ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Mar. 5) –  The Central Washington University baseball team split its doubleheader with Montana State Billings, 5-7 and 2-1.  The Wildcats are now 7-5 overall and 3-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Yellowjackets opened the scoring in the first inning.  Adam Cox singled home a run and the next batter, Colter Sternhagen, singled up the middle and brought home two more runs.  Billings opened a 3-0 lead after the first.
 
The score stayed quiet at 3-0 until Conor Plaisance delivered a solo homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning. 
 
Later in the inning Benjamin Dunbar scored on a wild pitch, while Ryan Archibald advanced to third.  Reid Martinez continued his success from yesterday, doubling to right center and scoring Archibald to level the score, 3-3.
 
"We didn't do a lot offensively for the first part of the game," CWU Head Coach Desi Storey said.  "We got some hits together and took the lead."
 
The Yellowjackets pushed four across in a long eighth inning with help from a pair of errors by the Wildcats' defense. 
 
"But then we went out on defense and made some errors," Storey added.  "You can't make errors defensively late in the game, especially against a good team."
 
Central struck back in the eighth, but with only one run on a sacrifice popup by Dunbar.  Billings' second baseman Sternhagen drifted back and made an over the shoulder snag that allowed Jake Levin to score, cutting the score to 7-5.
 
Lee Busto (1-1) recorded the win in relief.  Cox recorded his second save. 
 
CJ Gettman (0-1) was charged with his first loss of the season.  Martinez, Plaisance, and Dunbar each had two hits.
 
Justin Adams' complete game propelled the Wildcats in the second game. Adams (1-0) went seven innings, allowing just hits and one run.
 
"He threw a great game, controlled the temp of the game and what was going on their side of the game," Storey said of Adams' start.  "He went out and did his job, putting up zeros."
 
The score was 0-0 until the fourth inning.  Billings struck first on a single by Sternhagen scoring Zach Robinson for a 1-0 lead.
 
The Wildcats struck back in the sixth inning.  Levin opened the inning with a single to left center field.  With one out Levin advanced to second on a balk and then to third on a ground out.  He scored on a single by Ryan Archibald.  Kyle Stahl came in as a pinch hitter and singled back up the middle, giving Central a 2-1 lead after Archibald stole second.
 
"I think it was a great at-bat by him," Storey said of Stahl's pinch-hit single.  "Ryan had a great game and he comes up and gets that clutch knock then steals second.  Stahl comes up and with two strikes stays inside and goes back  up the middle."
 
The Yellowjackets pushed a runner to second in the final inning, but did not score. 
 
Central is back in action on Saturday (Mar. 12) and Sunday (Mar. 13) with four games against Concordia University.