Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

ELLENSBURG (Mar. 25) -- The Central Washington University baseball team nearly rallied for a walkoff win in game one on Sunday afternoon, but the Wildcats were unable to steal a win from 22nd-ranked Western Oregon University in falling to the Wolves, 8-7 and 12-3, at the CWU Baseball Field.

The Wildcats fell to 9-11 overall and 5-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, dropping three of four games in the series to Western Oregon. The Wolves improved to 18-7 overall and 7-1 in the conference, opening up a two-game lead over the second-place Wildcats with Sunday's sweep.

In the opener, CWU nearly matched the Wolves inning-by-inning from a scoring standpoint, with the first 10 runs of the game coming in two-run half-innings. Western Oregon went ahead 2-0 in the first, which the Wildcats matched in the bottom of the second, and each team then scored two runs in the third inning to make it a 4-4 score. WOU went ahead 7-4 after two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth, but Central Washington got a single run back in the bottom of the sixth to close to within two runs. Then, in the ninth, Western Oregon got the eventual winning run as the Wildcats scored twice in the bottom of the inning and had the tying run at third base with just one out.

Junior starter RANDY BUTTON (Allyn/North Mason HS) had a rough start for the Wildcats, allowing a pair of two-run home runs in the first three innings and leaving the contest with a 7-4 deficit in the sixth. Reliever DREW DAVIDSON (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) pitched 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief before David Amberson's leadoff home run in the ninth, which proved to be the difference-maker in the contest.

Central Washington's offensive rally in the ninth came against WOU closer Ian MacDougall, who entered with an 8-5 lead. Senior BRETT BIELEC (Port Orchard/North Mason HS) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then to third on a single by senior DERRICK WEBB (Ephrata). Junior KYLE SANI (Kennewick/Southridge HS) was then hit by a pitch to load the bases, and a balk advanced each of the baserunners to make it a two-run game. Consecutive walks, sandwiched around a wild pitch that allowed the Wildcats' seventh run of the game to score, loaded the bases again for CWU, but a strikeout and groundout ended the threat.

CWU finished with a 12-10 advantage in hits, and each team committed two errors. The Wildcats' attack was keyed by the bottom third of their order, which accounted for seven hits in 14 at bats. Juniors BRETT GRAY (Ephrata) and JIMMY RYERSON (Seattle/Roosevelt HS) had three hits each, as did Sani, who homered and drove in a pair of runs in the game.

Six of the eight runs for Western Oregon were scored by the top three hitters in the lineup, as each of the Wolves' first three hitters homered. Blake Miller was 2 for 5 with three RBI, while Amberson scored three runs and finished 2 for 3.

In game two, Central Washington was playing from behind from start to finish, and Western Oregon scored in five of its seven innings at the plate in cruising to the 12-3 victory.

The Wolves scored three in the first on a RBI double by Bo Folkinga and a two-run home run by Quinn Naughtin. CWU scored a single run in the bottom of the inning on a RBI single by Sani, but WOU extended its lead to 5-1 on a two-run home run by Folkinga in the third. The margin was pushed to 10-1 after 4 1/2 innings as Western Oregon scored five runs in the top of the fifth, highlighted by a two-run single from Kyle Blackwell. Folkinga and AJ Royal also had run-scoring hits in the inning, while Griff Boyd added a sacrifice fly in the inning.

Central Washington scored once each in the fifth and sixth, with its fifth-inning run scoring on a RBI single by Ryerson and its sixth-inning tally on a run-scoring single by senior BRADY KINCANNON (Federal Way/Decatur HS). Western Oregon scored once each in the sixth and seventh for the final nine-run margin.

Each team reached double digits in hits in the seven-inning series finale, with WOU holding a 14-10 edge. Folkinga (3 for 3), Amberson (2 for 4), and Miller (2 for 4) all had multiple-hit games for the Wolves, while Central Washington's 10-hit attack was more balanced as all nine starters had at least one hit. Bielec finished 2 for 4 to record the lone multi-hit contest for CWU.

Central Washington is scheduled to play its first away series of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season, visiting Montana State University Billings (8-10, 1-5 GNAC) in a four-game set at Dehler Park next Friday and Saturday (Mar. 30-31). The Wildcats' next home series is Apr. 6-7 versus Northwest Nazarene University.