ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University softball team swept its double header with Saint Martin's to clinch a berth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships next week.  The Wildcats defeated the Saints 11-6 in game one and rallied in game two to take a 10-7 victory.
 
The Wildcats (29-14, 17-9 GNAC) can also earn its third consecutive GNAC Regular Season Title with two more victories tomorrow in Lacey, Wash. against the same SMU team.  If the Wildcats are named GNAC regular season champions, they will share the claim with Northwest Nazarene who has already clinched the top overall seed in the conference tournament and a least a share of the regular season crown with its 19-9 conference record.
 
 It was Senior Day at Frederick Field Saturday, but it was the underclassmen that stole the show.  Freshmen and sophomores accounted for 16 of the Wildcats 21 runs batted in on the day, led by Theresa Moyle who picked up six RBI.  Sophomore Julia Reuble drove in five while Alycia Bannan picked up a pair on a pinch hit double in game one.
 
Three of Moyle's RBI's came in the first inning of game one where she laced a 3-1 offering over the centerfield fence for a three-run homerun, her third of the season. 
 
Saint Martin's cut CWU's 4-0 lead in half in the top of the second, but the Wildcats responded in the bottom half when senior Taelor Griffin scored Bethany Balucan on a sacrifice fly.
 
In the fourth inning, the Saints rallied to collect four hits and score three runs to level the score at five.
 
After a 1-2-3 fourth, the Wildcats responded with a six-run fifth inning to break the game wide open.  Moyle picked up her fourth RBI of the game on a bases loaded walk, and Bannan followed with a nine-pitch at bat ending with a double to right center field scoring Hannah Spero and Katie Kastning in the process.  Balucan, Celine Fowler and Savannah Egbert also drove in a run in the frame to give CWU an 11-5 advantage.
 
Lexie Strasser picked up her 17 win of the season, which is the most regular season victories by a CWU pitcher since 2011, and a record for a CWU freshman.
 
Saint Martin's struck first in the night cap, scoring twice in the third inning.  They followed with two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
 
Central battled back in the bottom of the fifth, scoring three times on a single by Rachael Johnson and a two-run single by Julia Reuble to cut the SMU lead to 4-3.  The Saints immediately got all three runs back in the sixth using two hits and two CWU errors to push across three runs to regain the four-run cushion.
 
The lead was not enough as the Wildcats plated seven runs on seven hits in the bottom of the sixth to take control of the game heading into the final inning.  Fowler got the scoring rally going on a sacrifice fly and the Wildcats ripped off six consecutive singles highlighted by a two run hit by Moyle and Reuble, while Sydney Brown finished of the seven-piece inning with her second hit of the game, scoring Jacie McDaniels from third base.
 
Kylie Sweeney notched her first win of the season after getting the final two outs in the sixth inning and Strasser earned her second save of the season using 13 pitches to shut the door on Saint Martins.
 
The Wildcats and Saints will matchup against tomorrow in Lacey, Wash. for the final two games of the 2018 regular season starting at noon.