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

KEIZER, Ore. (Apr. 14) -- The Central Washington University baseball team scored a season-high 22 runs in game two of its doubleheader with Corban University on Thursday afternoon, as the Wildcats swept the Warriors, 5-4 and 22-2, at Volcanoes Stadium.

The wins gave Central (10-22 overall) its first doubleheader sweep of the 2011 season. Corban, which competes as a member of the NAIA and the Cascade Collegiate Conference, fell to 9-29.

The 22-2 victory in game two was the Wildcats' largest margin of victory since a 24-1 win over Whitman six years ago. Sixteen of the 17 players who recorded an at-bat in the contest had at least one hit, with seven batters recording multiple hits.

Run-scoring base hits by juniors Derrick Webb (Ephrata) and Glen Reser (Spokane/Mead HS) gave the Wildcats an early 2-1 lead after the first inning. Central followed by scoring seven runs in the second inning, capped by sophomore Marcus Evans' (Kent/Kentlake HS) first home run of the season, a two-run blast. Also driving in two runs in the inning was junior Brandon Wang (Mill Creek/Henry M. Jackson HS) on a double down the right field line, while Webb, Reser, and senior Kris Henderson (Liberty Lake/Central Valley HS) each had run-scoring singles in the second inning.

The CWU bats drove in three more runs in the third inning with senior Kelly Gau (Woodinville) and Henderson driving in two of the runs. The other run of the inning came on a wild pitch that scored senior Nate Wallen (Bremerton/Central Kitsap HS) to extend the CWU lead to 12-2.

The scoring onslaught continued in the fourth inning, when Central again scored seven runs. Eight of the first nine batters of the inning hit safely with five different players driving in runs. Freshman Ethan Sterkel (Ellensburg), junior Daniel Kathman (Eatonville), and senior Alex Milden (Yakima/A.C. Davis HS) each had pinch-hit safeties in the inning, with Kathman plating two runs on a double to left-center field.

RBI singles by Gau and Kathman in the fifth inning, and a run-scoring single by junior Brady Kincannon (Federal Way/Decatur HS) in the sixth inning brought Central to the final 22-2 victory.

Henderson was 2 for 6 and set a career-high with four RBI in the game. Kathman and Evans also set career-highs with three and two RBI, respectively, while Gau, who entered as a reserve, was a perfect 4 for 4 with three RBI and two runs scored in the contest, marking his second four-hit game of the season.

Wildcat starter Palmer Brown (Sacramento, Calif./Rio Americano HS) earned his second victory of the season (2-2), throwing four innings allowing five hits and two runs while striking out two batters.

In the opener, the host Warriors struck first, scoring a run in the second inning and two in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. The Wildcats, who only recorded one hit in the first four innings, rallied to score three runs in the fifth inning on a run-scoring double by junior Brett Bielec (Port Orchard/North Mason HS) and a two-run single by sophomore Jimmy Ryerson (Seattle/Roosevelt HS) to even the score at 3-3.

Corban took a 4-3 advantage after seven innings in the scheduled nine-inning affair, but the Wildcats again knotted the game in the eighth on a RBI groundout by Reser. Both teams were held scoreless in the ninth inning to force extras.

Sophomore David Leid (Carson City, Nev./Carson HS) led off the 10th inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kincannon. On the following pitch, Reser singled to center to bring home Leid with the eventual winning run.

Senior pitcher Mike Miller (Bellevue/Issaquah HS) threw three innings of relief for the Central, allowing just two hits and recording his first win of the season (1-0). Senior starter Jake Millbauer (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS) pitched the first six innings, surrendering eight hits and three runs while striking out two Warrior batters.

The Wildcats outhit the Warriors 35-20 on the day, and the visitors were not charged with an error in the two contests while Corban committed three miscues. CWU has now committed just one error in its last five games.

Corban was led by Kyle Taylor, who was 3 for 5 with an RBI in game one, and by Nate Biebert, who was 3 for 4 in game two with a RBI and a run scored.

The Wildcats will next play provisional NCAA Division I member Seattle University in a two-game series this Friday and Saturday at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue The games, which will be Central's first baseball contests against a Division I opponent in 10 years, are slated for 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. starts, respectively.