GNAC Baseball: Western Oregon Completes Sweep of Four-Game Series

Cusick, Ward combine on two-hitter in finale, WOU takes over sole possession of first place.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Dan Straily and Ben Shivers combined to hold Central Washington to four hits in pitching Western Oregon to a 5-1 win over the Wildcats Sunday in the first game of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader at Ellensburg.

The Wolves also won the second game 12-2 to complete a sweep of the four-game series.

The wins also moved Western Oregon (15-15, 6-2) one game ahead of idle Northwest Nazarene (5-3) in the GNAC baseball race. CWU (15-13, 1-7) dropped five games back.

In the opener, Straily pitched the first 4 1/3 innings allowing three hits.

Shivers then allowed just one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings, striking out five and retiring 15 of the 16 hitters he faced.

In his last three relief appearances, Shivers hasn't allowed a run and has given up just four hits in 13 2/3 innings.

Designated hitter Kevin Corrigan snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-run home run in the fifth.

WOU then added two insurance runs in the seventh on a RBI single by Brent Mertens and a sacrifice fly by Tony Jones.

Corrigan, Mertens and Paul Fisher each had two hits for WOU. John Lobbestael had two hits for the Wildcats, including a RBI single in the fourth.

In the second game, Central Washington managed just two hits, including a solo home run by Lobbestael in the third, off of reliever Mike Ward who pitched the final six innings after starter Mike Cusick couldn't find the strike zone. Ward didn't give up a hit, but walked four in one plus innings.

Meanwhile, WOU was pounding five Central pitchers for 12 hits, including two each by Corrigan, Bryan Stone, Jones, Aaron Sutton and Fisher.

Corrigan drove in four runs, including two with a home run during a five-run sixth inning.

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