Baseball | 2/17/2017 1:46:00 PM
ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Feb. 17) – The Central Washington University baseball team travels to Caldwell, Idaho on Sunday (Feb. 19) for a pair of games against the College of Idaho.
The Wildcats had their series against Lewis-Clark State postponed due to field conditions in Lewiston, Idaho.
Central Washington is 1-3 on the season after the season opener series against Cal State East Bay.
Jake Levin earned the Wildcats only win on the weekend, tossing seven innings of shutout ball. His effort earned him the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Christopher Dalto earned his first save of the season.
Conor Plaisance hit a pair of solo homeruns throughout the weekend.
James Smith III also went yard with a grand slam.
The Wildcats struggled a bit on the bump in their opening weekend. They walked 23 hitters, something head coach
Desi Storey expects to change as his team wears off the rust.
"We need to be better on the back end," Storey said. "We expect
Mackenzie Gaule and Levin to give us solid outings. The rest of the staff needs to do a better job of throwing strikes."
The Wildcats offense was held to a batting average below .200 in their first series.
"On the offensive side we need to get more consistent," Storey added. "We need to cut down on the strikeouts and get the ball in the air. We need more consistency one through nine. Three guys hitting for us doesn't cut it."
College of Idaho is 5-3 on the season and have won three of their last four. The Coyotes have not played at home yet this season.
Devon Pogue leads the Coyotes' offense with a .440 batting average. As a unit, College of Idaho is hitting .275 with six homeruns, 42 runs batted in, and an on-base percentage of .361.
Anthony Martine leads the pitching staff with a 0.90 earned run average in two starts. He has compiled a 2-0 record over 10 innings and notched eight strikeouts. The Coyotes' pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.13 with 75 strikeouts.
First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday.
