Box Score vs. Dominican
Box Score vs. Cal State East Bay

TURLOCK, Calif. (Apr. 3) -- The Central Washington University softball team rallied from a 4-1 deficit with five runs in the top of the seventh inning, as the Wildcats defeated California State University East Bay, 6-4, in the final game of the consolation bracket of the Tournament of Champions, presented by Mizuno, at Pedretti Park on Sunday.

The Wildcats won a pair of consolation bracket games on Sunday, defeating Dominican University of California, 6-3, in the semifinal round to advance to the title game against CSUEB. Central, now 13-11 overall, won four of seven tournament games including four of its last five.

Central's seventh-inning rally marked the second straight day on which the Wildcats mounted a monstrous offensive attack in the final inning against the Pioneers. On Saturday, in the pool-play meeting between the two, CWU set a school record with 12 runs in the final inning of their 18-1 win.

With one out and a four-run deficit in Sunday's contest, the Wildcats collected three straight hits, including a two-run triple by junior Kristina Sherriff (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck HS), to make it a one-run game. After a pitching change and a four-pitch walk to senior Samantha Petrich (Chehalis/W.F. West HS), fellow senior Kelsey Haupert (Olympia/Black Hills HS) gave Central the lead with a two-run double to left-center field. Haupert later scored an insurance run on junior Liz Jusko's (Snohomish) RBI single.

Freshman Maria Gau (Woodinville) allowed just three hits and an unearned run over 5 2/3 innings of relief to improve to 3-5 on the season. She entered in the second inning in relief of senior Lauren Hadenfeld (Vancouver/Evergreen HS), who had allowed five hits and three runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Offensively, the Wildcats posted their third double-digit hit game of the tournament with 12, including six in the final inning. Junior Bre Thomas (Vancouver/Columbia River HS) went 3 for 4, while Haupert, Jusko, and senior Keilani Cruz (Tacoma/Curtis HS) all had two-hit performances.

In the semifinal round of the consolation bracket against Dominican, Petrich and Haupert both homered, and freshman Jessica Harris (Ellensburg) earned her first collegiate pitching victory in the three-run win.

Against the Penguins (1-26), Central scored all six of its runs in the first three innings, including five in the third. Haupert opened the scoring with a solo home run on the first pitch of the second inning, and Sherriff had a RBI single in the third inning to make it 2-0. Petrich then blasted a three-run home run down the right-field line to extend the lead to five and Haupert reached on a double that was inches shy of her second consecutive home run, and came home on a fielding error.

Hadenfeld started the game and pitched three hitless innings before Harris entered in relief to start the fourth. The rookie right-hander kept the no-hitter intact through the fourth before allowing a leadoff single in the fifth, and the shutout remained until Dominican pieced together three runs and four hits in the top of the seventh.

The Wildcats, who used all but one of their available position players in the contest, managed just one hit over the final three innings against Penguins reliever Shawna Robb. CWU had just six hits for the game, led by Haupert, who was 3 for 3 and a triple shy of batting for the cycle.

Central Washington will return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next weekend, traveling to Lacey for a four-game series with Saint Martin's University on Saturday and Sunday (Apr. 9-10). The Wildcats' next scheduled home games are Apr. 15 against Northwest Nazarene University.