ELLENSBURG, Wash. – In an afternoon that saw a mix of rain, wind, and the occasional snow, Central Washington dropped the final two games of its four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series to Western Oregon 11-4 and 8-7 on Saturday.
 
The series loss drops Central to 12-29 overall and 6-18 in GNAC play. The Wolves jump to 24-15 overall with a 15-9 conference mark.
 
"Very impressed with our fight today," Central Washington Head Coach Desi Storey said. "To fight the way that we did against a good team, you could not ask for anything better. While it was not the result we had hoped for, I am beyond proud of our seniors and the effort they gave in their final home games."
 
A trio of crooked-numbered innings for the Wolves offense backed by a strong outing from Arturo Alvarez (5-0) was too much for Central to handle in game one.
 
Entering the bottom of the sixth, Alvarez had allowed just three hits and one earned run before Michael Peter singled to open the inning and Tyler McClain sent a three-run home run to left field. Alvarez finished with a final line of 5.2 innings pitched, five hits, four earned runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
 
Along with one walk, McClain was responsible for the final three of the four runs for the Wildcats in game one. Zach Berryman captured the first run of the game for Central in the bottom of the first inning, coming around to score on a single from Adam Fahsel after reaching base with a lead-off double.
 
The Wolves carried the offensive momentum into game two, putting up a pair of three-run innings back-to-back to open the game. The Wildcats fought back early as Austin Ohland shot his eighth home run of the year over the right field fence. Trevor Tripoli had a two-out single to score two more in the second inning, and Central only trailed 6-3.
 
Western's Parker Johnson (7-2) cruised through game two after his offense granted him the early lead. Allowing just one more run on a single from Michael Copeland in the bottom of the third inning, Johnson finished his afternoon with a final line of 6.0 innings pitched, nine hits, five earned runs, and two strikeouts.
 
After Western Oregon grabbed an insurance run in the top of the seventh with a single from Zach Valdez with two runners on base, McClain gave the 'Cats fighting chance.
 
With a fitting end to career at the CWU Baseball Field, McClain shot a towering three-run home run to left center field to bring Central nearly all the way back, 8-7.
 
McClain finished the afternoon three for seven with two home runs, six runs batted in, and three runs scored.
 
Western Oregon's John stark finished the afternoon four for six with three home runs, five runs batted in, and four runs scored.
 
Central Washington will get an additional week of rest before closing out the season with eight games on the road. The Wildcats return to GNAC play on Friday, April 29^th, at Saint Martin's. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.