ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University softball team picked up a pair of victories Saturday over Montana State Billings to improve to 8-4 on the season and 2-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Wildcats earned a 9-2 win in the opener followed by a 6-4 victory in game two.
In game one, the Wildcats fell behind 1-0 in the top of the second inning due to a pair of errors. The deficit was short lived as CWU pushed across three runs in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI single by
Bethany Balucan who later scored alongside
Theresa Moyle on a booted ball by MSUB.
Central added two more runs in the third as the Yellowjackets collected three errors in the frame.
Up 5-1 in the fifth,
Alycia Bannan scored Moyle on a pinch-hit single followed by an RBI single by
Savannah Egbert to put CWU up 7-1.
The Wildcats polished off the outing with two more runs in the sixth, highlighted by a Katie Kasting single plating
Hannah Spero on the play. Kastning went 3 for 4 in the game with a RBI and three runs scored.
Freshman pitcher
Lexie Strasser went the distance to improve to 3-3 on the season. She allowed four hits, one walk, and stuck out four batters in the process.
Game Two – 6-4 Win
Moyle got things rolling in game two with a line drive two-run homerun to left centerfield. The round-tripper was the first of her career.
Montana State Billings pushed around one run in the fourth before Central Washington erupted for four scored in the bottom of the inning. Egbert picked up a two-run single in the innings and
Jacie McDaniels doubled home another pair of runs to give the Wildcats a 6-2 lead.
Cameron Cassanelli gave the Yellowjackets some life with a two-run blast in the top of the seventh to cut the CWU lead to two, but starting pitcher
Kayla Smith ended the MSUB hopes to capture her third win of the season (3-0)
Smith also earned a complete game victory striking out five batters in the game and induced 12 fly outs.
The Wildcats and Yellowjackets wrap up the four-game series tomorrow starting at noon.