By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
NAMPA, Idaho – Bottom-seeded Western Oregon played perhaps its best baseball of the season on Thursday afternoon at Vail Field, taking down No. 2 seed Montana State Billings 9-3 and beating No. 1 seed and host Northwest Nazarene 14-8 to emerge with a 2-0 record after the opening day of the 2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Baseball Championships.
Entering the tournament as the underdog, the Wolves rode a dominant, complete-game performance by
Logan Larrance to win the opener before roaring back to life offensively for a come-from-behind win over the regular-season champion Nighthawks in their second game of the day. Northwest Nazarene went on to beat Montana State Billings 10-5 in the final game of the day, an elimination contest under the lights that ended the Yellowjackets’ season and kept the Nighthawks alive in their quest for a tournament three-peat.
Friday’s championship game between NNU (36-16) and WOU (24-25) will begin at 3 p.m. (Mountain), with live video
available online here and live statistics
available online here. The Wolves are one win away from adding to their record six GNAC Championships titles, and would have to be defeated by NNU twice on Friday. If the Nighthawks win the 3 p.m. game, the fifth and decisive final game would follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener. Montana State Billings’ season came to a close with a record of 26-23.
Game 1 – Western Oregon 9, Montana State Billings 3 | Box Score
Larrance gave up all three runs in the third inning, posting six consecutive zeroes after that as his lineup rallied to score nine unanswered runs to secure the win. Outside of allowing a three-run home run to MSUB’s
Jack Nehler, Larrance was outstanding with seven strikeouts across his season-high nine innings pitched. Larrance threw 125 pitches, scattering seven hits and issuing four walks.
Western Oregon’s most important inning of the game was the top of the fourth, as it responded to falling behind 3-0 by immediately scoring five times to take the lead for good. On a day when
Chris Arce went 5-for-9 with eight RBIs, one of his biggest swings was a two-run triple to cap the frame and put WOU ahead 5-3. Arce followed with an RBI-single in the eighth, and ninth-place hitter
Jayger Baldwin added the final touch with a three-run home run to left field in the top of the ninth to make the score 9-3.
The bottom three hitters in WOU’s lineup – leftfielder
Tyler Mohler, catcher
Collin Irwin and Baldwin – combined to go 6-for-11 with five RBIs and six runs scored, while Arce finished the game 4-for-6 with three RBIs.
Sam Coxen took the loss on the hill for the Yellowjackets, surrendering six runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts and a walk across seven innings pitched. No Yellowjacket had more than one hit, and MSUB stranded nine runners on base in the defeat.
Game 2 – Western Oregon 14, Northwest Nazarene 8 | Box Score
Just like they did in the opening game of the tournament, the Wolves found a way to overcome what was an early 6-2 deficit to storm back and stun the tournament hosts. Snapping a 15-game losing streak against Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon out-scored NNU 12-2 across the final six innings of the game, wrestling away the Nighthawks’ early momentum and punching their ticket into Friday’s championship game.
It was once again a five-run inning that sparked WOU into the lead, with five different players driving in a run in the game-changing fifth frame. Baldwin hit his second home run of the day amid a two-run sixth inning, and Arce blasted a grand slam to center in the seventh to blow the game open and put the Wolves ahead 14-6.
The Nighthawks started red hot at the plate, scoring six times in the opening three innings to build an early advantage.
Adrian Arechiga had a two-run double in the bottom of the third, while four other Nighthawks each had at-bats that produced runs in the early going.
WOU got to NNU starting pitcher
Jakob Rochelle in the fifth however, driving him from the contest after upping his pitch count to 77. Rochelle allowed six runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks across his four-plus innings of work. Five different NNU relievers pieced together the final five innings on the mound, but WOU’s persistent offense continued to build upon the lead.
The Wolves received a pair of sturdy performances from their bullpen, with
Devin Bettencourt earning the win allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 3 2/3 effective frames.
Wyatt Rosales then shut down the Nighthawks across the final three innings, striking out four, walking none and allowing no runs on three hits. Arce added five more RBIs in the second game, while
Benny Nazario was 1-for-3 with four RBIs, three runs scored and a home run. All nine hitters in the WOU lineup had at least one hit, while seven different players drove in a run and seven different players scored.
Parker Sobiesiak and
Caleb Boswell had three hits apiece for the nighthawks, while Arechiga and
Jake Mestas each drove in a pair of runs in the defeat.
Game 3 – Northwest Nazarene 10, Montana State Billings 5 | Box Score
A 123-pitch effort from GNAC Pitcher of the Year
Corbin Talley helped will the Nighthawks to a must-have victory in Thursday’s nightcap, as they navigated a back-and-forth affair and finished strong to keep their tournament title hopes alive.
Talley struck out nine hitters across his seven-plus innings of work, limiting MSUB to five runs – three earned – on 10 hits with three walks. Closer
Wade Duncan earned his ninth save of the season, allowing two baserunners in two shutout innings of relief. He moved into sole possession of second place on the GNAC all-time saves list, with the 22nd of his career to close the evening.
Brennen Chappell was saddled with the loss for the Yellowjackets, allowing seven runs – six earned – on nine hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks across 5 1/3 innings.
Gavin Brubaker’s first home run of the season – a two-run shot in the sixth inning – broke a 5-5 tie and proved to be the game-winning swing of the bat. Brubaker was 3-for-5 with four RBIs in the elimination game, including punching a two-run single into center field in the fourth inning.
The Yellowjackets managed to tie the game on two separate occasions but could not complete a third comeback as the Nighthawks pulled away under the lights. Leadoff hitter
Jason Wright finished his memorable season going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, completing the 2026 campaign breaking the GNAC single-season record for batting average at .469. That topped the 2008 mark of .268, set by Jamie Nilsen of Central Washington.
GNAC Player of the Year
Carter Walsh demolished his sixth home run of the season as NNU capped the win with a three-run eighth inning, and led his team with three runs scored. After the teams split the regular-season series 4-4, NNU won the rubber contest on Thursday.