Western Oregon Baseball Heads to LCSC Tournament

WOU played its 2007 home opener on Sunday, topping Concordia 4-2.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

MONMOUTH - For the first time since the 2001 season, Western Oregon will face former NAIA rival Lewis-Clark State.

The Wolves will participate in LCSC’s tournament this weekend, making their first trip to Lewiston since they placed third in the 2001 NAIA College World Series.

Since WOU’s move to the NCAA Division II level, the Wolves and Warriors have not met.

Meanwhile, LCSC has not skipped a beat, continuing as a perennial NAIA national power, winning the 2006 national championship.

The Wolves played its 2007 home opener on Sunday, topping Concordia 4-2.

450 fans enjoyed a mostly clear day and a WOU win, as the Wolves rallied with a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth to even its record at 3-3 on the season.

This week - at Guardian Plumbing, Heating and AC Tournament, Harris Field, Lewiston, Idaho (Lewis-Clark State)

Friday vs. Missouri Western, 10:00 AM

Friday vs. Lewis-Clark State, 1:00 PM

Saturday vs. Saint Martin’s, 11:00 AM

Sunday vs. Lewis-Clark State, 11:00 AM

The Field:

The Wolves will face Missouri Western, LC State twice and Saint Martin’s at Harris Field.

Missouri Western, an NCAA Division II school that plays in the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association, will be playing its 2007 season openers in the tournament after getting rained out last week.

The Griffons were 31-25 last season and finished 21-9 in the MIAA.

They were ranked No. 7 in the Central Region pre-season poll.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Wolves and Griffons.

Lewis-Clark State is off to a typically hot start, going 4-0 in its own tournament last weekend—and beating Albertson and Whitworth twice each by a combined score of 32-4.

The Warriors, who have won 14 national titles under head coach Ed Cheff, are expected to have one of its most balanced teams in years.

Like most teams, LCSC has had its way with WOU over the years, leading the all-time series, 50-6.

Saint Martin’s is 2-8 thus far, beginning the season by dropping three out of four contests to Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal Poly Pomona, and losing two to Pacific Lutheran.

But six of those losses have been by just one run, including two against the Broncos this past weekend in Southern California.

The Saints finished 16-32 last season and were 8-15 in GNAC play.

WOU won six of eight games against SMU last year, and the Wolves lead the all-time series, 44-16.

By The Numbers:

Second baseman Pat Kelly leads the Wolves through six games with a .455 average.

Fellow second baseman Josh McGowan is next at .400 and Kevin Corrigan follows at .353.

Shortstop Paul Fisher has nine RBI in six games.

Arms Race:

Freshman Mike Cusick is 1-0 with a 1.12 ERA to lead the starters after one appearance.

Kyle Bennett has two appearances out of the bullpen and has given up just two hits in four innings of work.

Mike Eisenhauer is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in two appearances, while starter Kevin Corrigan has an ERA of 2.45 in two starting appearances with no decisions.

Last Year:

Western Oregon went 40-16, won its sixth straight conference title and earned the No. 1 seed into the NCAA Division II west region tournament (they placed third).

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports