ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington Baseball 6-13, 2-2 GNAC hosts Western Oregon 6-6, 2-2 GNAC this weekend in a conference clash.

GAME INFORMATION
Games 1 & 2 vs Western Oregon Saturday, March 11^th at noon and 3 p.m.
Games 3 & 4 vs Western Oregon, March 12^th at noon and 3 p.m.
Central Washington
Ellensburg, Washington
CWU Baseball Field
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH DESI STOREY
"Looking forward to playing at home this weekend and the challenge of Western Oregon's pitching that has been pretty good so far, obviously we'd like to improve in the results column as we move through conference play."

LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats split their series against Saint Martin's, on Monday, the 'Cats won game one 7-5 before dropping game two 5-6.

In their 7-5 victory, down one after the first inning, the 'Cats responded. Tripoli's single put Central Washington on the board and later in the inning, Kevin "Baba" Varner Jr. laced one to left field and throwing errors allowed two runs to score. Next, Saint Martin's stormed back, putting up four runs in the bottom of the second. Brady Bean doubled to left and pushed across two runs. Next up, Michael Yamaguchi hit an RBI single to right giving the Saints the 5-3 lead.

Sam Lauderdale drew a walk with bases loaded in the fifth to bring the 'Cats within one. In the next inning, Charlie Larson tied the game, hitting an RBI single to left field. In the eighth, Brady Hinkle executed a bunt for a single, and then Larson nailed one to right field. Kevin "Baba" Varner Jr. laid down a bunt and beat the throw to load the bases.

Travis Helm seized his chance to give CWU the lead as he mashed a single to right field that drove in two runs and gave the Wildcats a 7-5 lead. Alex Brady finished the game, securing the 7-5 victory for the Crimson and Black.
 
WILDCAT STATS
Trevor Tripoli leads the 'Cats offense batting .349 with two doubles and eight RBIs. Sam Lauderdale has the most homers on the team, going yard four times this season. Travis Helm leads the GNAC in RBIs with 19 and Kevin "Baba" Varner Jr. is first in the conference in hits with 24.

On the mound, Brayde Hirai has a 1.37 era, recorded 10 punch outs, and is tied for first in the GNAC in wins with two. Daniel Charron is 2-2 and leads Central Washington in strikeouts with 14.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
The Wolves are 6-6 overall and 2-2 in conference play. Western Oregon split their series last week against Northwest Nazarene. The Wolves won games one and two 7-4 and 1-0 but dropped both games on Saturday.

Leading the Wolves' offense is Derek Maiben hitting .449 and Curran Mitzel averaging .282 at the plate. Justyn Herzog and Maiben lead the team in RBIs each driving in six runs. Hibiki Ouchi and Derek Maiben both have launched one homer this season.

Western Oregon's top pitchers are Chris Hardin (2-1) and Dylan Chalmers (1-0). Chalmers posts a 1.02 ERA and has recorded nine strikeouts in 17.2 innings. Hardin has a 2.08 ERA and leads the team in strikeouts fanning 22 batters.

Other pitchers the 'Cats could face are Bryce Bond (1-0), Arturo Alvarez (1-1), and Ryan Shipley (1-0).
 
LOOKING AHEAD   
The Wildcats travel to Nampa, Idaho next week to take on Northwest Nazarene 8-13, 2-2 GNAC in a four-game series. Games one & two are on Friday, March 17^th at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and Saturday's games are at noon and three.