ELLENSBURG, Wash.—The Central Washington University Baseball team travels to Nampa, Idaho to take on Northwest Nazarene University and the Nighthawks for the GNAC Conference Title.

GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, May 20^th
12:00 PM PST
Vs Northwest Nazarene University
Elmore W. Vail Field
Nampa, ID
LIVE STATS | WATCH
Friday, May 21^st
11:00 PM PST & 2:30 PM PST (If necessary)
Vs Northwest Nazarene University
Elmore W. Vail Field
Nampa, ID
LIVE STATS | WATCH GAME 1 | WATCH GAME 2 |

WILDCATS ADVANCE TO #2 SEED – GNAC PRESS RELEASE
Due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19 within its baseball program, Western Oregon University announced on Sunday that it will not participate in this week's GNAC Baseball Championships.

Due to the change, the Wildcats have advanced up to the #2 seed for the tournament. The GNAC planned to bring up the next best team in the #3 seed spot however both Saint Martin's University and Montana State University Billings have declined.

The series will now be a best of three between the Nighthawks and Wildcats. Game one will kick off on Thursday at 1 PM, followed by game two on Friday at 12:00 PM. Game three is scheduled for 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two should it be necessary. Click HERE to read the full GNAC press release.

QUOTING HEAD COACH DESI STOREY
"We are excited for the opportunity and the challenge of the GNAC tournament. We have worked hard all season to get here. We cannot wait for the opportunity to compete with a strong Nighthawks team."

SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS
Last week the Nighthawks earned the No. 8 spot in the country at the Division II two level voted on by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The Nighthawks closed out their regular season with a 29-7 overall record and 21-3 in the GNAC. The Nighthawks will be coming in strong with a week's worth of rest due to a cancellation in their series against Western Oregon University last week.

The Nighthawks have a powerful offense led by Ryan Dearing and the power duo of John Gonzalez and Grant Kerry. Dearing holds a .379 average this season and a .985 OPS. The junior has eight doubles, three triples and seventeen RBI's in the regular season. Gonzalez leads the Nighthawks in the long ball category with twelve this season. Gonzalez also holds a .245 average with a pair of triples and seven doubles. Kerry sits just behind Gonzalez with eleven long balls this season. Kerry has eight doubles on the year with forty-five RBI's and is tied with Dearing at fifty hits each.

The strong offense is headed up by a pitching staff that holds a team ERA of 4.60. The Nighthawks are led by Kyle Ethridge and Shane Martin. Ethridge holds a personal ERA of 4.24 and has allowed forty-four hits and twenty-two earned runs through his forty-six and two-thirds innings pitched. Ethridge also leads the Nighthawks with sixty-seven strikeouts. Martin holds a personal ERA of 3.89 through thirty-nine and a third innings pitched. Martin has allowed forty-eight hits and seventeen earned runs with only thirty-two strikeouts.

WILDCATS END REGULAR SEASON STRONG
The Wildcats pitching staff has been led all year by Dillon Larsen who picked up his third win last week against the Saints to advance to 3-1 on the season. Larsen is tied for first in the GNAC with Nighthawks pitcher Kyle Ethridge for strikeouts on the season with sixty-seven. Larsen holds the advantage as he earns 15.20 strikeouts per game compared to 12.92 for Ethridge.

The Wildcats offense is led by Zach Berryman. The Sophomore owns a .422 average with five doubles, two triples and a home run. He posts a 1.074 OPS and is second in the GNAC with an on base percentage of .535. Berryman is fresh off of a hot series with the Saints where he posted three doubles and first career home run. Freshmen of the Year in the GNAC Austin Ohland is just behind him batting .356 with ten doubles and four home runs. Ohland has driven in twenty-four RBI's this season and is slugging .609.

NO SPECTATORS PER GNAC 
To protect the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and support staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, spectators will not be allowed at this year's GNAC Baseball Championships. Live video and stats links can be found at GNACSports.com.