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ELLENSBURG (Mar. 25) -- Freshman Remy Bradley (Richland/Hanford HS) had five hits in seven at-bats and scored the game-winning run in the nightcap as the Central Washington University softball team swept visiting Northwest Nazarene University, 8-0 and 3-2, on Monday afternoon at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field. The opening game lasted six innings.

The Wildcats finished the first half of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 7-5 conference mark and fourth in the standings. CWU, which has won nine of its last 11 contests, is now 9-10 overall, while NNU fell to 5-24 overall and 0-14 in the GNAC.

GAME ONE: CWU 8, Northwest Nazarene 0
Bradley went 3 for 3 with two runs scored, and junior pitcher Maria Gau (Woodinville) threw a two-hit shutout with eight strikeouts as the Wildcats won 8-0 in six innings.

Bradley singled and scored in the second, had a RBI single in the third, and had another infield single and run scored in the bottom of the sixth for CWU, which finished the game with 10 hits. The Wildcats also took advantage of four NNU errors, scoring three unearned runs.

CWU scored twice in each of the first three innings, with freshman Andrea Hamada (Walla Walla) opening the scoring with a two-run double in the first. A pair of runs scored on a sacrifice fly and subsequent throwing error in the second, while the Wildcats' third-inning tallies scored on singles by Bradley and fellow freshman Alexa Olague (Tacoma/Woodrow Wilson HS).

Gau, meanwhile, only allowed back-to-back two-out singles in the third inning to the Crusaders. She had two strikeouts in each of the first four innings and retired the final 10 hitters she faced in succession.

Five of the Wildcats' 10 hits came from the bottom two positions in the batting order, as Olague was 2 for 3 in addition to Bradley's 3 for 3 outing.

GAME TWO: CWU 3, Northwest Nazarene 2
The Wildcats scored two early runs, and then rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning to complete the sweep.

The game-winning run scored with one out. Bradley reached on a double just past the outstretched reach of NNU left fielder Kayla Fadenrecht. Freshman Michaela Hazlett (Purcell, Okla.) then hit a bouncing ball up the middle that was knocked down, but Bradley was able to score from second base with the game-ending tally.

CWU scored once each in the first two innings with junior Jill McDaniels (Walla Walla) singling in the first run. Senior Elena Carter (Olympia/Black Hills HS) drove home the second run with a sacrifice fly. That two-run lead lasted until the fifth inning, when the Crusaders collected three of their five hits for the game and scored a pair of runs. Brianna Kinghorn had a run-scoring single, and Michelle Crumbaker followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.

Bradley, who raised her season average to .536 after going 2 for 4 in the nightcap, was the only player on either team to have more than one hit in the contest. Relief pitcher Kimberly Kocik (Mukilteo/Kamiak HS), who escaped a seventh-inning jam, picked up the victory to improve to 1-2 on the season.

CWU remains home for a pair of doubleheaders this weekend, taking on rival Western Washington University on Thursday (Mar. 28) and Simon Fraser University on Saturday (Mar. 30).