Baseball | 4/19/2017 10:24:00 AM

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Apr. 19) – The Central Washington University baseball team hosts Northwest Nazarene University in a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series.   
 
Central Washington earned a split with Saint Martin's in a high-scoring series. The two teams scoring a combined 80 runs in the four games.
 
"You know, our bats stayed hot all weekend," CWU Head Coach Desi Storey said.  "We put up big numbers in all but one game.  Our pitchers need to get back to attacking hitters again, we can't work from behind"
 
Christopher Dalto had a big week offensively for Central Washington, going 11 for 16 with two doubles, a home run, eight runs and six RBIs in a four-game split with Saint Martin's. He went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs in Friday's opener and 3 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs in the nightcap, a 12-3 win. Dalto then had three hits, three runs and two RBIs in Saturday's opener before finishing with two hits in the nightcap. 
 
 Dylan Freyre leads the league in batting average (.381) and hits (51). He also has 74 total bases, which is tied for the second most in the GNAC. Conor Plaisance has 18 extra-base hits and a GNAC-leading 13 doubles for the Wildcats.
 
Mackenzie Gaul successfully slowed down the Saints' bats, holding them to one run in four innings of work in Friday's nightcap for his fifth win of the season. Gaul now leads the Wildcats in ERA at 2.89 and ranks second in the conference in strikeouts at 53 in 56 innings pitched.
 
Jake Levin went 6 for 10 with five runs scored in Friday's doubleheader. He also pitched the first game of the series in which the Saints scored a conference-best 18 runs. Levin picked up his second loss of the season and saw his once GNAC-leading ERA grow to 2.98 in 60.1 innings this season.
 
Northwest Nazarene won three of four games against Concordia and only allowed four runs in the three wins to move into a tie for second place in the GNAC standings.
 
Ross Clevenger tossed a one-run complete game with seven strikeouts for his fourth win this season. He now has a team-best 4.21 ERA and has thrown 62 innings with two complete games.  Jaramy Jacobs took the ball in the second game of the series and didn't allow an earned run in six innings of work with nine strikeouts to improve to 4-3 on the season.
 
Billy King hit two doubles in the series to reach 22 extra-base hits this year. He now has a GNAC-best 86 total bases and .683 slugging percentage. He ranks 33rd in the nation in home runs with 11.
 
Casey Sheehan now leads the team in batting average at .331 with nine doubles, a triple and six home runs. Sheehan has 74 total bases, which is tied for the second most in the GNAC behind King.
 
The two teams are currently tied for second place in the GNAC and the Crusaders currently hold a 3-1 advantage in the season series.
 
"They took three from us last time we played," Storey noted.  "Our defense needs to be better after last weekend.  It's a big series with possible implications for the postseason.  If we find a way to remain hot at the plate, attack hitters, and field well, I like our chances."
 
With three weeks remaining in the season, the Wildcats sit three games back from the
 
First pitch is scheduled for noon on Friday (Apr. 21) and Saturday (Apr. 22).