ELLENSBURG, Wash. – After an offensively-driven game turned into a pitchers' duel, Central's
Charlie Larson played hero to walk-off game one 10-9 while Central Washington fell in game two 12-4 against Western Oregon to open its four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series Friday afternoon.
"It was really impressive how our guys hung on and fought back in game one," Central Washington Assistant Coach
Joel Johnson said. "I thought we competed well in game two. Western Oregon is a good team, and when you make mistakes against a team like them, they'll do some pretty big damage."
A two-run first inning propelled the Wolves into an early lead in game one. In the third inning, WOU added four more runs to its lead on a pair of singles and a three-run home run from John Stark.
A sacrifice fly allowed Western Oregon to grab a 7-0 lead in the fourth, until the Wildcats answered in the bottom of the inning.
Adam Fahsel led off the inning with a solo home run to jumpstart the offense. After a walk and single put ducks on the pond,
Michael Peter tripled off of the left-center field fence to knock in a pair. Peter scored on the following wild pitch, and Central was right back in it trailing the Wolves 7-4.
The Wildcats tacked on another crooked number in the fifth inning. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases, and
Austin Ohland doubled to left field to drive in two runs.
Tyler McClain doubled the next at-bat, driving in another pair. A dropped fly ball by the Wolves in left field brought in the final run of the inning as Central recaptured the lead 9-7.
Western Oregon tied the game 9-9 in the top of sixth inning with a double off the bat of Justin Herzog to score two.
Peter led off the tenth inning with a double to left center field, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from
Trevor Tripoli. With two outs and the winning run on third,
Charlie Larson found an infield single with a bloop hit just over the pitchers' head to bring in Peter and capture the win for CWU 10-9.
Brayde Hirai (2-2) captured the win in extra innings after throwing four one-hit innings with one walk and a pair of strikeouts. Just a home run shy of the cycle, Peter led Central in game one with three hits, three runs batted in (RBI), and two runs.
Stark combined for four of the Wolves nine runs in game one alongside one walk and was left on base twice.
Western Oregon led off game two in a similar fashion, taking a 1-0 lead on a double-play ground ball after a lead-off triple from Jacob Maiben.
Central answered to retake the lead 2-1 in the second inning with a two-run home run from
Adam Fahsel: his second of the afternoon.
A crooked nine-run third inning for the Wolves allowed them to recapture a 10-2 lead.
Trailing by eight, the Wildcats captured one run in the bottom of the third inning and another in the bottom of the fifth on McClain's fourth home run of the season.
Tacking on two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh, the Wolves captured game two 12-4.
Seth Kuykendall (4-3) earned the win for WOU, allowing just three hits and one earned run through 3.0 innings. Jacob Maiben was an offensive machine in game two, hitting three-for-five with four RBI's and three runs scored.
The Wildcats and Wolves continue the series tomorrow, Saturday, April 16
th, with another doubleheader. Central Washington will celebrate eight seniors prior to the first pitch scheduled for noon.
