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

LACEY (Apr. 10) -- Central Washington University head coach Gary Frederick earned his 300th career softball coaching victory as the Wildcats held onto first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with their 8-3 victory over host Saint Martin's University in game two of their doubleheader on Saturday. The Saints won the opening game, 4-3, with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Central is now 20-11 overall and 15-6 in GNAC play. The Wildcats maintain their one-game lead in the standings over Western Oregon heading into play on Sunday. Saint Martin's is now 14-24 overall and 10-16 in the GNAC.

Frederick, in his 16th season as the Wildcats' head softball coach and in his 42nd year overall affiliated with the CWU athletic department, now has 698 career head coaching victories in all sports (he also coached baseball and women's basketball at Central for 11 years each). He earned his 300th career softball coaching victory in his 656th game as the program's mentor.

In game two, the Wildcats broke a 3-3 tie with five runs in the top of the sixth innings on a pair of home runs. Junior Kelsey Haupert (Olympia/Black Hills HS) belted her second home run of the day -- a three-run shot -- to give Central a 6-3 lead, and freshman Carrina Wagner (Tacoma/Spanaway Lake HS) followed two batters later with her first career round-tripper to extend the lead to five runs at that point.

Senior pitcher Katriina Reime (Hoquiam), who pitched the final four innings, earned her third relief win in as many decisions this season. She scattered four hits over those four frames, but got 12 groundball outs over that span.

Offensively, Central flexed its muscles in the contest, totaling 14 hits as five players had multiple-hit games in the win. Senior Ashley Fix (Puyallup) had three singles in four at-bats, while Haupert, Wagner, and seniors Danielle Monson (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck HS) and Taylor Trautmann (Renton/John F. Kennedy HS) all had two hits apiece. Monson extended her hitting streak to 30 games, becoming the ninth player in NCAA Division II history with a hitting streak of 30 or more games with the two-hit outing in the nightcap. Seven of the Wildcats' eight runs in the contest scored on home runs, as junior Samantha Petrich (Chehalis/W.F. West HS) had a two-run home run in the first inning.

In game one, Central squandered a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning as junior Lauren Hadenfeld (Vancouver/Evergreen HS) was touched up for three consecutive hits -- including two doubles -- in the final frame.

The Wildcats fell behind 1-0 in the third inning but took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning on Haupert's two-run home run. The lead went to 3-1 in the top of the sixth as Haupert scored on a throwing error, but Saint Martin's matched the tally in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run by Kirstin Davidson.

Central was outhit 9-5 in the opener despite two hits from Haupert. Hadenfeld (12-4) struck out seven in the circle for the Wildcats.

Saint Martin's was led by two-hit games from Megan Antonovich and Joslyn Eugenio, with Antonovich driving in the game-winning run in the seventh on her second double of the contest.

The two teams will wrap up their season series on Sunday with another doubleheader beginning at noon.