Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Feb. 10) -- The Central Washington University softball team had a rough start to its 2013 season this past weekend, going winless in five games at the MSUB Desert Stinger tournament, hosted at Majestic Park in Las Vegas.

The Wildcats lost twice each on Friday and Saturday before losing to Metro State (Colo.), 11-2 in five innings on Sunday.

CWU was led offensively by senior Cassi Ellis (East Wenatchee/Eastmont HS) and junior Jill McDaniels (Walla Walla) with seven hits apiece in the tournament, as Ellis hit .500 and McDaniels was at .438. Junior Maikala Galusha (Battle Ground) was the team's RBI leader with six, and McDaniels plated five, while senior Elena Carter (Olympia/Black Hills HS) homered twice and drove in four runs.

GAME RECAPS:
Friday -- Academy of Art 8, CWU 7
The Wildcats took a 6-2 lead into the sixth inning, but six Academy of Art runs in the top of the sixth -- on just two hits with three CWU errors -- enabled the Urban Knights to get their first win of the season.

CWU scored once in the bottom of the seventh to make it a one-run game, as Ellis delivered a bases-loaded single, but the Wildcats were unable to score the equalizer.

Galusha and Carter both homered in the game, with Galusha's blast coming in her first CWU at-bat to cap a three-run first inning. Four players – McDaniels, Ellis, sophomore Shelby Yasuda (Woodinville), and freshman Alexa Olague (Tacoma/Woodrow Wilson HS) each had two hits as the Wildcats finished with an 11-6 advantage in hits.

Friday -- Sonoma State 10, CWU 7
CWU scored all seven of its runs in the top of the third inning, which at the time gave the Wildcats a 7-3 lead, but Sonoma State tied the game in the bottom of the third and then scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Carter's three-run home run -- her second of the day -- highlighted the scoring in the third inning, when the Wildcats collected six hits but also took advantage of four Sonoma State errors.

The eventual winning run scored on a two-run home run by Holli Brown in the fifth, and the Seawolves tacked on an insurance run in the sixth.

CWU was outhit, 12-8, with junior Jordan Zurfluh (Adna) as the only Wildcat with more than one hit in the game. She finished 2 for 3 with a double, while Yasuda had a triple.

Saturday -- Mary 14, CWU 4 (5 innings)
A close game against the University of Mary (N.D.) turned into a mercy-rule blowout as the Marauders defeated CWU, 14-4.

The Wildcats trailed by just a 4-2 count after three innings of play, only to see Mary score four in the fourth and six more in the fifth. CWU scored twice in the bottom of the fifth on a home run by sophomore Katie Focher (Missoula, Mont./Sentinel HS) and consecutive two-out doubles by McDaniels and Galusha, but the Wildcats were unable to extend the game in the 10-run defeat.

CWU totaled eight hits but committed four errors, while Mary finished with 11 total hits. Brittney Hadley went 4 for 4 with a double, grand slam, and five RBI for the Marauders, while McDaniels and freshman ANDREA HAMADA (Walla Walla) each had two hits for the Wildcats.

Saturday -- Fort Lewis 14, CWU 10
CWU and Fort Lewis College (Colo.) traded eight-run innings early, but the Skyhawks added three two-run frames throughout the contest to defeat the Wildcats in a slugfest.

CWU scored eight runs in the top of the first inning (six earned), sending 12 batters to the plate. McDaniels opened the scoring with a three-run home run, while freshman Michaela Hazlett (Purcell, Okla.) also had a two-run single to highlight the big inning.

Fort Lewis countered with two in the first and eight in the second to take the lead, and the Skyhawks then scored twice more in the third and fifth innings. The Wildcats closed the final gap to a four-run margin after Ellis' two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning.

CWU was outhit, 17-11. Hazlett, Carter, Ellis, and sophomore Amanda Hopkins (Des Moines/Mount Rainier HS) all had two-hit games for the Wildcats, with McDaniels (three), Hazlett and Ellis (two each) all driving in more than one run.

Sunday -- Metro State 11, CWU 2
The Wildcats scored two runs in the top of the first inning, but then squandered the lead after Metropolitan State University of Denver scored three in the bottom of the inning and two more in the second, as the Roadrunners defeated CWU 11-2 in five innings.

Metro State distanced itself from the Wildcats with a six-run fourth inning, in which Susie Oury, Chelsea Brew, and Stephanie Dunham all hit two-run home runs.

CWU finished with eight more hits, led by two-hit games from Yasuda and Galusha, with the latter driving in both Wildcat runs with her two-run single in the top of the first.

The Wildcats will not play again until their scheduled home openers against Eastern Oregon University on Mar. 2 (noon) at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field. CWU opens Great Northwest Athletic Conference play on Mar. 8 at Simon Fraser University.