ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- The Central Washington University softball team is ranked second in the initial NCAA Division II West Regional Rankings.  This is the first of four rankings that will be released over the next few weeks.
 
The Wildcats, have never been ranked as high as second in the preliminary rankings, are right behind top-seeded Cal State Monterey bay (38-7).  The top two seeds in the region will be eligible to host the first round of the West Regional Tournament that starts on May 12.  Find complete list of regional rankings here.
 
"This is a big honor for us, especially for our players who have worked extremely hard to be where we are at right now," CWU Head Coach Mike Larabee said.  "We have a lot more softball to play though, and we have to make sure we keep our focus on taking care of business the rest of the way out.  We now have a target on our backs and the other GNAC teams are going to be fighting to get into postseason, which will make for some great battles as we come to the end of the regular season."
 
The Wildcats have a very important weekend ahead of them as they square off with Saint Martin's, who currently sits in second-place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with a, 11-7 conference mark, 19-13 overall.
 
Central holds a six-game lead on the Saint's and will have the opportunity to build upon that lead over the four-series.
 
The first two games of the series will be held in Lacey, Wash. on Saturday, Apr. 22, followed by a doubleheader in Ellensburg the following day.  Sunday's matchup will be the final regular season home games for the softball team, and seniors Kailyn Campbell, Kiana Wood, Taylor Ferleman and Sammy Morris will be honored prior to the Senior Day games.