TURLOCK, Calif. (Apr. 2) -- The Central Washington University softball team earned a split Saturday afternoon losing their opening game to third-ranked Humboldt State 0-8, and defeated San Francisco State 11-3 in the nightcap to improve to 3-1 at the Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State.
 
With the split the Wildcats now stand 24-9 on the season and have won eight of their last 10 games.
 
11-3 Win over SFSU
 
Central Washington put up three runs in the first inning, two of which came on bases loaded walks to take an early 3-0 lead.  The Gators added three of their own in the bottom half of the inning to level the score.
 
The rest of the game went according to plan for CWU as Kiana Wood pitched the final 6.2 innings did not allow the Gators to score a run.  Wood improved to 14-3 on the season, giving up just four hits while striking out four batters.
 
Central Washington added two runs in the fourth inning, one on a SFSU error that plated Rachael Johnson, and the second when Andrea Hamada drew a bases loaded walk that scored Kailyn Campbell.
 
The fifth inning also proved fruitful for CWU, scoring five runs on six hits.  Sammy Morris, Taylor Ferleman, and Johnson stared the inning off three straight singles.  Alexa Olague provided a run scoring single and two batters later Brielle Copodonna drove in a pair with a single to centerfield to give CWU a 10-3 lead.
 
The final run came on a solo homerun by Olague to left centerfield, her first of the season.
 
The Wildcats outhit the Gators 9 to 4, with Olague providing three of the Wildcat safeties.
 
 
0-8 Loss to #3 Humboldt State
 
Humboldt State scored two runs in the first inning off a two-run homerun over the centerfield fence.
 
Starting pitcher Brielle Copodonna held the Lumberjacks bats down for the next three innings, allowing just three hits in the process.  However HSU added five runs over the final two innings to take the 8-0 victory.
 
Humboldt State pitcher Katie Obbema was able to control the CWU offense allowing just two hits over six innings, striking out seven.  Campbell and Austin Wilkerson were the only two Wildcats to get hits in the ball game, as CWU was only able to reach scoring position just once in the contest.
 
The Wildcats wrap up their six-game trip in Turlock with matchups with Cal State East Bay and UC San Diego at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively