ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University softball heads to Saint Martin's University and Simon Fraser for a pair of non-conference doubleheaders.
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, February 25
At Saint Martin's
12:00 PM
Lacey, WA
LIVE STATS |
WATCH
Saturday, February 26
At Simon Fraser
12:00 PM
Burnaby, B.C.
LIVE STATS
QUOTABLE
"We're looking forward to getting on the road this weekend to play two of our conference opponents during our non-league portion of our schedule," CWU Head Coach
Joe DiPietro said. "We're looking to build on the momentum we created on Sunday with our sweep of UBC."
SCOUTING SAINT MARTIN'S
The Saints are 1-4 and have not played since the MSUB Desert Stinger.
Jim Peterson's, a former CWU assistant coach, squad is hitting .268 on the season. Malia Pinder leads the Saints' offense with a .429 average. She has a team-leading two home runs and seven batted in. Devyn Connolly is sitting at an average of .400. Half of her six hits have been for extra bases. Britney Patrick leads SMU in stolen bases, going a perfect 3-for-3 thus far on the year.
The Saints have struggled in the circle as opponents have posted an average of .427 off the Saints pitching staff. Chloe Leverington has had the most success through four appearances, all in relief. She holds an ERA of 2.71 and a WHIP of 1.65. Through 10.1 innings, she has seven strikeouts and a batting average against of .349. As a unit, the Saints hold an ERA of 6.30 and a WHIP of 2.47.
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER
Simon Fraser is 2-5 on the season after dropping a three-game series at Cal State San Marcos.
In the circle, Anissa Zaharczuk has handled the majority of the pitching duties. She is 2-3 in six appearances, making four starts. In 25 innings, she has posted an ERA of 6.44, a WHIP of 1.64, and struck out 12. Opponents are hitting .316 off her. As a team, Simon Fraser has an ERA of 8.00 and a WHIP of 2.05. Opponents are hitting .361 against SFU pitchers.
Offensively, Rebecca Kirkpatrick s hitting .500 in six games (8-for-16). She has driven in six and scored four times. Kirkpatrick has swiped a pair of bases and is yet to be thrown out. Janique Balcaen has recorded a team high five extra bases hits with one home run and four doubles. She has driven in five. Six players, including the previously mentioned Kirkpatrick and Balcaen, are hitting over .300. As a unit, Simon Fraser is hitting .345 with 40 runs scored. They have hit four home runs and stolen six bases.
LAST TIME OUT
Rhaney Harris (1-3) tossed a two-hit shutout to earn her first win of the season. She threw five innings and struck out four in the opening game of a doubleheader against the University of British Columbia.
Isabel Womack (2-0) recorded the win in game two. She came on in relief and threw 5.2 innings of shutout softball. She struck out six and allowed just one hit.
Central took game one 8-0 in five innings, before taking game two 5-4.
In game one, a one-out walk from
Harlee Carpenter in the bottom of the first allowed
Allie Thiessen to pick up an RBI with a single to right center, after Carpenter advanced on a wild pitch and then stole third. Central struck again in the bottom of the second. A lead-off walk to
Myiah Seaton set the table. She advanced to second on a ground out, before stealing third. Seaton scored on a wild pitch, giving CWU a 2-0 lead.
After being held scoreless in the third, the Crimson and Black put up crooked numbers in the fourth and fifth innings. Central finished with six hits and drew five walks.
In game two, the 'Cats trailed after the opening frame. Central managed to get one run back in their half of the inning. A bases loaded walk to Seaton brought
Karsyn Decker in from third.
Another miscue came back to bite the Wildcats in the second inning. After a pair of singles to lead off the inning, Shae Sever popped up to the left side of the infield and the infield fly rule went into effect. The ball wasn't handled cleanly by the Wildcats, however, and the two Thunderbirds advanced 60 feet. Following a walk, Hilpert singled thorugh the right side to drive in a pair and bring the score to 4-1 UBC.
The Crimson and Black shortened their deficit in the bottom of the third. A triple from Thiessen scored Carpenter, who reached on a walk, to make it 4-2.
Womack pitched her way out of trouble in the fourth, catching Salas looking with a pair aboard. She then retired the Thunderbirds in order in the fifth.
Benthagen led off the inning with a double down the right field line and advanced to third on a wild pitch. An infield single from Seaton put runners on the corners before Seaton swiped second. Jordan then drew a walk to load the bases for Hampson. She pulled a pitch through the right side, driving home Benthagen. After a strikeout,
Ashtyn Falor pinch hit and utilized a productive ground out to score Seaton. The go-ahead run came when Decker reached on a throwing error which pulled the first baseman off the bag, allowing Jordan to score and give CWU a 5-4 lead.
