Friday, May 28, 2021

NAMPA, Idaho – For the first time in conference history, a GNAC team will advance to the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championships.

Third-seeded Western Oregon put up 17 hits on its way to completing a 16-5 rout of top-seeded Azusa Pacific to eliminate the Cougars from the NCAA West Regional on Friday at Vail Baseball Field in Nampa, Idaho.

The Cougars got on the board first with a second-inning solo home run to left-center field by freshman first baseman Spencer Rasmussen. Western Oregon answered with a two-out rally in the third that was capped off by a grand slam to right-center by senior first baseman Connor McCord. The GNAC Player of the Year went 2 for 3 with two runs, three walks, the grand slam and an RBI single in the eighth.

The Wolves sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth to tack on six more runs. Senior outfielder Blayze Arcano and junior shortstop Derek Maiben led off the inning with back-to-back solo homers to left. A sacrifice fly by sophomore third baseman Justyn Herzog and a bases-loaded, three-run double to right by junior catcher Anthony Zellner later in the inning blew the game open.

Arcano went 4 for 5 with three runs, the solo shot and an RBI single in the eighth. Derek Maiben went 2 for 6 with three runs, the homer and a two-run single in the seventh while twin brother, junior left fielder Jacob Maiben, went 2 for 4 with two runs, a walk and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the eighth.

The Cougars weren’t going down without a fight. They scored once in the sixth on an RBI groundout by freshman shortstop Omar Lopez before cutting the Wolves’ lead to 10-5 on a seventh-inning, three-run shot to left by junior third baseman Osvaldo Tovalin, the D2CCA West Region Player of the Year.

Western Oregon (22-6, 19-5 GNAC) scored three insurance runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to secure its 10th straight victory. Senior starter Nick Parr picked up the win to improve to 4-0 on the season. He allowed two earned runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. Junior A.J. Woodall, the NCBWA and D2CCA West Region Pitcher of the Year, took the loss for the Cougars after allowing five runs, one earned, on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts in four innings.

The Wolves will play No. 2-seeded and host Northwest Nazarene (32-8, 21-3 GNAC) in Friday’s nightcap. It will be a must-win game for the Nighthawks, who look to avoid elimination and force a Saturday championship game.

The Wolves are one win away from the NCAA National Championships, which will be played on June 5-12 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The winner of the all-GNAC West Regional title game will be the first team in conference history to advance to the finals.