ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Apr. 22) – The Central Washington University baseball team swept its doubleheader against Northwest Nazarene University, thanks to some clutch hitting late in both games, with scores of 6-5 and 8-7.
 
The Wildcats are now 26-16 overall and 20-12 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. 
 
"The guys are doing a great job," CWU Head Coach Desi Storey said.  "We talk about not giving up and not giving in, they are fighting."
 
An RBI-double by Jake Levin in the bottom of the first inning gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.  Levin's double scored Rory Graf-Brennen, who reached on a fielder's choice.
 
Northwest Nazarene responded with a three-run second.  A two-run shot by Brett Nielsen gave the Crusaders a 2-1 lead and Tim jones smacked a solo homerun for a 3-1 cushion.
 
In the top of the fourth, Andrew Helmstadter drove a pitch over the wall in left, extending the lead to 4-1.  The Crusaders' final run came in the sixth on another solo homerun, this time by Kyle Redford.
 
Christopher Dalto doubled home James Smith III and Levin in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 5-4.
 
With runners on first and third Dylan Freyre hit a ground ball in the seventh inning that allowed Kyle Stahl to score, levelling the score at 5-5.
 
A tie game in the ninth inning set the Wildcats up for heroics.  Stahl led off and reached base by wearing a pitch.  A sacrifice bunt by Graf-Brennen moved him to second.  Stahl then scampered to third on a wild pitch.
 
Freyre was then given an intentional pass.  After a foul out, Smith was intentionally walked.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Dalto singled through the left side on the first pitch he saw.  Stahl came home from third for a walk-off victory, 6-5.
 
Seth Pedersen (2-0) got the win in relief.  He hurled 3.1 innings of shutout baseball, including three strikeouts.
 
The Crusaders opened a 4-0 lead in game two, scoring three in the first and one in the fourth.
 
Trailing 4-0, the Wildcats began battling back in the fourth.  A wild pitch gave the Wildcats' their first run, as Dalto scored from third.  Justin Hampson then scored on a safety squeeze from Yi-an Pan, after advancing on the wild pitch.
 
A single from Stahl brought home Michael Heinevetter, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
 
Levin tied the game in the fifth inning with a single into left field, allowing Dylan Freyre to score.
 
Central took its first lead of the game in the sixth inning.  With bases loaded, Graf-Brennen took a pitch off of his leg and Heinevetter jogged home.  A single from Frerye scored Yi-an Pan, before Dalto drove in Graf-Brennen with a single of his own, and a 7-4 lead.
 
"Dalto has been doing a great job," Storey noted.  "He's starting to feel good at the plate and he's pitching well for us on the mound."
 
The Crusaders swatted two homeruns in the seventh, making the game 8-7, but they could not overcome the deficit.
 
JJ Asinas (2-2) tallied the win.  Asinas threw six innings and allowed just one earned run.  He struck out four.
 
The Wildcats are back in action next weekend against Western Oregon University in Ellensburg.