ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University baseball (4-10, 1-3 GNAC) finished up game two from Friday, before splitting Saturday's games against Northwest Nazarene (5-7, 3-1 GNAC).
 
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"It's always tough to pick up and finish a game you started the day before," CWU Head Coach Desi Storey said.  "We had a few chances to end it and we didn't make it happen.  We battled back in game two, picked up 14 hits.  Our bats were there in game two.  Overall, we need to be more consistent and execute in tight spots."
 
GAME 2: Northwest Nazarene 6, Central Washington 4
The Wildcats and Nighthawks resumed play from game two of day one's contest that was stopped due to darkness. Play picked up at the top of the eighth with the scored tied at 3-all between the two squads.
 
NNU went on to win the game 6-4, after scoring three runs in the top of the ninth. CWU looked to mount to a comeback but mustered just one run in the bottom of the ninth frame. Josh Touhey was dealt the loss to fall to 0-2 on the year.
 
Central had a chance to win the contest in the bottom of the eighth when they loaded the bases but the Nighthawks escaped the jam. They then answered in the ninth with three runs scored on three hits.
 
A leadoff double got the rally going for NNU. Two batters later, Ryan Dearing hit an RBI single to score the first run. A fielder's choice pushed the lead 5-3 before another RBI single to right yet again made it a 6-3 lead for the Nighthawks.
 
Justin Hampson looked to get things for the Wildcats in the bottom of the ninth when he smacked a 1-out homerun to right field to bring it to the final score of 6-4. Adam Fahsel got on after the homer on a fielding error and he advanced to second on a single from Mitch Lesmeister. NNU then turned a double play to close the contest and go up 2-0.
 
Cameron McGrath led the way in the extended game going 3-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Lesmeister went 2-5. Austin Ohland had two RBI to lead CWU while hitting 1-3 for the game. Dillon Larsen, who got the start on the bump, led the way with a game-high seven strikeouts.
 
Game 3: Central Washington 10, Northwest Nazarene 9
The Wildcats took the third game of the series in walk-off fashion with a walk. The Nighthawks led off the bottom of the ninth with a costly error and eventually walked three batters to set up the 10-9 win for CWU.
 
NNU struck first in the second stanza with a sacrifice fly from Haden Keller to score Shawn Grandmont. The lead to grew to 3-0 in the third for NNU with a two-run homer to right center from John Gonzalez. Grandmont made it 4-0 with a solo shot to right field.
 
Justin Hampson got the Wildcats on the board in the bottom of the third with an RBI base hit to the shortstop. His hit scored Jake Engel to cut the score to 4-1. Mitch Lesmeister cut the deficit to 4-3 with a two RBI single to deep right field scoring Hampson and Jason Hill.
 
Central grabbed the lead in the fourth with two runs scored. Michael Copeland brought home Derek Lohr with an RBI single. Engel scored his second run of the game after Lesmeister hit into a double play and CWU went up 5-4.
 
The Wildcats lead grew to 6-4 in the fifth. Ohland tacked on run No. 6 for CWU with a solo homerun to right field. It became a 7-4 advantage when Hill reached on a fielder's choice to score Jaden Hassell.
 
The largest lead for CWU came in the sixth frame on another RBI base hit from Ohland. He knocked the ball to left field to score Cameron McGrath and make it an 8-4 edge for the Crimson and Black. The lead was short lived as Grandmont hit a grand slam homerun to right center in the top of the seventh to tie things at 8-all.
 
The final NNU came in the eighth when Kyle Gracey hit a solo homerun to right field. The Wildcats responded in the bottom of the eighth on a McGrath RBI single that scored Copeland and tied the contest at 9-all.
 
The leadoff error from NNU got Lohr on base to set up the walkoff win for the Wildcats. Engel then hit a sacrifice bunt to advance Lohr. Hassell was intentionally walked after a pitching change from NNU. Copeland was the second walk to load the bases. Max Holtzclaw looked to escape the jam but he walked Lesmeister to secure the win for CWU.
 
Lesmesiter was just 1-5 in the game but tallied four RBI to lead CWU. Copeland was the top hitter going 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Ohland hit a homerun and went 2-5 with one run scored and two RBI. Hassell and Hill each had two hits in the win.
 
Colton Turner got the win in a relief effort to improve to 1-0. He fanned three batters in one inning of work. Tyler Hoefer got the start on the mound and finished with a game-high four strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched.
 
Game 4: Northwest Nazarene 3, Central Washington 1
The Nighthawks secured the series finale win with a low scoring affair against Central.
 
NNU tacked on the game's first run in the second. Kyle Gracey hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Shawn Grandmont. They gave up a hit in the second frame but nothing came of it for CWU. NNU extended the lead to 2-0 in the third on a wild pitch by French that allowed Kyle Payne to cross home plate.
 
A triple from McGrath in the bottom of the fourth gave way to a wild pitch, scoring McGrath and cutting the Nighthawks' lead in half.
 
With two outs and a pair of runners on base, the Nighthawks were the beneficiaries of an error.  The miscue allowed another run to cross, making it 3-1.
 
Hunter French (0-1) went the distance, allowing three runs on just four hits.  Kyle Ethridge (3-0) earned the win for NNU.  He allowed four hits, and one run, over seven innings of work.
 
UP NEXT
Central Washington hosts Western Oregon University in a four-game set.  First pitch is scheduled for noon on both Saturday (March 7) and Sunday (March 8).