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

ELLENSBURG (May 7) -- Senior Ricky McKinney (Aberdeen) delivered a walk-off game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning of game one, and fellow senior Danny Myers (Tumwater) drove in a pair of runs in the nightcap as the Central Washington University baseball team completed a doubleheader sweep of visiting Montana State University Billings on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats won by scores of 5-4 and 3-1.

Central improved to 13-35 overall and 7-23 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, pulling into a fourth-place tie with the Yellowjackets (10-34, 7-23 GNAC) in the process.

McKinney's RBI single in the final inning capped Central's comeback from a 4-0 deficit. The Wildcats began their rally in the bottom of the eighth inning, scoring their first run on a RBI single by senior shortstop Evan Churlin (Monroe) and then later tying the game after senior catcher Jake Hammons (Snohomish) cleared the bases with a two-out triple.

In the ninth, Central had its first two hitters reach base and both advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. With one out, Churlin, the Wildcats' ninth-place hitter, was intentionally walked to load the bases and set the stage for McKinney, who hit an 0-1 pitch through the left side of the infield to give CWU the victory.

Junior Jake Millbauer (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS), who earned his first pitching victory since his 2010 debut on Feb. 13 (2-8), tossed a complete game for the Wildcats. He held the visiting Yellowjackets scoreless for the first four innings before allowing runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Three of the four runs he surrendered were earned, but the right-hander walked just one hitter and struck out three while allowing eight hits.

Offensively, Hammons' three-run triple highlighted a 3 for 4 game at the plate, and Churlin was a perfect 3 for 3. McKinney had two hits as well, helping the Wildcats to a 12-8 edge in hits. Ryan Dennehy and Patch Wirtzberger had two hits apiece for MSU Billings against Millbauer in the contest.

In the nightcap, the bat of Myers and pitching of senior Kevin Walkenhauer (Yakima/West Valley HS) kept the Yellowjackets in check and enabled the Wildcats to complete their first sweep of a conference doubleheader this season with a 3-1 win.

Myers drove in the game's first run with a first-inning single in his first plate appearance in nearly a month, giving Walkenhauer and the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. After MSU Billings tied the score in the top of the fourth on Brian Dukart's RBI single, Central regained the lead in the bottom of the inning as sophomore Brett Bielec (Port Orchard/North Mason HS) scored on a wild pitch. Myers then provided an insurance tally in the bottom of the sixth with his first home run of the season.

In a quick-moving game that lasted just 1 hour, 27 minutes, the two teams combined for just nine hits. Walkenhauer evened his season record at 3-3 after throwing just 73 pitches and giving up five hits in the seven-inning affair. The Wildcats managed just four hits themselves, with two each from Myers and third baseman Kevin Schneider (Spokane/Mead HS).

The two teams will conclude their 2010 seasons on Saturday with a noon doubleheader at the CWU Baseball Field. It will mark Central Washington's Senior Day, as nine Wildcat seniors will be recognized in between games of the twinbill.