ELLENSBURG, Wash (March. 22) – The Central Washington University baseball team spoiled a six-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose a non-conference midweek clash against Corban University.
 
The loss drops the Wildcats to 12-7 overall while the Warriors improve to 10-13. The Wildcats will look to rebound this weekend when they travel to Nampa, ID for a four-game set with Northwest Nazarene University. NUU currently sits second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standing, two game behind Central.
 
Corban took a quick 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning when a ball squeezed through the legs of Brice McCulloch on a past ball. The Wildcats quickly even the score on a Conor Plaisance infield-RBI single. The Wildcats took the lead in the bottom half of the second inning when Myles Wesener slapped a two-out RBI-single up the middle to give the home team a 2-1 lead.
 
Back-and-fourth the lead changes went as the Warriors got to Central starter Mackenzie Gaul for two more runs in the top half of the third inning. The first of seven Wildcat errors ignited the inning for the visitors as Gaul only lasted 3.2 innings allowing seven on base (4 hits, 3BB) while striking out two.
 
Jacob Forrester came on in relief for the Wildcats and worked out of a bases loaded jam to end the threat in the third inning. The lead was short lived for the Warriors as the Wildcat came storming back in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth inning, McCulloch put the Wildcats out in front with his first hit of the season, a line drive triple over the head of the centerfielder who misread the ball.
 
The hit parade continued into the fifth inning when Ryan Atkinson led off the inning with an opposite field double that crashed into the fence. He was chased home on a Reid Martinez single to right field to give the Wildcats a 5-4 lead. The lead would inflate to 8-5 when James Smith III ejected a ball into the jetstream blowing to right field for a three-run homerun.
 
The home half of the seventh inning witnessed two more homeruns from the home team. Smith found the power again when he hit his second homerun of the season, a two-run shot that scored Rory Graf-Brennan to right field again. Wesener added to his RBI count four batters later with another two-run shot to give the Wildcats a 12-6 lead.
 
The score would remain 12-6 into the bottom of the ninth. The Wildcats used four different pitchers in the ninth inning while looking for the final three outs. Connor Lau relieved Jonathan Dailey who pitched two strong innings of relief. Lau was then relieved by Tanner Braun who allowed back-to-back doubles that knotted the game at 12-12. Two batters later the Warriors would hit a chopper up the middle that chased home the go-ahead run. Zach Haggett came on to get the final out.
 
The Wildcats put the tying run on the base when Darren Honeysett came on as a pinch hitter and slapped a single to center field, but that would all for the Wildcats.
 
The Wildcats mustered 19 hits in the loss, the most this season behind 18 hits versus Saint Martin's University last weekend.
 
The Wildcats will look to rebound in Nampa during a pivotal four-game set. Game one is set for Friday (March. 25) with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
NNU Series Time
March. 25 – 3:00 P.M. & 6:00 P.M.
March. 26 – 1:00 P.M. & 4:00 P.M.
 
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