Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)
ELLENSBURG (Apr. 23) -- Senior pitcher Jake Millbauer (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS) picked up his second win of the 2011 season, leading the Wildcats to an 11-8 game-one victory over Saint Martin's University Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats lost game two by a score of 3-2.
Central Washington fell to 11-27 on the season, 4-20 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. SMU improved to 24-19, 20-8 in GNAC, winning seven of its nine games against the Wildcats this season.
Millbauer (2-4) gave up just three earned runs in his 7 1/3 innings of work, striking out four batters in the opener, and was the benefactor of 11 runs of support from the CWU offense. Six of those runs came in the sixth inning, when the Wildcats turned a 5-4 lead into an 11-4 cushion.
The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a RBI single by senior Kris Henderson (Liberty Lake/Central Valley HS) and a run-scoring groundout by junior Scott Cooper (Ellensburg). SMU responded the following inning by scoring three runs, aided by two of the Wildcats' five errors in the contest.
Central regained the advantage in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly by junior Derrick Webb (Ephrata) that scored senior Kelly Gau (Woodinville), and a run-scoring single by sophomore David Leid (Carson City, Nev./Carson HS).
The Wildcats added to their lead with a single tally in the bottom of the sixth, which Saint Martin's matched with one in the top of the seventh. That set the stage for Central's big seventh inning, in which they scored six times with just two hits, helped by four Saints errors, a walk, and two hit batsmen. The only two hits of the inning were RBI singles by Gau and senior Nate Wallen (Bremerton/Central Kitsap HS).
Saint Martin's rallied in the eighth and ninth innings to add four runs -- of which just two were earned against Millbauer and senior reliever Mike Miller (Bellevue/Issaquah HS) -- but the Wildcats held on to win the game by an 11-8 count.
Leid was 3 for 4 in the opener, driving in a run and scoring twice. Webb and Gau also had two hits and a RBI in the contest. The game was marred by a combined 13 errors and nine hit batsmen.
Central fell behind early in game two, surrendering three hits and a run in the opening inning. Central later tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning, as freshman Ethan Sterkel (Ellensburg) drove in Gau with a RBI single. Sterkel nearly gave the Wildcats the lead in the fifth, but his fly ball to the fence in left field stayed in the park and kept the game at a 1-1 deadlock.
The first four Saint Martin's batters reached base safely in the sixth inning, and the Saints scored two runs to take a 3-1 advantage. Central had an opportunity to tie the game in the seventh as they loaded the bases with nobody out, but scored just once against SMU closer Kaleb Wilson, who hit pinch-hitter Chaz Ocbina (Tacoma/Wilson HS) with a 2-2 pitch to force in a run. Leid bounced into a fielder's choice on the very next pitch to end the game.
Gau finished the day 4 for 8 with an RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases, upping his season average to a team leading .360. He went 9 for 17 in the four-game series.
Saint Martin's was led by Kyle Baskett, who went 5 for 10 in Saturday's doubleheader with two runs scored, and by game-two starter Nate O'Bryan, who threw six innings and gave up five hits and one run while striking out three batters.
Central Washington next travels to Tacoma for its final scheduled non-league match-up of the season against the University of Puget Sound on Wednesday (Apr. 27) at 3:30 p.m. The Wildcats then return home for their final home series of the season against GNAC leader Western Oregon next Saturday (Apr. 30) and Sunday (May 1).
