TURLOCK -- Cal State Stanislaus continued their domination Thursday of non-conference opponents and Great Northwestern Athletic Conference members with an 11-3 win over Northwest Nazarene at Warrior Field in game one of a four game series.

The Warriors are now 9-0 against the GNAC in 2009 and are 11-1 in non-conference games. The win moves their record to 25-14 overall. Also, with UC San Diego beating Cal State Dominguez Hills, 8-3, Thursday, the Warriors' 14-13 California Collegiate Athletic Association record puts them just one game out of fourth place. The top four teams at season's end qualify for the CCAA Championship Tournament. Northwest Nazarene falls to 11-21 overall.

The game was a close one until the sixth inning when the Warriors blew up for three runs on four hits, then tacked on five more runs the next inning to push their lead to 11-2. Ryan Silver had a huge day for the Warriors, going 4-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored, including two doubles. Jacob Thelen reached base four times and hit an opposite-field two-run homerun to right-center field in the fourth to give the Warriors a 6-2 lead.

Andrew Stuve threw seven strong innings, giving up two runs on nine hits for his fifth win of the year. He struck out four and walked none. Andy Pottenger started for the Crusaders and struggled with keeping the Warriors off the basepaths. He walked five and struck two more batters to give the Warriors seven free baserunners. Even with scoring 11 runs on 14 hits, the Warriors stranded 12 runners in the game.

Niko Hawes, Tyler Nicholson and Ty Windall all had multiple-hit games for Northwest Narazene on Thursday. Freshman Tyler Montgomery threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Crusaders to close the game.

The four-game series continues Friday at Warrior Field with a doubleheader beginning at noon, and concludes on Saturday with a single game at Warrior Field, also starting at noon.

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