth in the PacWest with a .281 batting average and is fifth with a 5.42 ERA.

The Wolves are led by GNAC Baseball Player of the Year Derek Maiben and his twin brother Jacob Maiben. While Derek mans the infield and Jacob patrols the outfield, both Maibens have been key contributors at the plate all season.

Derek Maiben leads the conference with a .413 batting average and is Divison II’s toughest to strike-out player. He has only been struck out three times in 172 at-bats. Derek has knocked in 29 runs and hit 10 doubles with one home run this season.

Jacob Maiben is second only to his brother in the GNAC with a .388 batting average and has knocked in 27 runs while scoring 37 himself. Jacob has hit eight doubles, two triples and a home run this season while slugging .500 with a .441 on base percentage.

On the mound, Western Oregon can look to the top two pitchers in the GNAC in sophomores Dylan Chalmers and Bryce Bond. Chalmers leads the conference with a 2.35 ERA through 57.1 innings and owns a 7-0 record while averaging 5.02 strikeouts per nine innings. Bond has held batters to just a .183 batting average while he is on the bump and owns a 3.27 ERA through 44 innings. He averages 9.82 strikeouts per nine innings.

The NCAA West Regional will take place from May 18-21 at Fiscalini Field in San Bernardino, California. Like the GNAC Championships, the tournament will feature a double-elimination format. Regional winners will advance to the best-of-three super-regional competition from May 26-27. Super Regional winners will advance to the double-elimination championship finals from June 3-10 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.