ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University softball hits the road for the first time in GNAC play, travelling to Northwest Nazarene for a four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm on Friday (March 18) and noon on Saturday (March 19).
 
QUOTABLE
"This weekend is a very important series for us against a very good NNU team. Playing them two weeks ago, each of us knows the other well and it'll come down to who makes the necessary adjustments. "
 
SCOUTING NORTHWEST NAZARENE
The Nighthawks are 14-10 after splitting their opening week of GNAC softball with Western Washington University.
 
NNU lost both games on Thursday, 3-2 and 10-1, before returning the favor on Friday, 9-6 and 11-5. The Nighthawks scored a pair of runs in the first inning of the series opener, but three-one run innings for the Vikings was all Western needed to take game one. The Vikings scored one run in both the first and second innings of game two, before a six-run it made it 8-0. After NNU got one back in the fourth, WWU tacked on pair and came away with a five-inning win. Three crooked innings in game three led the Nighthawks to a 9-6 victory on day two before they used a six-run sixth inning to take the finale. After leading 5-0 through five innings, the Nighthawks exploded for six runs. Western fought back with five of their own, but the Nighthawks held out for the 11-5 win.
 
Sidney Booth leads NNU's offense and pitching. The two-way player is hitting .428 with an OPS of 1.171. She has driven in 21 runs and scored 16. Booth has a pair of home runs and 11 doubles. In the circle, Booth is 8-4 on the year through 13 appearances. She has tossed 81.1 innings and 12 complete games, two of which have been shutouts. Opponents are hitting just .230 against Booth for an ERA of 1.72, and a WHIP of 1.13. She has struck out 80 and walked 21.
 
In two games against Central Washington this season, Booth has thrown 13 innings and allowed 15 hits in the circle. She finished 5-for-11 at the plate with four runs batted in.
 
Charlotte Forniss threw a two-run complete game against the Wildcats during their non-conference affair. She has tossed 33.2 innings, with an ERA of 1.7 and a WHIP of 1.25. Despite fanning only six hitters thus far, opponents are hitting just .271 off Forniss. As a unit, the Nighthawks have an ERA of 2.59 and a WHIP of 1.32.
 
Offensively, the Nighthawks are hitting .280 as a team. They have 11 home runs and 119 runs driven in. They have scored a total of 130 runs. Ivy Hommel leads the Nighthawks in runs scored with 27. She is hitting .373 on the year with an OBP of .494. She leads NNU with eight stolen bases.
 
THE WILDCATS
Central Washington (8-11, 2-2 GNAC) split its GNAC opening series with Montana State Billings. They dropped the first game 9-1, before bouncing back to take game two 6-2. A three-run walk-off home run from Alyssa Benthagen in game three gave the Wildcats a 9-6 win, before an eight-run seventh inning lifted Billings in the finale.
 
 
The 'Jackets scored first in game one, plating four in the second. They put another crooked number up in the fifth. Benthagen launched a home run 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.
Isabel Womack 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.
 
After five innings, CWU trailed 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.
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.

The Wildcats found themselves in a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the seventh of game three. In the final frame, Thiessen led off with a walk to set the table. Jordan laid down a bunt and reached as the 'Jackets attempted to throw out Riana Abeshima, who pinch ran for Thiessen, at second. Working the count to 2-1, Benthagen launched a three-run shot to left center for the walk-off win.
In the finale, the 'Jackets took the victory after scoring eight runs on just three hits in the seventh.

Thiessen leads the Wildcats with an average of .407. She is reaching base at a clip of .486 and slugging .508. Benthagen holds the team lead in RBI with 18. She is also the only Wildcat to record a home run, clubbing four thus far.

Womack leads the Wildcats' pitching efforts with an ERA of 3.56 and a WHIP of 1.77. Opponents are hitting just .231 off the senior righty through 41.1 innings.