ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University softball team is set for their home opener this weekend as they host the 24th-ranked team in the NAIA, the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers.
GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, February 17
Noon & 2:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. #24 NAIA Eastern Oregon
Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH LIVE STATS
Sunday, February 18
11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. #24 Eastern Oregon
Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH LIVE STATS
QUOTING HEAD COACH JOE DIPIETRO
"We're looking forward to opening our home portion of our schedule this weekend against Eastern Oregon. It'll be great to be at home after our trip to Texas where we faced some very good teams. I believe that our experience down South will help us as we move forward."
LAST OUTINGS
The Wildcats opened their season down in Texas participating in the DII First Pitch Invitational, hosted by the University of Texas, Tyler. On opening day the Wildcats suffered a pair of eight-inning setbacks falling first 2-1 to Texas A&M International followed by a 7-4 loss to Angelo State. On day two, the Wildcats saw themselves fall 4-1 to Midwestern State followed by a 3-2 setback to St. Mary's (Texas). The Wildcats wrapped up their participation in the DII First Pitch Invitational with a 6-0 loss to Washburn.
The crimson and black then headed over to San Antonio where they had a three-game series against the 7
th-ranked NAIA program, the Our Lady of the Lake Saints. In the day one double-header, the Wildcats fell 9-1 in five innings in game one before dropping a 2-1 contest in eight innings in game two. The Wildcats bounced back for their first win of the season with a six-run sixth inning to secure the 6-4 victory to wrap up their trip to Texas.
Freshman
Brooke Blocker has led the charge for the Wildcats in hitting earning a .278 batting average in 18 at-bats. Blocker has five hits, a team-high two doubles, and is tied for the most on the Wildcats with three RBI.
Makenna King and
Laney Kaysner also have had strong starts offensively for the Wildcats with King hitting a .261 average with six hits and one double while Kaysner has a .231 average with six hits and three RBI.
Kate Hopkins is also tied for the most on the Wildcats with three RBI while hitting .200 to open the season.
Following the opening road trip,
Ashlee Laver owns the lowest ERA for the Wildcat pitchers at 3.06. She's pitched two complete games in 16 innings pitched allowing 10 runs and two walks while striking out nine.
Payton Kessler and newcomer
Olivia Ross are also having strong starts to their season. Kessler has a 3.11 ERA pitching 18 innings and one complete game while allowing nine runs and six walks while striking out 10. Ross has pitched 17.2 innings earning the lone win for CWU. Ross owns a 3.96 ERA allowing 12 runs and three walks while striking out six.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
EOU has started their season 3-0 after an opening weekend two weeks ago down in Redding, California. The Mountaineers posted a pair of victories over Simpson by scores of 3-0 and 12-3 as well as one victory over Jessup by a 14-5 score.
The Mountaineers have four batters who are averaging over .400 batting average, led by Katelynn Evans with a .750 average. Addison Ribordy owns a .500 batting average while Madison Olson (.444) and Maddy Stateler (.417) each are hitting over .400 to open the season.
Haley Tyree and Stateler have recorded the most hits for EOU with each having five while Hannah Tyree and Ribordy each have two doubles and Kelly Monoghan has the lone triple for the Mountaineers. Collectively, EOU has hit four homeruns with Haley Tyree hitting two and Emily Barry and Olson each hitting one. Haley Tyree has the most RBI at eight. The Mountaineers have collectively struck out 13 times.
Kaylie Hoskins led the Mountaineers to their shutout victory over Simpson allowing only one hit and one walk while getting 14 strikeouts. Kylie Parsons and Natalie Dimitrov also had impressive showings in the Mountaineers opening weekend. Parsons holds a 1.62 ERA in 8.2 innings pitched allowing six hits, three runs, and six walks while striking out 13. Dimitrov holds a 2.33 ERA in three innings pitched allowing two hits, one run, and one walk while striking out three.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will stay in the 'Burg welcoming the 24th-ranked Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks for a four-game nonconference series. The Wildcats and NNU will battle it out on Friday, February 23, and Saturday, February 24 with a noon first pitch each day and game two to start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one from Gary and Bobbi Frederick Field.
