Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Apr. 11) -- The Central Washington University baseball team rallied from a 6-2 deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Wildcats' comeback went for naught as California State University, East Bay scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat CWU, 8-6, on Sunday afternoon.

The two teams finished the four-game series with two wins apiece. Central is now 8-24 on the season, while Cal State East Bay is 16-24-1.

Each team scored in the opening inning against pitchers who were making their 2010 starting debuts. Central sophomore Ryan Tarver (Mukilteo/Kamiak HS) surrendered a leadoff home run to Stephen Gatehouse, while the Wildcats took advantage of a wild pitch on a strikeout to senior Ricky McKinney (Aberdeen), who scored on a double play groundout against CSU East Bay left-hander Felipe Carvajal.

The visiting Pioneers went ahead with two unearned runs in the third before the Wildcats halved the deficit on senior Anthony Sanelli's (Carnation/Issaquah HS) RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to make it 3-2. The Pioneers scored three in the fifth, including two on a home run by Levi Josewski, to take a four-run lead.

Central chipped away at the deficit with one run in the sixth on sophomore Nate Sadler's (Kirkland/Lake Washington HS) run-scoring double, and the Wildcats exploited a leadoff error in the seventh in its rally to tie the game. Junior Kelly Gau (Woodinville) and sophomore Brett Bielec (Port Orchard/North Mason HS) had RBI singles in the inning, while senior Evan Churlin (Monroe) also drove home a run with a sacrifice fly.

Senior left-hander Tyler Warne (Aberdeen), making just his third appearance of the season, pitched admirably through his first three innings of relief but ran into trouble in the ninth. He gave up three singles and a sacrifice bunt to the first four hitters he faced in the inning, including a go-ahead single by Richie Gonzalez. Two batters later, pinch-hitter Josh Rush plated an insurance run for the Pioneers with a single, and Central was retired on three fly ball outs in the bottom of the ninth after Gau's leadoff single.

Each team had one player with three hits, as Central was led by senior Kevin Schneider (Spokane/Mead HS) with a 3 for 4 outing, while Gau and Sanelli had two hits apiece. CSU East Bay was led by Gonzalez, who was 3 for 4 with two runs scored, and Alex Anicich and Charlie Sharrer each went 2 for 4.

Warne (0-1) suffered the loss after 3 2/3 innings of relief, while Devin Grigg picked up the win with two innings of one-hit relief for CSU East Bay.

Central Washington will now hit the road for six consecutive games, beginning with a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference set at Northwest Nazarene next Friday and Saturday (Apr. 16-17).