ELLENSBURG, Wash. (May 3) – If the Central Washington University Softball team wants to compete for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship, they'll need to knock off the Northwest Nazarene at 3:00 p.m. today.
GAME INFORMATION
Friday | May 3 | 3:00 p.m.
No. 4 Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 1 Central Washington
Portland, Ore. | Porter Park
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Live Stats
SCOUTING NORTHWEST NAZARENE
The Nighthawks are third in the GNAC with a .311 batting average and are led by Anna Williams, who boasts a .418 average that is fifth in the GNAC prior to the tournament. Williams leads the league with 54 runs and is 26th in Division II with 69 hits during the regular season. Kylie Orr entered the weekend eight behind Williams with a .407 batting average.
In the circle, Jordan Adams continues to impress. She leads the GNAC with a 1.18 earned run average and has allowed just 34 earned runs in 131.2 innings. Her 141 strikeouts is second in the conference entering the tournament.
THIS SEASON
The Wildcats swept the four-game regular season series against the Nighthawks by scores of 2-1, 9-6, -10-9 and 10-4. In the opening round of the GNAC Championships, the Wildcats blanked the Nighthawks 8-0 in five innings.
Kayla Ellis was the standout star in the contest. Ellis opened the fourth inning with a bang. The senior clubbed her second home run of the year. The solo home run gave the Wildcats a 5-0 lead. Ellis finished the game 2-for-2 with a double and a home run, all coming on her birthday.
EARLIER TODAY
A four run first inning lifted the Concordia (Ore.) Cavaliers over the Central Washington University Softball team 7-0 in the first game of day two of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on Friday morning.
The Cavaliers jumped all over the Wildcats in the first inning. They sent nine batters to the plate and scored four runs on three hits, drew two walks and had one batter get hit by a pitch.
The Wildcats had their chance to respond in the bottom half of the inning.
Savannah Egbert and
Katie Kastning had back-to-back singles for the Wildcats. Egbert hustled to third on Kasting's single, as Kastning scooted into second base on the play. Despite having runners on second and third with nobody out, the Wildcats couldn't plate a run and trailed 4-0 after one inning.
The Cavaliers added two runs in the third and another one in the fourth.
Kayla Smith cashed in for the team's only extra base hit of the game in the seventh inning. Smith led off with a double but was unable to score.
Taylor Williams came on in relief of
Lexie Strasser (16-10) in the fourth inning. Williams pitched four innings, allowing two hits and three walks. Williams danced around danger, as the Cavaliers got her for just one earned run.
