ELLENSBURG, Wash.— After a challenging 10-game home stand, Central Washington is back on the road to challenge the Nighthawks at Northwest Nazarene in a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series this Friday and Saturday.
 
"We've got to go out and compete," Central Washington Head Coach Desi Storey said. "The offense has to keep swinging it the way they are, and we've got to throw strikes on the mound."
 
SCOUTING NNU
The Nighthawks are 19-13 overall and lead the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 11-5 conference record. NNU returns to conference race this week after a week of rest following a four-game split with Montana State Billings.
 
Northwest Nazarene's Brock Moffitt (2-1) earned the win in game two. Moffitt allowed just two earned runs on two hits, both home runs, through 8.0 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. Blake McFadden (5-1) got the win in game four, allowing only two hits and two earned runs out of the bullpen through 2.1 innings.
 
Parker Price led the Nighthawks through its series with MSUB, tallying six hits through fourteen at-bats with three runs and four runs batted in.
 
As a team NNU is hitting .279 with an .362 on-base percentage. Known for its slugging, the Nighthawks lead the GNAC with 31 home runs and sit second with a .443 slugging percentage.
 
On the mound Northwest Nazarene boasts a 5.05 team earned run average, a mark that is second in the conference.  Opposing batters are hitting just .274 against the GNAC leaders in wins (19).
 
CLOSING THE HOME STAND
Central Washington (11-22, 5-11 GNAC) closed out its 10-game home stand with a 3-1 series loss to Montana State Billings. The Wildcats lone win of the series was in game one, where 25 hits backed by a strong performance from Ryan Arredondo (4-1) led to a 28-3 win.
 
Tyler McClain stole the show at the plate against MSUB, leading CWU with nine hits that included a pair of doubles and a solo home run. McClain also scored nine runs and knocked in an additional four, earning himself GNAC Player of the Week honors.
 
Central has maintained the strongest offense in the GNAC leading in several categories including batting average (.306), slugging percentage (.459), on base percentage (.393), runs scored (230), and hits (342).
 
Arredondo leads CWU with four wins through his 42.0 innings pitched. Arredondo owns a 4.50 earned run average with 22 strikeouts. Out of the bullpen senior Brayde Hirai closes it out for Central. Hirai, the Wildcats veteran southpaw, leads the roster with three saves alongside his 1-1 record and 4.30 earned run average.

Friday's doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. PST while Saturday's will start at 12:00 p.m. PST.