ELLENSBURG, Wash.— An explosive seven-run first inning propelled Central Washington into a 17-4 victory in its Great Northwest Athletic Conference series-opener over Saint Martin's Saturday afternoon. Unable to keep the offensive going in game two, the Wildcats dropped the night cap to the Saints 6-2.
"We had a great day at the plate," Central Washington Head Coach
Desi Storey said. "Our pitching in game one was excellent. We take away one big inning, and it's a whole different ball game in game two. We've got to work on limiting big innings and putting ourselves behind."
Zach Berryman and
Tyler McClain each provided four hits across both games for the Wildcats. Berryman tallied two runs and two runs batted in through his seven at-bats. McClain added three runs and two runs batted in through his eight at-bats.
Central's
Ryan Arredondo (3-1) threw a gem in game one. The freshman grabbed his third win of the season after allowing just two hits and one earned run through 6.0 innings pitched. Arredondo gave up only three walks alongside one strikeout.
Saint Martin's Justice Yamashita (3-3) held CWU down in game two. Yamashita grabbed his second complete game of the season after giving up just four hits, six walks, and two earned runs through his 7.0 innings of work. Yamashita struck out six.
Austin Ohland sent a two-run homer to left field in the second inning of game one for CWU to lift his season total to six, a mark that is second in the GNAC.
Andrew Van Kemseke homered later in the inning; the two-run shot is his first this season.
Ryne Oshiro led the Saints at the plate, finishing the day 3-7 with one run scored. Reid Little and Jonathan Shimabukuro both had two runs batted in for SMU across both games.
The bullpen combination of
Jacob Goudzwaard (0-0) and
Nolan Murphy (1-0) gave Central a chance in game two. The duo allowed just one hit alongside two walks through the final four innings.
The Wildcats and Saints continue their series tomorrow Sunday, Mar. 27
th, with another doubleheader scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m.