Wolves Bang Out 24 Hits in 16-7 Win Over `Lopes

Lepley hits two grand slams as Western Oregon tops Grand Canyon

Salem-News.com Sports

(Phoenix, AZ) - Tom Lepley hit two grand slam home runs and Western Oregon rattled off 24 hits as the Wolves rolled to a 16-7 baseball win over Grand Canyon on Sunday afternoon at Brazell Stadium.

Lepley and the Wolves` offense propelled them to the series win, as the Wolves took three of four from the ?Lopes over the weekend. Western Oregon, ranked No. 17 in last week`s Collegiate Baseball national poll, improved to 5-3 on the season, while Grand Canyon fell to 6-9 on the year.

Lepley had a school-record nine RBI in the game, going 3-for-4 with the two home runs and a sacrifice fly. Lepley, who made his first start of the season in the game (first base), had only two at-bats in WOU`s previous seven games.

Meanwhile, Lepley`s teammates ran through seven Grand Canyon pitchers and totaled the fourth highest hit total for a game in school history. The Wolves scored in seven of the game`s nine innings, and rolled out to a 9-0 lead before the ?Lopes scored in the fourth stanza.

Shortstop Paul Fisher joined Lepley with a trio of hits, while five Western Oregon players had two hits each—Joe McCormick, Ivan Munoz, Brent Mertens, Matt Skundrick and Boo Christenson. Skundrick, McCormick and Mertens all had a double as one of their base knocks.

Kevin Corrigan moved to 2-0 on the mound with the victory, going seven innings, allowing seven hits and five runs.

The Wolves will next hit the road for the third time in three weeks, traveling to Mesa State for a four-game series (Friday-Sunday) and to Colorado Mines for a doubleheader (Monday).