ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Apr. 17) – With a trip to the Great Northwest Athletic Championship secured, the Central Washington University softball team travels to Oregon with a chance to earn the regular-season GNAC crown.
GAME INFORMATION
Saturday | April 27 | 3:30 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.
at Concordia (Ore.)
Forrest Grove, Ore. | Sherman/Larkins Stadium
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Live Stats
Sunday | April 28 | 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m.
at Western Oregon
Monmouth, Ore. | WOU Softball Field
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Live Stats
FROM THE COACH
"We're in a great position right now," CWU head coach
Mike Larabee said. "We've worked really hard to put ourself into this position to control our own destiny. We had a really good weekend last week against Saint Martin's. We play two more really good opponents in Cocnordia and Western Oregon this weekend. We're looking forward to competing against two really good programs."
SCOUTING CONCORDIA (ORE.)
The Cavaliers sit in second place in the GNAC standings at 16-8 after sweeping all four road games last weekend, beating Simon Fraser 8-4 and 12-3 on Friday and knocking off Western Washington by a pair of 4-2 scores on Saturday.
Concordia excelled behind the offense of Hannah Self, who was named the GNAC Softball Player of the Week after she hit .533 in the four games. Self went 8-for-15 with six runs, nine RBI, three doubles and three home runs. All but two of her hits were extra-base hits. She had a three-run homer in both of Friday's games at Simon Fraser and hit a solo homer in Saturday's second game at Western Washington.
In the first meeting between the Wildcats and Cavaliers, the visitors left victories by scores of 6-4 and 7-2. In the all-time matchup, the Wildcats are 10-5 and have gone 5-1 on the road against the Cavaliers. The Wildcats are 7-3 in their last 10 matchups.
Along with Self, Marisa Stockton is a player to look out for from the Cavaliers. Stockton is batting .353 with 30 hits that include six doubles, a triple and six home runs. Stockton has driven in 22 runs for the Cavaliers while scoring 21 of her own. Salley Bowles is the team's ace in the circle. Bowles sports a 3.23 earned run average and has struck out 48 batters while walking just 12 in 127.2 innings pitched.
SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
Western Oregon helped its postseason cause by taking three of four games last weekend. The Wolves split their games with Western Washington on Friday, winning the opener 10-1 in five innings and dropping the second game 1-0. Western then completed a sweep of Simon Fraser on Saturday by scores of 2-1 and 3-2.
The Wildcats added on to their seven-game winning streak against the Wolves in their first meeting on March 23. The Wildcats plated 21 runs in two games, taking it from the Wolves by scores of 10-2 and 11-4. All-time, the Wildcats own a slight edge against the Wolves, taking 50 of the 94 games the two teams have played.
The Wolves feature Ayanna Arceneaux, who is the conference's best hitter. Arceneaux is batting a league's best .478 with 55 hits, seven doubles, four triples and three home runs. She's driven in 28 runs for the Wolves while score 30 times. Entering the weekend, Arceneaux has struck out just five times. Maddie Mayer and Haley Fabien have been a constant in the circle for the Wolves. Both pitchers feature an ERA that is under three. Fabien leads the team with 51 strike outs, while Mayer trails close behind with 47 strike outs.
LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats took on Saint Martin's in a four-game set, with each school hosting a doubleheader. The Wildcats took three of four from the Saints on their way to securing a trip to Billings, Montana for the conference tournament.
Friday proved to be good to the Central Washington University softball team as they swept their doubleheader against Saint Martin's University by scores of 6-1 and 5-3.
It took a while for the Wildcats to find their offensive rhythm against the Saints in game one. The Wildcats got on the board in the second inning.
Bethany Balucan was on second with two outs in the inning.
Rachael Johnson came through with a clutch two-out single that drove in Balucan, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats plated more runs in the fourth inning. The bases were loaded when
Alycia Bannan singled through the left side the infield.
Sydney Brown and
Kayla Smith hustled home to score. Later,
Katie Kastning lifted a fly ball into right field that brought home
Keegan Wise. The Wildcats led 4-0 midway through the fourth.
The Wildcats added to their lead in the fifth inning. Balucan opened the inning with a single. Brown hammered a ball off of the center field wall that allowed Balucan to score all the way from first. In the sixth,
Julia Reuble came through with a bases-loaded single that plated Johnson. The Saints added a run in the seventh inning, but didn't add more as the Wildcats took it 6-1.
Balucan was the offensive star of game one. She went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored for the Wildcats.
Game two belonged to
Taylor Williams. Williams pitched 6.1 innings, striking out three Saints without allowing an earned run. Of the 28 batters she faced, Williams forced eight fly outs and eight ground outs.
The Wildcats scored first in game two against the Wolves. Kastning reached base on an error by the center fielder. Reuble roped a single into right field, scoring Kastning from second. In the second inning, Brown boomed her fifth home run of the season. The solo shot gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead midway through the second inning.
The Saints got a run back in the bottom of the third. The Wildcats answered quickly in the top of the fourth. Balucan was on second when
Gracee Dwyer stung a double over the left fielder's head as Balucan scored easily. The Wildcats had a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.
The score stayed that way until the top of the seventh inning. Bannan bashed a two-run home run. The dinger was Bannan's sixth of the season. Balucan continued her offensive success by going 2-for-4 with a run scored in game two.
Reuble was the star of game three between the Wildcats and Saints. Reuble hammered two home runs. The first came in the top of the first when.
Maddy Zerr and Egbert were on base when Reuble swatted a three-run dinger over the left center field wall.
The Wildcat offense was prolific in the second inning, plating five runs. The inning was punctuated by Reuble's second homer of the day. Reuble smashed this one over the center field fence, scoring Kastning on the play.
Savannah Egbert was another offensive standout in the first game for the Wildcats. She went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Balucan helped the Wildcats add insurance in the fourth inning by ripping a double down the left field line that scored Smith and Kastning.
The Wildcats got in their own way in series finale against the Saints. The Saints held a 3-1 lead entering the fourth inning. During the fourth inning, the Wildcats made four errors, aiding the Saints in scoring five runs. In total, the Wildcats made seven errors in game two.
The Wildcats found some offense in game two. In the second inning, Egbert singled to center, scoring Brown
. The Wildcats added another run in the fifth. Bannan singled to center, scoring Egbert. In their last chance at the plate, the Wildcats plated one run. It was Bannan who knocked a sacrifice fly into right field. Kastning used exceptional speed to score from second base on the play.
GNAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
For the second time this season,
Lexie Strasser has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week.
Strasser earned two of the Wildcats' three wins in the circle last week against Saint Martin's. Strasser compiled a 0.60 earned run average in 11.2 innings. She allowed one run on 10 hits with three walks and eight strikeouts. Strasser won Friday's opener at Saint Martin's as she allowed one run on seven hits and struck out four. At home on Saturday, Strasser won the 11-0, five-inning first game by allowing just two hits and striking out two in four innings.
NCAA Softball DII West Region Poll
The Wildcats have landed in the fifth spot in the NCAA Softball DII West Region Poll. The team is sporting a .342 clip. The number is the 11
th best batting average in the country.
