ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Mar. 5)  -- The Central Washington University softball team saw its 10-game winnings streak come to an end Saturday afternoon, losing both games of a double-header against Concordia University by scores of 2-4 and 6-7.
 
The pair of losses drops CWU to 12-3 on the season and start Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 0-2 mark.  Concordia improves to 12-7 on the season, 2-0 in the GNAC.
 
"We weren't at our best today," CWU Head Coach Mike Larabee said.  "We tell our girls that if we play a high level of catch and a team beats us, then we tip our cap to them and focus on the next game.  Today, we didn't play a high level of catch and we did not make them beat us."
 
Of the 11 runs the Wildcats gave up, only six were earned as the Cavaliers took advantage of Wildcat miscues, especially in the nightcap.
 
Sammy Morris got CWU going in game one with a leadoff double and later scored on an Austin Wilkerson single to put the Wildcats up 1-0.
 
Concordia capitalized on a CWU error in the fourth and Meghan Luebbert drove home an unearned run on an infield single to level the score.
 
Central Washington answered right back in the bottom half of the inning when Alexa Olague single to left field plating Celine Fowler who reached base on a single of her own.
 
The Cavaliers rallied to score three runs on two hits in the fifth inning to take the final 4-2 lead.
 
The Wildcats had their opportunities in the final inning with runners on first and second with one out and the heart of the order coming up.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Brielle Copodonna flied out to right field, ending CWU's hope of a comeback.
 
"Our kids fought till the bitter end, in both games," Larabee said.  "We had our chances late in both contests, and we weren't able to take advantage of them.  I am really proud of the amount of fight this team has, and if we continue to put pressure on the other team, we will come out on top more times than not."
 
In game two Concordia jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning.  The Wildcats erupted to score five runs in the bottom of the second on  two RBI double by Laura Steiner and a single by Morris that plated a pair.
 
Central Washington held a 5-1 lead heading into the fifth inning where the Cavaliers scored four unearned runs.  The Wildcats were nearly out of the innings with two outs and runners on second and third when an infield pop fly fell out of Copodonna's glove allowing both runners to score.  The very next batter, McKenzie Smith, hit a ball to centerfield and ended up coming all the way around to score after Fowler's cleats got stuck in the centerfield fence to allow CU to tie the game at 5-5.
 
Smith struck again in the top of the seventh inning, hitting her second homerun of the game, a two run shot to right left field, giving Concordia a 7-5 lead.
 
Once again the Wildcats fought back in the final inning with Wilkerson plating Kailyn Campbell on a single up the middle.  The Wildcats had runners on first and third with two outs, but Andrea Hamada struck out swinging to end the contest.
 
Fowler went 4 for 7 on the day with two runs scored.  Wilkerson drove in two runs on the day and upped her RBI total to a team-high 17 on the season.
 
Up next the Wildcats face Western Oregon, tomorrow, Mar. 6 at noon, and will look to even their GNAC record.