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

BILLINGS, Mont. (May 1) -- Junior Keilani Cruz (Tacoma/Curtis HS) delivered a game-winning two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning as the Central Washington University softball team rallied from behind for the second straight game in posting a 12-10, 6-5 sweep of host Montana State University Billings on Saturday afternoon at Cenex Stadium.

The Wildcats extended their win streak to seven games with Saturday's sweep, improving to 31-13 overall and 26-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. They also maintained a one-game lead over Western Oregon in the GNAC standings entering Sunday's twinbill between CWU and MSUB. The host Yellowjackets are now 20-25 overall and 17-17 in the GNAC.

Cruz's two-run blast -- her only hit of the game -- capped a three-run Wildcat rally in the sixth as Central trailed 5-3 entering the frame. Sophomore Jennifer Schwartz (Spokane/Shadle Park HS) led off with a single, advanced to second on a groundout, and scored on a RBI single by senior Danielle Monson (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck HS) that made it a one-run game before Cruz belted the next pitch over the left-field fence to give the Wildcats the lead.

Junior Lauren Hadenfeld (Vancouver/Evergreen HS), who started the opener but left with a no-decision after 3 1/3 innings in that contest, pitched 2 1/3 innings of two-hit ball in game two to earn the victory and improve to 18-4 on the season. She struck out four in the second contest after fanning six in her first outing of the day.

In the opener, Central built a 6-2 lead after three innings but watched as Montana State Billings scored eight runs on six hits in the fourth inning to turn a four-run deficit into a four-run Yellowjacket lead.

Senior Katriina Reime (Hoquiam), who inherited one runner and allowed four other runs to score in the marathon fourth inning, held MSU Billings scoreless over the final three innings while the Wildcats rallied back. Reime, who now has a 6-0 record on the season, stranded two Yellowjacket base runners in the fifth but retired the final seven hitters of the game.

The Wildcat rally began in the fifth inning when they scored five runs on four hits. Two of the four hits drove home all five runs, as Schwartz greeted reliever Lindsay Trenary with a two-run bases-loaded single and pinch-hitter Elena Carter (Olympia/Black Hills HS) followed with a three-run home run to give Central the lead. CWU then scored once in the sixth after a leadoff double by junior Samantha Petrich (Chehalis/W.F. West HS) and a one-out RBI single by senior Ashley Fix (Puyallup).

Central finished with a 14-9 edge in hits, and eight of nine Wildcat starters had at least one hit. Sophomore Meghan Kopczynski (Ellensburg) led the hit parade with three hits and three RBI, including her first home run of the season, while Monson, Fix, and sophomore Michelle Torre (Kent/Liberty HS) all had two hits apiece. Torre joined Kopczynski and Carter with home runs in the opener.

In game two, the Wildcats led by one after their half of the first (1-0) and fourth (3-2) innings but needed the three-run sixth inning to earn the victory.

Central scored single tallies in the first, third, and fourth to offset a two-run first from Montana State Billings. The Yellowjackets then took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a three-run home run by Kaycee Hoffman -- her second of the doubleheader -- to chase CWU starting pitcher Lindy Baxter (Lacey/River Ridge HS) from the game after 4 2/3 innings. Hadenfeld then struck out Rachel Eisenmann to close the fifth, and the Wildcat offense responded in the next half inning to score the eventual game-winning runs.

The Wildcats, who upped their season batting average to .345 with a combined 25 hits in the two games on Saturday, actually finished with a 12-11 deficit in the hit department in game two. Leading Central at the plate was Fix with three hits and two safeties each from Monson and Schwartz.

MSU Billings leadoff hitter Stevie Howard went 4 for 4 in the nightcap and finished 6 for 8 in the doubleheader.

The two teams wrap up their season series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Time) doubleheader at Cenex Stadium. The Wildcats will then return to Ellensburg before a regular-season-ending four-game series at Western Oregon next weekend with the GNAC championship and a NCAA Division II Tournament berth on the line.