Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)

ELLENSBURG (Mar. 20) -- Central Washington University junior Lauren Hadenfeld (Vancouver/Evergreen HS) threw a six-inning no-hitter, striking out eight, and the Wildcat offense had 13 hits en route to an 8-0 win over Montana State Billings in the opening game of Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball doubleheader at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field. The Wildcats then completed the sweep with a 5-1 win in game two.

Central extended its win streak to eight games and improved to 12-4 overall (12-2 GNAC) with the sweep. The Wildcats maintain their two-game lead over Western Oregon (13-8, 11-5 GNAC) in the standings, while extending their advantage to four games over Montana State Billings, which fell to 10-9 overall and 8-6 in the conference with Saturday's losses.

Hadenfeld, who improved to 7-1 on the season, walked just one in addition to her eight Ks while throwing just 76 pitches. She allowed just three base runners in the six-inning contest, including a two-base infield error on the first pitch of the sixth. Her no-hitter was the first for a CWU pitcher in more than five years, as Sara Badgley tossed a seven-inning no-no against Western Oregon on Mar. 5, 2005 in Richland.

Offensively, Hadenfeld had plenty of support. The Wildcats finished with 13 hits -- 12 of which were singles -- and jumped on MSUB starter Josie Grotbo early. Junior Keilani Cruz (Tacoma/Curtis HS) had a solo home run to open the scoring in the first inning, and six singles in the third inning translated into three runs for the Wildcats, as junior Samantha Petrich (Chehalis/W.F. West HS) and senior Ashley Fix (Puyallup) had RBI singles and junior Kelsey Haupert (Olympia/Black Hills HS) drove in a run with a groundout.

The sixth inning proved to be fruitful for the Wildcat hitters against Grotbo as well, as they collected four hits and took advantage of a Yellowjacket error. Two of the singles were infield hits -- by sophomore Meghan Kopczynski (Ellensburg) and senior Danielle Monson (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck HS) -- while senior Christyne Alley (Battle Ground/Prairie HS) and Haupert also had hits in the frame. Haupert's was a two-run single that ended the game on the eight-run mercy rule.

Alley had the first three-hit game of her career, singling in each of her three at-bats, while Monson, Cruz, and Kopczynski all had two hits each. Eight of Central's nine starters had at least one hit.

In game two, three solo home runs -- including two by Petrich and one by Haupert -- gave Central an early 3-0 lead and sophomore Lindy Baxter (Lacey/River Ridge HS) worked her way out of two jams in the first four innings.

Petrich homered in the first and fourth innings, while Haupert went back-to-back with her junior teammate in the fourth, to give the Wildcats a three-run lead. Central then added two more runs in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Petrich and a double steal.

Baxter, who earned her third straight pitching victory to improve to 4-3, escaped a bases-loaded and one-out situation in the third inning without allowing a run and then nearly replicated that in the fourth by getting out of a two-on, one-out situation unscathed. She did run into trouble again in the top of the sixth, putting three of the first four hitters she faced on base, but senior Katriina Reime (Hoquiam) induced a RBI fielder's choice but limited the damage to just one run as Central held a 5-1 lead through 5 1/2 innings.

Monson had an infield single in the Central fifth to extend her hitting streak to 15 games, and scored the Wildcats' final run on the steal of home plate.

Petrich led Central's eight-hit attack in the nightcap by going 2 for 2 with three RBI, while six others had one hit each. MSU Billings was led by Rachel Eisenmann, who went 2 for 3 as the Yellowjackets finished with just five hits against Baxter and Reime.

The two teams play another doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.