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

NAMPA, Idaho (Mar. 23) -- Senior pitcher Lauren Hadenfeld (Vancouver/Evergreen HS) picked up a pair of pitching victories, and the Central Washington University softball team broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the seventh inning in game two as the Wildcats swept host Northwest Nazarene University, 6-2 and 4-3, on Wednesday afternoon at Halle Field.

The wins extended Central's win streak to four, improving them to 9-6 overall and 7-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Northwest Nazarene fell to 8-11 overall and 7-7 in conference action.

Hadenfeld pitched five scoreless innings in a starting role in game one, allowing just three hits and leaving with a 5-0 lead. She then entered in relief with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning of game two, and she stranded all three runners in that frame and then was the beneficiary of the game-winning run in the top of the seventh to improve to 7-4 on the season.

In the opener, Central scored two runs in the second and three more in the third to take a five-run lead. Junior Molly Coppinger (Belfair/North Mason HS) drove in two runs during those innings with a single and a groundout, while senior Kelsey Haupert (Olympia/Black Hills HS) also plated a run. Two of the Wildcats' runs scored on throwing errors.

Northwest Nazarene scored its two runs in the final two innings against CWU freshman Jessica Harris (Ellensburg), who made her third pitching appearance of the season in relief of Hadenfeld. The Crusaders scored their first run on a fielder's choice and their second on a solo home run by Elizabeth Beaty.

Central's game-one offensive attack totaled 12 hits, including two each from the top five hitters in the lineup. Haupert and Coppinger, who batted third and sixth, respectively, had two RBI each, with Haupert accounting for the Wildcats' lone extra-base hit of the opener.

In game two, neither team scored until the fifth and after the teams traded runs over the fifth and sixth innings, a bases-loaded walk to freshman pinch-hitter Brittany Hope (Winlock/Toledo HS) brought home junior Bre Thomas (Vancouver/Columbia River HS) with the winning run.

CWU freshman Maria Gau (Woodinville) matched Northwest Nazarene's Nicole Grummons through the first four innings, as neither pitcher surrendered a run until the Wildcats' half of the fifth. Junior Kristina Sherriff (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck HS) led off with a triple, and sophomore Elena Carter (Olympia/Black Hills HS) drove her home with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.

NNU countered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to take the lead and chase Gau from the contest. The Crusaders scored their first run -- an unearned tally -- on a wild pitch and then took the lead on a RBI single by Sarah Varady.

Central regained the lead in the top of the sixth after senior Keilani Cruz (Tacoma/Curtis HS) led off with a single and Haupert followed with her fourth home run of the season -- and her first in more than a month -- over the centerfield fence. NNU again matched the Wildcats in the bottom of the inning with a bases-loaded single by Becky Louber, but with the bases still loaded, Hadenfeld entered in relief for the Wildcats and escaped without any further damage.

A two-out error, single, and walk loaded the bases for CWU in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Hope to drive in the winning run on the hit by pitch.

Central Washington again had a hitting advantage, totaling nine to Northwest Nazarene's seven in game two. Cruz led the offense with three singles, while Haupert and junior Jennifer Schwartz (Spokane/Shadle Park HS) were both 2 for 3.

Varady and Arielle Chao led NNU with two hits each in game two.

Central Washington, the pre-season favorite to win the GNAC title, will return home for a four-game series this weekend against archrival and number nine nationally-ranked Western Washington (17-2, 12-2 GNAC). The games, which will be the first home games of the season at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field, are slated for a noon doubleheader start on Saturday (Mar. 26) and an 11 a.m. first pitch on Sunday (Mar. 27).