ELLENSBURG, Wash. — A six-run sixth inning propelled Central Washington University softball over Montana State University Billings in the backend of a doubleheader split. Central lost game one, 9-1, before taking game two 6-2.
QUOTABLE
"We got out of what we do well [in the first game]," CWU Head Coach Joe DiPietro said. "We got down in a hole and didn't overcome it. Izzy [Womack] kept us in it [game two], which is all I ask our pitchers to do. Ashlee [Laver] got a big hit in the sixth inning and I think we relaxed a bit, then took advantage of some of their mistakes. We are going to come out here tomorrow and hopefully win the series."
GAME ONE | MSUB 9, CWU 1 (5 Innings)
A solo shot from Alyssa Benthagen was all the offense the Wildcats (7-10, 1-1 GNAC) mustered in the opening game of the series against the Yellowjackets (7-13, 1-1 GNAC).
Rhaney Harris (2-6) was charged with the loss. She allowed nine earned runs on eight hits. She struck out two and walked three over four-plus innings of work. Alyssa Etheridge (3-4) earned the complete game win. She allowed one earned run on five hits, while striking out five. Etheridge did not issue a free pass.
After a scoreless first inning, the 'Jackets broke open the offense with four runs in the second. A double to right center scored the game's first run before a bunt base hit scored another. Skyler Jenkins brought around the inning's third run with a single. The final run came on a sacrifice fly.
The third inning saw another crooked number for Billings. A solo shot from Britanee Fisher made it 5-0, before an RBI single and sacrifice fly gave the 'Jackets a 7-0 advantage.
Benthagen's home run came in the bottom half of the inning. She blasted a 2-0 offering onto the batting cages behind left field.
Billings added a pair of runs in the fifth for a 9-1 lead. Allie Thiessen managed a single in the seventh, but Etheridge avoided damage for the win.
Thiessen was the only Wildcat with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate.
GAME TWO | MSUB 2, CWU 6
Isabel Womack (4-1) worked her way out of trouble, forcing MSUB into leaving 14 runners on base in game two. She threw a complete game, allowing eight hits, two earned runs, seven walks, and three strikeouts.
A lead-off home run from Jenkins gave the 'Jackets the earliest of leads. Jenna Kister (0-4) held the Wildcats scoreless for the first five innings, including pitching out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the first.
Montana State University Billings left runners stranded in every inning.They left two on-base in the first third, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. In the fourth inning, the left the bases loaded as Womack forced a pop out to quell the danger.
The Yellowjackets drove a run across in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI single, doubling their lead to 2-0.
A one-out single from Brooke Jordan started the Wildcats' offensive in the sixth. Makenna King then roped a 1-0 offering down the left field line for a double, putting runners on second and third for Ashlee Laver. She drove a 3-2 pitch from Kister off the wall in right center, scoring both Jordan and King to tie the contest with just her second collegiate hit.
Laver recorded a full-count single in the fourth inning for the first hit of her collegiate career.
Jillian Hampson followed Laver with a single, putting runners on the corners. A ground out moved Hampson to second, but gave the Wildcats' just one out to work with. An error defensively allowed Laver to score, breaking the deadlock for a 3-2 CWU lead. Thiessen reached with an infield single, scoring Hampson, but a poor throw also allowed Harlee Carpenter to score. Benthagen tacked on the final run for the 'Cats, driving home Thiessen with a single up the middle.
Thiessen finished 3-for-4 with both a run scored and an RBI. Laver finished 2-for-3 with a pair batted in.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats and 'Jackets play games three and four of the series tomorrow (March 12). First pitch is scheduled for noon.
