ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Central Washington University softball team (5-7, 0-0) fell to Western New Mexico, 5-3, in the final game of the Courtyard Classic.

"It was a tight game with some high points," CWU Head Coach Alison Mitchell said.  "We had opportunities to win and just couldn't quite make the adjustment at the plate.  As a team we have grown a lot through these last eight days and will come home ready to continue to work on improving."
 
Samantha Stanfield and Jalyn Mcclain kept the offenses off the scoreboard for the first two innings.  The Mustangs erased the goose egg in their run column first.  A wild pitch allowed a runner to scamper home for a 1-0 lead.
 
In the top of the fourth inning, Paige Liikala drew a one-out walk on six pitches.  Gracee Dwyer stepped in and smash a 2-0 offering over the left center field wall, putting Central Washington on top 2-1.  The Mustangs responded with a two-run shot in the bottom half of the inning. 
 
Not too be outdone, Sydney Brown led off the top of the fifth by hammering the first pitch she saw over the left field wall to tie the game 3-3.  The game stayed at 3-3 until the bottom of the sixth inning. 
 
A single through the right side scored one runner, before Allie Thiessen had the second runner dead to rights at the plate.  Theresa Moyle was ruled to have obstructed the base runner as she reached the plate and was ruled safe.
 
Facing a two-run deficit in the top of the seventh, the first two Wildcats were retired.  Liikala drew another six-pitch walk to bring up the tying run.  Dwyer yanked a 1-0 offering on a line to left center, but it was snagged at short to secure the victory for Western New Mexico.
 
The Wildcats are off next week before they return to action on March 7 when they host Concordia (Ore.) at 1:00 p.m.  Game two is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.