SELAH, Wash. – The Central Washington University softball team scored 23 runs Saturday afternoon to sweep Northwest Nazarene University and open Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 3-1 record.
 
The Wildcats improve to 10-5 on the season while the Crusaders fall to 8-13, 1-3 in the GNAC.
 
19 of CWU's 23 runs came in the game one, where a total of 30 runs was scored between the two teams as the Wildcats finished the game in six innings by a score of 19-11.  The high scoring affair featured 28 hits, eight extra base hits and 13 walks and lasted two hours and twenty-eight minutes.
 
Game two flew by, in comparison, with the Wildcats coming from behind to defeat NNU 4-2 behind a strong pitching performance from Kiana Wood, who picked up both victories on the day.
 
Kailyn Campbell rounded out her stellar performance in the GNAC opening series going 4 for 8 on Saturday, with two runs scored and three RBI.  Campbell finishes the four-game set with nine hits, six RBI and a .600 batting average.  The 2016 NFCA All-American is now batting .509 on the season.
 
A total of six Wildcats recorded three-or-more hits in the double header with Celine Fowler going 3 for 5 with four runs scored and three RBI.
 
Jacie McDaniels added to her homerun total, sending two pitches over the outfield fence, collecting four RBI.  McDaniels now has seven round-trippers on the season and has driven in 23 runs.
 
Game 1 – 19-11 Win
 
The Wildcats scored in every inning of the opener, and needed to as the Crusaders scored multiple runs in five innings.
 
McDaniels hit a two-run homer in the first and after a three run top of the second by NNU, the Wildcats added four more runs in the bottom half on RBI base hits by Fowler, Campbell and Sammy Morris.
 
Up 7-5 in the fourth inning, the Wildcats looked to break the game open, scoring four runs in the frame thanks to a pair of errors by NNU.
 
The Crusaders stayed close adding two runs in the fifth, but once again the CWU bats came alive, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by a solo homerun by freshman Julia Reuble, her first collegiate big fly.
 
Northwest Nazarene hit a pair of two-run homeruns in the sixth inning and loaded the bases, putting the go-ahead run at the plate.  Kiana Wood spelled reliever Kayla Smith in the circle and forced an inning ending double play on a great individual effort by Taylor Ferleman to end the NNU scoring threat.
 
Central Washington pieced together force runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth to enforce the eight-run rule and end the game with the 19-11 victory.
 
Game 2 – 4-2 Victory
 
The nightcap was much simpler, with NNU taking an early 1-0 lead off a solo homerun by Brittany Genuardi.  The Wildcats battled back to tie the game in the third inning when Fowler reached base on an error and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
 
Central Washington did not record a hit until the fourth inning when McDaniels hit her second homerun of the day and opened the floodgates for the CWU offense.
 
Reuble followed with a double, and Taelor Griffin played Shyne McKay on a single through the right side.  Two batters later, Fowler added her third RBI of the day on an infield single that plated Hannah Spero.
 
That was enough for Wood, who allowed just one hit over the final three innings, to improve to 4-1 on the season after earning the game one win.  Wood went all seven innings, allowing five hits while striking out three batters.
 
Next up, the Wildcats take on Western Washington on Saturday, Mar. 18, followed by a twin bill with Simon Fraser on Sunday, Mar. 19.