BELLEVUE, Wash. (Mar. 11) – The Central Washington University baseball team (8-7-1, 5-3) split its doubleheader with Western Oregon University (7-3, 5-3) in spectacular fashion.
 
"Game one was an anomaly," CWU Head Coach Desi Storey said.  "There aren't really words for it.  We played much better in game two.  We had timely hitting and our bullpen threw strikes.  Jake did a great job for us out of the pen late and our hitters stuck with the game plan.  We got a few bunts down when we needed to and it paid off."

Game one consisted of a combined 46 runs, 39 hits, and 12 errors.  The final score of 32-14, in favor of Western Oregon, resembled more of a football score rather than baseball. 
 
The Wolves started early, scoring three runs in the opening frame.  The Wildcats responded by doubling down and scoring six.  James Brooks and Jacob Fricke held both offenses in check until the fourth inning.
 
The fourth inning was a nightmare for the Wildcats.  Brooks got Derek Maiben to pop out to right field to open the inning.  Back-to-back singles put two runners aboard.  Brooks then got Colin Runge to fly out to right, putting Central one out away from escaping the danger.  A two-out single from Patrick Chung brought around both Blayse Arcano and Justin Wakem.  Connor McCord slapped a single through the right side, pushing Chung to second.  Jared McDonald hit a routine grounder to short, but the throw went wild and extended the inning.  The Wolves rallied around the error to drive in a total of 10 runs on the inning.
 
Western Oregon scored six in the sixth, two in the seventh, five in the eighth, and six in the ninth.  Central Washington scored three in the fourth, two in the sixth, two in the seventh, and one in the eighth. 
 
In the interest of brevity, we'll move right along to game two.
 
Hunter French and Gabe Benavides toed the rubber for the Wildcats and Wolves respectively in game two.  French tossed 6.1 innings and allowed six earned runs.  He walked two and struck out seven, while allowing nine hits.  Jacob Forrester (1-0) nabbed the win, hurling 2.2 innings
 
Benavides lasted just five innings before he was lifted.  The southpaw allowed seven hits, five runs (two earned), one walk, and he struck out six. 
 
McDonald got the fun started in the opening frame for Western Oregon.  He doubled to center field driving in the game's first run.  Griffey Halle followed suit with a single through the left side, scoring McDonald and Chung.  D. Maiben then singled to right center, bringing Halle around.
 
The Wolves pushed across a pair in the fourth.  Arcano doubled down the right field line to score Wakem.  Runge then hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive in D. Maiben for a 6-0 lead.
 
Central Washington's offense was quiet until the fifth inning.  Robert Ball drilled a two-run opposite field homerun to right center field, cutting the deficit to 6-2.  Later in the fifth, Hampson laid down a safety squeeze to score Colton Bunt.  Yi-Fan Pan then roped a double down the right field line to score Trevor Tripoli.  A batter later Yi-An Pan singled to left, scoring his twin, and cutting the deficit to 6-5.
 
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tripoli drove in the game's tying run with a single through the right side. 
 
Neither offense was done, however, as Chung lifted a solo shot in the seventh to put the Wolves ahead 7-6.  The Wildcats responded in kind, bringing home pinch runner Adam Fahsel with a passed ball. 
 
Forrester kept the Wolves' offense silent, setting them down in short order.
 
Yi-An led off the ninth inning with a single.  Peter moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt.  Jaden Hassell then twisted a flare down the left field line, scoring Yi-an and ending a long day at the ball park.
 
Central Washington is scheduled to play at Montana State Billings on Friday and Saturday, however Mother Nature has not been cooperative as of late.  Stay tuned to wildcatsports.com for updates.