ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington softball team bounced back from its losses Friday with a pair of victories over Concordia University.  The wins looked very different as the Wildcats opened the two-game series with a 20-1 victory in five innings, followed by a 2-1 win on a walk-off single by Savannah Egbert.
 
The Wildcats are now 21-8 on the season and 9-3 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.  Concordia falls to 16-18, 3-9 in GNAC.
 
The 20 runs scored in game one is the second highest total in school history, as the Wildcats totaled 19 hits by 11 different players.  Jacie McDaniels led the team going 3 for 3 with a run scored and four runs batted in, leading six Wildcats who recorded multiple hits on the day.
 
Central scored at least three runs in each of its four innings up to bad in the 20-1 victory, including seven runs in the second inning.  Bethany Balucan led off the second with a double, and as the Wildcats batted around, Balucan hit her second double of the inning, plating two runners in the process.  Julia Reuble picked up a RBI single in the frame and Rachael Johnson added a two-run double to cap the productive inning.
 
Central Head Coach Mike Larabee went to the bench to in the fourth inning with CWU up 14-0, and the Wildcats didn't miss a beat tallying six runs in the frame.  Alycia Bannan started the scoring with a run scoring single to left field, and Sydney Brown followed two batters later with her first RBIs of her career on a bases loaded double to left center, plating three runners.
 
Lexie Strasser went four innings giving up five runs while striking out two to move to 11-5 on the season.
 
Game two featured a pitcher's duel between Concordia starter Mckenzie Smith and CWU's Kayla Smith.  The Wildcats jumped ahead 1-0 on a Julia Reuble double that scored Theresa Moyle to give CWU a 1-0 lead.  The Cavaliers responded in the top of the third, scoring once to level the game at 1-1.
 
Central's Smith went five full innings allow just one run on four hits with a pair of strikeouts.  Strasser entered in the sixth inning and shut down the Cavaliers offense, holding them hitless over the course of her outing and earning two strikeouts.
 
With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh Balucan reached on a walk and stole second two pitches later.  Egbert came to bat with two outs and blooped a single just outside the reach of the left fielder scoring the winning run on a walk-off single to win the game.
 
Strasser earned the win in game two, improving to 12-5.
 
The Wildcats hit .407 (24 for 59), while holding Concordia to a .239 batting average.  Samantha Gorham was a perfect 2 for 2 with a run scored.  Moyle, who caught both games today, went 3 for 4 with four runs scored, two RBIs, and a pair of doubles.
Central also was perfect on the base paths, swiping six bases in six attempts.  Balucan and Egbert each had two stolen bases, while Moyle and Johnson had one.
 
Egbert and Johnson are both creeping up on the all-time stolen base record as Johnson ranks second all-time with 44 in her career, and Egbert two behind with 42.  The CWU record is 45 held by Michaela Hazlett (2013-16).
 
The Wildcats return to action next weekend when they travel to Western Washington on Apr. 7 and Simon Fraser on Apr. 8.