ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington Baseball (4-6) hits the road this week for a pair of doubleheaders against Linfield (0-3) and George Fox (3-1).
GAME INFO
Friday, February 23
Central Washington at Linfield University
Game One: 1:00 p.m.
Game Two: 3:30 p.m.
McMinnville, Oregon
Roy Helser Field
WATCH,
LIVE STATS
Saturday, February 24
Central Washington at George Fox
Game One: 11:00 a.m.
Game Two: 2:00 p.m.
Newberg, Oregon
Curtis and Margaret Morse Athletic Fields
WATCH,
LIVE STATS
QUOTING DESI STOREY
"The guys are focused on continuing to improve this week and playing two quality programs to finish this first month, as we get ready to start conference play."
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
George Fox is 3-1 overall. The Bruins participated in the Concordia Classic. They opened the tournament with a 20-3 victory over Schreiner and then fell 2-1 to Concordia Texas. George Fox won their final two games of the tournament 8-2 over Shreiner and 4-2 against Concordia, in an 11-inning battle.
Noah Meffert leads the Bruins at the plate. Meffert is hitting .571 with eight hits, three doubles, a triple, and three RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Evan Balingit averages .444 at the dish. After four games, he has eight hits, two doubles, a triple, and six RBIs.
Bleu Ellis has had 20 at bats in four games and is hitting .400. Ellis's early success at the plate includes eight hits, five RBIs, a walk, and a run scored.
George Fox has a one, two combo on the mound with righty Ben Wills and lefty Caleb Debban. Wills maintains a 2.25 ERA through one start. He worked four innings against Schreiner and recorded two strikeouts. In his first start, Debban fanned four batters in five innings to earn his first win of the season.
SCOUTING THE LINFIELD WILDCATS
Linfield dropped their first three games of the season in last week's series against Pomona-Pitzer. The Sagehens took games one and two 7-8 and earned the 7-4 game three win to complete the series sweep.
Jake Hoskins is hitting .615 in 13 at bats over four games. Hoskin's tallied eight hits, a double, a triple, and four RBIs. The Wildcats have three other players hitting over .300: Elijah Maris (.385), Wyatt Hurley (.375), and Tyler Marr (.308).
Junior righthander Camden Oram is Linfield's best pitcher. In his lone start, Oram threw 4.1 innings and tied up four batters.
LAST TIME OUT
Central Washington forced the 2-2 series split last week against Stanislaus State. The 'Cats won games three and four, 12-3 and 7-5.
Andrew Sharp had a great weekend and garnered Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Sharp came up big with two RBI singles in game one that scored three runs and gave the 'Cats a chance late. In game three, Sharp had a double to right center that put the 'Cats up early en route to the 12-3 victory. Over the four-game series, Andrew had two games with three hits and three RBIs. He hit .533 (8-15), had six RBIs, and a run scored.
Marcus Manzardo has also been a force at the plate, averaging .390. Manzardo has 16 hits, one triple, and two RBIs. "Baba" Varner Jr. leads the team with nine runs batted in and two home runs.
Reid Rasmussen has been dominant on the mound for Central Washington boasting a 0.71 ERA. He has racked up two wins in as many starts. In his start against Cal State San Bernardino, Rasmussen threw five and two-thirds scoreless innings while tying up seven batters on the way to his first win of the season. Last week against Stanislaus State, he pitched seven innings and recorded three strikeouts as the 'Cats took a comfortable 12-3 victory.
ON DECK
The Wildcats head back to Ellensburg and prepare for their home opener next Saturday against Saint Martin's.
