ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington Baseball swept Northwest Nazarene winning 5-2 and 10-6 to send the Seniors out in style. With the sweep, the 'Cats reclaim third place in the conference. The top three teams in the GNAC make the playoffs.
QUOTING HEAD COACH DESI STOREY
"Brayde and Reid did a great job, they got ahead in the count and got outs. Drew did a good job finishing up game one. Nolan did well coming in and closing the door at the end."
Desi added "We had some timely hits, and the guys did a great job throughout the lineup today. They kept their composure, and we played solid defense after our opening error. We are starting to play more consistent baseball and the results show that."
GAME ONE CWU 5 – NNU 2
- Shane Jamison put the Nighthawks on the board lifting an RBI single up the middle and giving Northwest Nazarene the 1-0 lead.
- In the second inning, the Wildcats tied it when Brady Hinkle reached on an error and Sam Lauderdale scored. Next Travis Helm earned a bases-loaded walk that brought in a run and gave Central Washington the lead.
- The Nighthawks tied it in the fifth inning. Kyle Payne opened the frame with a double then Adam Paganelli hit a sac fly to right field that drove in Payne and tied the game at two.
- In the bottom of the seventh, Charlie Larson reached on a throwing error, next up "Baba" Varner Jr. hit a single that advanced Larson to second. Travis Helm stepped into the box and hit a sharp skipper to left field. Larson scored from second to take the 3-2 lead.
- Later in the inning, Sam Lauderdale came up to the plate with the bases loaded. Lauderdale mashed a double down the left field line that drove in Helm and Varner Jr. and gave the 'Cats the 5-2 lead.
- Hirai got the win and threw a fantastic game, he went 7.1 innings and struck out seven batters.
HITTING
PITCHING
- Brayde Hirai got the start for The Wildcats. Hirai had an outstanding outing pitching 7.1 innings and striking out seven batters.
- Drew Richardson relieved Hirai in the seventh and got the save throwing 1.2 innings.
GAME TWO CWU 10 - NNU 6
- Central Washington struck first with Larson on second, Travis Helm hit one to center field that drove in the 'Cats first run. Up next, Austin Ohland mashed a two-run homer to left field for his seventh home run of the season.
- In the bottom of the second, Senior Kyle Rodriguez came up and launched his first homer of the season to give the 'Cats a four-run advantage.
- In the fourth inning with runners in scoring position, Ben Leid smacked an RBI triple to center that scored Helm and Varner Jr.
- The Wildcats took a 6-1 lead into the fifth inning.
- In the top of the sixth, Paganelli doubled down the left field line scoring Kaleb Karpstein. Next up, Duke Pahukoa mashed a double to deep center field and closed the Nighthawk's deficit to only two.
- Payne's RBI single to right field brought Northwest Nazarene within one.
- In the bottom of the sixth, "Baba" Varner Jr. hit his second double of the day and drove in the 'Cats 7th run.
- Next up, senior Colby Musselmann chopped one to third and beat the throw for a single. The Wildcats capitalized on a wild pitch as Varner Jr. scored and Musselmann advanced to second base.
- Austin Ohland launched one 400 feet for his second homer of the day. Ohland's long ball put the 'Cats up 10-5.
- In the top of the seventh, Pahukoa lifted an RBI single to right field.
- Nolan Milliman got Nolan Walker to fly out to center field for the final out and the series sweep.
HITTING
PITCHING
- Reid Rasmussen started the game for the Wildcats and got the win. He threw five innings and recorded three strikeouts. Zach Conners came in and recorded a strikeout and then Nolan Milliman pitched 1.2 innings and got the save.
UP NEXT
- The Wildcats stay in Ellensburg with a chance to extend their winning streak to five on Wednesday at 3:00 P.M. against NAIA powerhouse Lewis-Clark State.
