Tuesday, May 2, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Oregon’s Jacob Maiben was nigh on unstoppable last week against Montana State Billings and blasted his way to NCBWA Division II West Region Player of the Week honors.

The senior from Newberg, Oregon was dominant at the plate for the Wolves in five games against the Yellowjackets. He collected at least one hit in every game, including four multi-hit performances to earn GNAC Baseball Player of the Week honors. He finished the series with a .619 batting average, going 13 for 21 with nine RBIs and eight runs scored on two doubles and a pair of triples.

Maiben becomes the fifth GNAC player this season to earn NCBWA weekly honors. He is the first Western Oregon player to receive the honor this season. With his selection, all five GNAC programs have been recognized throughout the year.

Maiben opened his week by going 3 for 4 on Thursday with two RBIs and a run scored in WOU’s 11-5 win. He came around to score the first run of the game in the first inning and knocked in a pair of runners with a single in the third.

In Friday’s commanding 25-8 victory, Maiben was the leader at the plate, going 4 for 5 with seven RBIs and three runs scored. He picked up a pair of RBIs in the second inning with a triple to give Western Oregon its first lead of the game. He followed that up with an RBI single from a two-strike count in the third. In the fifth inning, Maiben crushed a three-run double to grow the WOU lead to eight runs and finish his day just a home run short of the cycle.

On Saturday, Maiben opened the doubleheader by going 2 for 5 with two runs scored while hitting his second triple of the week. In the series finale, he went 3 for 4, scoring another pair of runs and hitting a double. Maiben finished the week with a .680 on base percentage and a .905 slugging percentage.

For the season, Maiben ranks second in the GNAC with a .407 batting average and is tied for second with 57 hits. He also ranks third in the conference with a .468 on base percentage and is fifth with 35 runs scored, averaging one per game.

Selected by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, the West Region honoree recognizes the top player from the GNAC, CCAA and PacWest Conferences. Along with Julian Diaz of Cal State Dominguez Hills, the West Region Pitcher of the Week, and the seven other regional player and pitcher honorees, Maiben is now eligible to be selected by the NCBWA as the Division II National Player of the Week.