ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington softball team (13-14, 4-4 GNAC) will head back to California to participate in the 2023 Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State in Turlock, Calif. where the Wildcats will play a five-game slate over three days this Friday through Sunday. To view the TOC webpage click HERE
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
 
Friday, March 31^st
Central Washington vs. Hawaii Pacific
9:00 a.m.
Pedretti Sports Complex (Field 2)
Turlock, Calif.
Live Stats
 
Central Washington vs. Hawaii-Hilo
2:00 p.m.
Pedretti Sports Complex (Field 2)
Turlock, Calif.
Live Stats
 
Saturday, April 1^st
Central Washington vs. Academy of Art
11:30 a.m.
Pedretti Sports Complex (Field 1)
Turlock, Calif.
Live Stats
 
Central Washington vs. San Francisco State
7:00 p.m.
Pedretti Sports Complex (Field 3)
Turlock, Calif.
Live Stats
 
Sunday, April 2^nd
Central Washington vs. Chaminade
12:30 p.m.
Warrior Field
Turlock, Calif.
Live Stats
 
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION:
 
The Wildcats will play four Pacific West Conference schools and one California Collegiate Athletic Association school. This will be the 20^th time that the Wildcats have participated in the Tournament of Champions. Last year the Wildcats went 3-2 in the Tournament of Champions, and Allie Thiessen was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Hawaii Pacific Sharks
 
The Sharks (16-21, 11-11 PacWest) are in the midst of a four-game conference road series at Holy Names having split on day one and wrapping up the series with two more games today. This will be the ninth ever meeting between the two squads with both teams having won four games. The last matchup was at the TOC on March 30^th, 2019 with HPU coming out on top 0-6.
 
The Sharks are led by Tita Saunders who's batting a .409 average so far this season. She leads the Sharks in hits with 45 as well as RBI's with 20. Tiari Hernandez has hit two home runs this season to lead the Sharks. The Sharks have a formidable starting duo in Taylor Thompson and Hailey Yoshida. Thompson has a 2.40 ERA with a 6-11 record and has nine complete games and a shutout to her name this season. She has allowed 96 hits, 51 runs, 36 earned runs, and 30 walks while getting 66 strikeouts against 405 batters in 105 innings pitched. Yoshida has a 2.70 ERA and a 6-4 record with eight complete games in 77.2 innings pitched. She has allowed 77 hits, 39 runs, 30 earned runs, and 36 walks while getting 34 strikeouts against 303 batters this season.
 
Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans
 
The Vulcans (10-17, 7-11 PacWest) are just coming off a series at the Academy of Art in which the second day of their four-game series was postponed due to weather. The first day was a split with the Urban Knights. This will be the 13^th ever meeting between the Vulcans and Wildcats with both teams taking six games apiece. The last matchup came in the Dixie State Tournament on February 7^th, 2020 in which the Vulcans came out on top 1-9.
 
UHH has been led by Jayda Favela with a .342 batting average. Lexie Tilton leads the Vulcans with 29 hits as well as accumulating a .330 batting average and is tied for the team lead with two home runs. Dyoni Garcia has punched in two home runs herself, while Chloe Domingo leads UHH with 14 RBI's. Alexis Lacy has been the Vulcans ace this season posting a 3.80 ERA with a 6-9 record, 11 complete games, and one shutout in 86.2 innings pitched. Lacy has allowed 110 hits, 56 runs, 47 earned runs, and 17 walks while getting 24 strikeouts against 352 batters.
 
Academy of Art Urban Knights
 
The Urban Knights (6-24, 3-11 PacWest) had their four-game series against Hawaii-Hilo disrupted due to weather as day two of their series was postponed, but the Urban Knights and Vulcans split on day one of the series. Academy of Art will also have a two-game series against Chaminade in Turlock, Calif. prior to the start of the TOC. This will be the 14^th ever meeting between the two squads as the Wildcats currently hold the 8-5 advantage with the last meeting between the two having happened last season in a 1-0 victory for CWU.
 
The Urban Knights are led by Haley Randall with a .322 batting average and 28 hits. Audrey Allen has the most RBI's on the team with 14. Kamielle Powell is the leader on the mound for the Urban Knights posting a 3.37 ERA with a 4-10 record and one complete game in 95.2 innings pitched. Powell has allowed 117 hits, 66 runs, 46 earned runs, and 28 walks while getting 44 strikeouts against 393 batters.
 
San Francisco State Gators
 
The Gators (11-14, 4-10 CCAA) are coming off a four-game series split at home against the 15^th-ranked Cal State San Marcos Cougars with the Gators winning games two and three and dropping games one and four by one run each game. The Wildcats and Gators have faced off already once this season at the CUI Kick-Off Classic where the Gators took home the win 1-3. The Gators also lead the series against CWU 8-11.
 
SFSU is led by Kai DeLeon who is batting .356 so far this season, as well as leading the Gators in hits with 21. Teya Vincent is the heavy hitter for SFSU as she has five home runs and 15 RBI's so far this season. Kaitlyn Maddux has been the go-to pitcher for SFSU having posted a 2.64 ERA, a 5-5 record, six complete games, and two shutouts in 61 innings pitched. Maddux has allowed 68 hits, 41 runs, 23 earned runs, and 30 walks while getting 37 strikeouts against 249 batters.
 
Chaminade Silverswords
 
The Silverswords (16-14, 9-11 PacWest) were in the midst of a four-game series against Dominican (Calif.), however the series was interrupted by weather postponing day two of the series. The Silverswords and Penguins did split on day one. CU will also play a two-game makeup series against the Academy of Art in Turlock, Calif. prior to the TOC. This will be the fifth time the Wildcats and Silverswords have faced each other with the Wildcats holding the 3-1 advantage. The last meeting came in Hawaii with the Wildcats taking the 8-4 victory on February 18^th, 2018.
 
The Silverswords have three prolific hitters, led by Larchelle Tuifao with a .389 batting average. Keaolani Takemura and Taryn Fujioka each have .385 and .376 batting averages, respectfully and both are tied for most hits for CU with 35 apiece. Takemura has brought home the most RBI's with 23 this season while Tuifao has hit three home runs to lead CU. Jaeda Cabunoc has been the ace for CU this season posting a 2.75 ERA with a 2-2 record, three complete games, and two shutouts in 35.2 innings pitched. She's allowed 40 hits, 16 runs, 14 earned runs, and seven walks while getting seven strikeouts against 141 batters.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Wildcats will resume GNAC play with a road trip to the Western Oregon Wolves (15-16, 7-3 GNAC) for a four-game series on Friday and Saturday April 7^th and 8^th with noon first-pitch times for game one and game two to begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one each day.