RICHLAND, Wash. (Apr. 30) -- The Central Washington University softball team goes into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament ranked seventh in the NCAA Division II West Region and will face archrival Western Washington University in its first game tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in Richland, Wash.
 
The seventh ranked position in the West Region is the highest in school history, but close behind them in ninth-place is WWU with only the top eight teams earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Wildcats (27-16, 16-8 GNAC) and the Vikings (30-12, 17-7 GNAC) split the season series with both clubs sweeping at home.  This "rubber match" game will feature both the GNAC Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year.
 
Wildcat senior Maria Gau (Woodinville, WA, Woodinville) (16-6) earned pitcher of the year recognition as she led the conference in strikeouts (124) and was third in ERA 2.27.  Alexis Levin from WWU was named player of the year in the GNAC, leading the conference in homeruns (10) RBIs (46) and batting average (.433).
 
In total, this game features 11 players nominated to the GNAC all-conference teams with WWU earning six and the Wildcats five.
 
Western Washington holds a 66-51 record all-time versus Central Washington, but the Wildcats have won five out of the past seven contests.
 
The game will be played at the Columbia Playfields in Richland and live stats can be found at MARIA GAU (16-6) earned pitcher of the year recognition as she led the conference in strikeouts (124) and was third in ERA 2.27. Alexis Levin from WWU was named player of the year in the GNAC, leading the conference in homeruns (10) RBIs (46) and batting average (.433). In total, this game features 11 players nominated to the GNAC all-conference teams with WWU earning six and the Wildcats five. Western Washington holds a 66-51 record all-time versus Central Washington, but the Wildcats have won five out of the past seven contests. The game will be played at the Columbia Playfields in Richland and live stats can be found at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/gnac.portal#">http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/gnac.portal#