Baseball | 3/8/2017 1:57:00 PM
ELLENSBURG, (Mar. 8) – The Central Washington University baseball team is on the road for its second weekend of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Wildcats head to Idaho for a four-game set against Northwest Nazarene.
The series will be played at Vallivue High School in Caldwell, Idaho.
Central Washington split its first series against Saint Martin's University. The Wildcats picked up wins behind GNAC Pitcher of the Week,
Mackenzie Gaul, and a strong performance from reliever
Griffin Davis.
"We had a couple of really good outings," CWU Head Coach
Desi Storey said afterward. "We just need to find ways to be more consistent. A lot of times we have two of three things going for us. We hit well and field well, but pitching isn't there. Or we pitch well and field well, but hitting isn't there. Our biggest objective is being more consistent throughout the weekend."
The Wildcats have won seven of their last 10 games. They lead the conference in overall wins with eight and they have at least one win in every series. The Wildcats' pitching staff leads the GNAC with a 3.03 earned run average.
Jake Levin leads the GNAC in ERA at 1.03, while holding opposing hitters to a batting average against of .174. The Wildcats are currently 28
th in Division II in team ERA.
"Just look at how we've gotten better of the past few weeks," Storey added. "And that's without going outside. Once we start finding consistency more often, it gives us more of a shot."
Northwest Nazarene opened GNAC play with a pair of consecutive 6-3 wins over Concordia before falling in the next two games.
Ross Clevenger threw seven innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts to earn the Crusaders' first victory. Only 10 of the 29 batters faced reached base, with eight fly outs and four ground outs.
Jaramy Jacobs also picked up his first win of the season with six shutout innings with eight strikeouts and only two hits allowed. Jacobs has compiled 19 strikeouts in 16 innings this season.
Brett Nielsen has six doubles thus far in 2017, which leads the Crusaders. He also has a team-best slashline of .395/.632/.452.
First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday (Mar. 10) and 4 p.m., before moving to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday (Mar. 11). Vallivue High School is located at: 1407 E Homedale Rd, Caldwell, ID 83607.
