ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington Baseball (15-22, 10-10 GNAC) travels to Monmouth, Oregon to face Western Oregon (17-12, 10-8 GNAC) in a four-game series starting Saturday at 1 p.m. This matchup is key for playoff implications as the top three teams in the GNAC make the playoffs. Central Washington is third in the GNAC, two games behind Western Oregon.

QUOTING HEAD COACH DESI STOREY
"We need to continue to pitch consistently and play good defense. These are going to be tight games; the Wolves have good pitching and keep themselves in the game. The difference will be if we can be solid 1-9 and have good at-bats every inning then we will be in a spot to put runs on the board and put the pressure on them."

GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, April 15^th
Central Washington @ Western Oregon
1:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.
WOU Baseball Field
Monmouth, Ore.
WATCH LIVE STATS
 
Sunday, April 16^th
Central Washington @ Western Oregon
12:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.
WOU Baseball Field
Monmouth, Ore.
Watch, Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Cats split their series against Saint Martin's last weekend. The Saints took games one and two, but Central Washington responded on Saturday winning 16-4 and 12-3. The Crimson and Black extended their winning streak to three with a 7-3 victory over Eastern Oregon University on Tuesday.

Reid Rasmussen finished his complete game strong striking out three batters over seven innings, helping the 'Cats to the 12-3 victory and the series split. Reid's stellar performance earned him GNAC Pitcher Of The Week.

WILDCAT STATS
Ben Leid and Trevor Tripoli are leading the Cat's offense. Leid (.341) has 46 hits, nine doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Trevor Tripoli (.336) has 37 hits, six doubles, and two triples.

Austin Ohland has been hot at the plate with his four home runs against Montana State Billings and two against Saint Martin's. He now leads the team with six homers this season. Travis Helm is the guy Central Washington wants at the plate with runners in scoring position. Helm has 28 RBIs and 8 doubles so far this season.

On the mound, Daniel Charron and Brayde Hirai have propelled the 'Cats. Hirai is 3-3 and has fanned 16 batters in 49 innings. Daniel Charron is also 3-3 throwing 45 innings and striking out 32 batters.

Ryan Arredondo, Alex Brady, and Reid Rasmussen are also key arms for CWU. Brady is 2-2 and has recorded 32 Ks, Arredondo is 1-5 fanning 12 batters, and Rasmussen is 2-1 recording 22 strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES
Western Oregon is 17-12 overall and 10-8 in GNAC play. The Wolves dropped three out of the four games at Northwest Nazarene over the weekend but bounced back with a midweek matchup against Bushnell, which they won 6-5.

Derek Maiben is the catalyst of Western Oregon's offense and leads the league in batting average hitting .416. Maiben has a home run this season and 16 RBIs. AJ Cortese leads the team with 20 RBIs and Curran Mitzel has the most home runs hitting four this season.

Dylan Chalmers and Bryce Bond are Western Oregon's aces on the mound. Chalmers is 4-0, has a 2.27 ERA, and has struck out 20 batters over 35.2 innings. Bond is 2-2 with a 3.66 ERA and leads the team in strikeouts recording 37.

Other pitchers the Wildcats could face: Arturo Alvarez (2-3), Chris Hardin (4-3), Ryan Shipley (2-0), and Sebasten Boivin (0-0).

LOOKING AHEAD
Central Washington returns home next week for a four-game series against Northwest Nazarene starting on Friday, April 21^st at noon.