PORTLAND, Ore. (Apr. 15) – The Central Washington University baseball team split its doubleheader against Concordia University. The Wildcats are now 17-16 overall and 13-11 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while Concordia falls to 11-23 overall and 9-15 in the GNAC.
The doubleheader was originally scheduled for March 13th in Ellensburg, however rain forced a postponement and schedule change.
In game one Travis Cook tossed a solid 7.2 innings, allowing just four runs. Earlier in the week head coach Desi Storey noted the importance of starters going deep with six games in three days.
"We needed some guys to go out and eat some innings," Storey said. "Not just eat innings, but do it effectively. It's a lot of baseball over the weekend and today both starters got us deep into the game."
The Wildcats scored in the second inning on a single by Tanner Romo, scoring Dylan Freyre and bringing the score line to 1-1.
Central claimed its first lead in the fifth inning. A sacrifice fly by Randy Fuller levelled the score, before Reid Martinez singled home Darren Honeysett for a 3-2 lead.
After the Cavaliers gained a 4-3 lead in the sixth, Jake Levin's sacrifice fly in the seventh brought the game back to even at 5-5.
CJ Gettman (1-2) came on in the ninth and kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard. The tenth inning did not go as well for the right hander. Concordia tallied three times, staking a 7-4 lead for the victory.
"We could have gotten a couple extra runs at the plate and if we had executed better I think we could have been sitting better heading into the eighth or ninth," Storey noted. "It was good from a standpoint that we didn't use a lot of pitching."
Honeysett had one hit and came across to score twice. Martinez notched two hits with one run batted in. Freyre recorded a hit and scored twice. Romo picked up a team high three hits, while driving in one.
In game two Justin Adams' 6.2 innings on the mound helped guide the Wildcats to a 3-2 victory over the Cavaliers. Adams allowed two runs on seven hits. Gettman recorded his sixth save of the season.
"I give the guys credit, they bounced back and took game two," Storey said. "We found a way to grind it out and come away with the win."
The Cavaliers loaded the bases in the seventh inning with two outs, but Gettman retired Mike Martinez swinging to ensure Central's victory.
The Wildcats' offense mustered five hits. They found the board in the second on a single by Kyle Stahl, scoring Levin and giving Central a 1-0 lead.
Honeysett and Levin each doubled home a run in the third inning, taking a 3-0 lead.
"We had some good performances today," Storey finished. "It comes down to execution and finding ways to grind games. It was good to see some bats come alive and have our staff get us deep into the games, it sets us up well for the rest of the weekend."
The Wildcats are back in action tomorrow against Concordia. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
