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ELLENSBURG (Mar. 17) -- Junior Ethan Sterkel (Ellensburg) led a 16-hit attack with four hits in the opener, and the Central Washington University baseball team used a four-run third inning in the nightcap to sweep Saint Martin's University, 9-3 and 5-3, on Sunday afternoon.

The Wildcats completed a four-game series sweep, extending their win streak to seven games and improving to 12-9 overall. CWU is also in sole possession of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings at 7-1. Saint Martin's fell to 3-19 overall and 1-7 in the conference.

GAME ONE: CWU 9, Saint Martin's 3
Sterkel went 4 for 4 with two runs batted in, while junior Scott Stone (Corvallis, Ore./Crescent Valley HS) added three hits in four at-bats as the Wildcats rattled the bats for 16 hits and took advantage of three Saint Martin's errors for the six-run victory.

CWU scored in five separate innings, building a 4-0 lead after two frames. Each team scored twice in the fourth, with the Wildcats adding a single tally in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Saint Martin's scored its final run in the top of the seventh.

Meanwhile, junior Stuart Fewel (Portland, Ore./Wilson HS) improved to 3-1 on the season after allowing six hits over seven innings of work. Sophomore Davis Engel (Ellensburg) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to preserve the victory.

In addition to Sterkel and Stone, four other Wildcats had multiple-hit games. Junior Justen Weigel (Naches/Naches Valley HS) matched Sterkel with a team-best two RBI.

Bobby Twedt went 3 for 4 to finish as the lone Saints player with more than one hit in the contest.

GAME TWO: CWU 5, Saint Martin's 3
A four-run third inning, keyed by a two-run double from sophomore Kasey Bielec (Port Orchard/North Mason HS), proved to be the difference as the Wildcats completed the series sweep with a 5-3 win.

Junior Sam Williams (Seattle/Bishop Blanchet HS) added a RBI single in the four-run third, with the inning's final run scoring on an error on Williams' hit.

Saint Martin's had taken its first lead of the series in the top of the third on a one-out RBI single by Travis Shaw.

Senior Jason Lotzer (Lynnwood) picked up his first win of the season, going four innings and allowing just three hits and an unearned run. He struck out four before two relievers -- sophomore Max Dickinson (Hoquiam) and junior Jeff Gonzales (Bellevue/Newport HS) -- closed out the victory.

The Wildcats scored their final run in the fourth on an error, while Saint Martin's trimmed the deficit to two runs on a home run by Mario Sanelli in the top of the sixth.

CWU finished with an 8-7 edge in hits, as Sterkel, freshman Kramer Ferrell (Ellensburg), and senior Marc Garza (Othello) had two hits each. Jack Freeman was 2 for 2 for Saint Martin's.

The Wildcats will visit Whitworth University on Tuesday afternoon for a single non-conference game before returning to GNAC action at home against Montana State University Billings next weekend.