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MONMOUTH, Ore. (Mar. 29) -- Senior Tyler Roberts (Kennewick/Southridge HS) struck out seven and threw a two-hit shutout, helping the Central Washington University baseball team to a 3-0 victory in game two of its baseball doubleheader at Western Oregon University on Friday afternoon. The host Wolves won the opener, 6-4.

CWU remained one game back of WOU in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with Friday's split. The Wildcats and Wolves both have 16-12 overall records, with CWU now sitting at 10-4 in conference play while Western Oregon is 11-3.

GAME ONE: Western Oregon 6, CWU 4
Western Oregon built a 5-0 lead after six innings before CWU staged a late rally, but the Wildcats fell short, 6-4.

CWU ace left-hander Skye Adams (Vancouver/Columbia River HS) left the game after 10 first-inning pitches due to injury. The junior was charged with the loss after one of the three base-runners he allowed scored, and the Wolves did not trail the rest of the way.

Junior Joe Arlt (Spokane/Central Valley HS) made his Wildcat debut in relief of Adams, throwing five innings and allowing 10 hits as the first of four relievers for CWU.

The Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard in the seventh against WOU ace Spenser Watkins, as junior Eddie Malone (Queen Creek, Ariz.) and senior Justin Peterson (Tacoma/Life Christian Academy) started the inning with a walk and single, respectively. After a sacrifice moved both of the runners into scoring position, junior Joe Castro (Union City, Calif./James Logan HS) drove in Malone with a groundout. Senior Marc Garza (Othello) then followed with a RBI single to score Peterson and make it a 5-2 contest.

WOU scored once in the bottom of the seventh to extend its lead, but the Wildcats scored twice in the eighth to make it a two-run game. Junior Joel Johnson (Olympia) had a two-out, two-run double to left-center field to account for the final scoring of the game. CWU did have chances in the ninth against Wolves closer Kody Stone, getting a pair of singles, but the Wildcats were unable to score as Stone earned his eighth save of the season.

Peterson (2 for 2), sophomore Kasey Bielec (Port Orchard/North Mason HS; 2 for 5), and freshman Kramer Ferrell (Ellensburg; 2 for 5) all had two-hit games for the Wildcats, who finished with nine hits as a team. Chris Bradshaw (3 for 4) and Will Chavarria (3 for 3) led the Wolves' 14-hit attack.

GAME TWO: CWU 3, Western Oregon 0
Roberts held Western Oregon to singles in the third and fifth innings, then escaped a leadoff three-base error in the sixth, in handing the Wolves the shutout loss, 3-0.

The right-hander threw 95 pitches in his seven-inning complete game, striking out seven and walking three. The shutout was the first one by a WOU opponent in Monmouth since Apr. 23, 2007, when CWU left-hander Jordan Moore blanked the Wolves.

Offensively, CWU scored single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings. Garza had a two-out RBI single in the third to break the scoreless tie, and senior designated hitter Kyle Sani (Kennewick/Southridge HS) hit his seventh home run of the season to lead off the fourth and make it a 2-0 count. Garza then added another RBI single in the fifth after Johnson had singled and stole second base.

The Wildcats managed six hits against three Western Oregon pitchers, led by a 3 for 4 outing from Garza. Sani finished 2 for 3 while Johnson was officially 1 for 1 but reached base all three times (two walks) and stole two bases.

The two teams wrap up their four-game weekend series -- and the first half of GNAC play -- with another doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon.