ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University softball swept its doubleheader against Simon Fraser with a pair of walk-off wins, 11-3 and 9-8.
 
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"We did a lot of things really well in the first game," CWU Head Coach Joe DiPietro said. "I thought Rhaney threw really well, she kept us in it after they went ahead 1-0 in the first. We have had a tendency to get behind, but we were able to shut that down in the first game. Today, was a positive step in the right direction for Izzy. Simon Fraser had some hits against her, but a lot of them were off the end of the bat. She was a plus today. She battled, made pitches when she needed to, and we were able to get out of there with a win."
 
GAME ONE | SFU 3, CWU 11 (5 Innings)
The Wildcats (11-14, 5-5 GNAC) put up crooked numbers in three separate innings en route to walk-off in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Central scored three in the first, one in the second, four in the fourth, and tallied three in the fifth.
 
Rhaney Harris (4-7) through all five innings and allowed just three hits. She struck out a pair and just two of the three runs she allowed were earned. Anissa Zacharczuk (6-6) was charged with the loss. She threw three innings and allowed six runs on eight hits. She walked four and struck out one.
 
After Simon Fraser (9-12, 4-6 GNAC) took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame, CWU's bats went to work. An RBI single from Myiah Seaton opened the scoring. Later in the inning, Jillian Hampson brought around a pair with a single of her own.
 
A two-run double in the second from Simon Fraser tied the game at 3-3. The Wildcats responded immediately. In the bottom of the inning, Seaton drove in Harlee Carpenter with a double, putting CWU ahead 4-3.
 
Riding a 14-game hitting streak, Alyssa Benthagen came to the plate with Brooke Jordan on first. She took the first pitch of the at-bat over the wall in center field for a 6-3 Central lead, extending her hitting streak to 15. Makenna King then doubled down the right field line to score Seaton two batters later. Ashlee Laver drove in the final run of the inning, singling to right to score King and give CWU a 7-3 lead.
 
Jordan's first home run of the season came in the bottom of the fifth. She fell behind in the count 0-2, before working it back to full and taking the payoff pitch into the tree line in center for a two-run blast. Hampson notched the walk-off single, driving in Seaton with a single for an 11-3 victory.
 
Central recorded 15 hits, five went for extra bases.
 
GAME TWO | SFU 8, CWU 9
Simon Fraser scored three runs in the top of the seventh, tying the game at 8-8, before Seaton sent the Wildcats home with their second win in the bottom of the inning.
 
Isabel Womack (5-3) threw a complete game, striking out four.
 
Simon Fraser started the scoring in the second inning. A two-run double from Megan Duclos put SFU ahead. A single later in the inning made it 3-0 in favor of the visitors. They tacked on another run in the fourth inning.
 
The Wildcats were set down in order the first time through the lineup by Julia Hansen. They finally broke through in the fourth inning as, both Carpenter and Allie Thiessen reached to start the inning. Jordan, who was behind 0-2, battled back to 2-2 before fouling off the next two pitches. She took the seventh pitch of the at-bat to center for a two-run single. King brought around Jordan with an RBI single a few batters later, cutting SFU's lead to 4-3.
 
Carpenter brought the game back to even in the fifth with a single up the middle. A high throw from center field allowed both Karsyn Decker and Carpenter to advance. Thiessen took advantage of having two runners in scoring position and roped a double down the left field line to score both Decker and Carpenter. Benthagen followed with a two-run blast right center for an 8-4 lead.
 
An RBI-single in the top of the sixth from Caity Zagari cut Central's lead to 8-5. Simon Fraser's offense wasn't done yet. A slow-roller with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh brought one run in, cutting the score to 8-6. A two-run double from Finkelstein tied the game at 8-8. Womack got the next two batters to head into the bottom of the seventh with the score deadlocked.
 
Thiessen led off with a double against Zacharczuk, who came on in relief of Hansen in the fifth. The double prompted Simon Fraser to bring Hansen back to the circle after she threw just 68 pitches in the first five innings. Thiessen advanced to third on a passed ball, before Jordan worked a walk to put runners on the corners. After Hansen got a pop out for the inning's first out, she got ahead of Seaton 0-2. Undeterred, Seaton pulled a line drive through the left side for a single and an RBI to send the Wildcats home with their second win of the day.
 
Central tallied 11 hits in game two. All but one Wildcat recorded at least one hit in the back end of the doubleheader.
 
UP NEXT
Central Washington and Simon Fraser square-off again tomorrow (March 27). First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm at Gary & Bobby Frederick Field in Ellensburg.