ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington softball team will embark on a six-game home week welcoming the Whitworth Pirates for a double-header on Thursday followed by a four-game conference series against Montana State Billings on Friday and Saturday.

Thursday and Friday's games will occur during Campus Parking Enforcement hours of operation. Due to that, patrons will need a guest parking pass if you don't already have a CWU pass in order to park in the paved parking lots closest to the Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field (Lots V-18 and V-22). The dirt parking lots by the softball fields are free to park (Lots X-22 and X-23) as well as free parking along East 18th avenue. 

To purchase a daily guest pass click HERE

To view a campus parking map click HERE
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
Thursday, March 14
Noon & 2:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Whitworth
Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH LIVE STATS
 
Friday & Saturday, March 15 & 16
Noon & 2:00 p.m.
Central Washington vs. Montana State Billings
Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field
Ellensburg, Wash.
WATCH LIVE STATS
 
QUOTING HEAD COACH JOE DIPIETRO
 
"We're looking forward to hosting games this week welcoming Whitworth and MSUB to campus. These are very important games for us. Whitworth is a solid team, and MSUB hits the ball extremely well. It's going to be a challenge, but one that I believe we're ready for."
 
LAST WEEKEND
 
The Wildcats opened up GNAC play with a split at Saint Martin's to begin the four-game series. The Wildcats fell 4-2 in game one before bouncing back for a big 4-3 victory in game two.
 
The series was then moved to Ellensburg due to projected inclement weather in Lacey over the weekend. The Wildcats fell 7-6 in both games on Sunday with game one going to 12 innings.
 
Ashlee Laver pitched 17.1 innings over the weekend including the full 11.1 innings for 201 pitches in game one in Ellensburg. Laver allowed 19 hits, 11 runs eight of which were earned, eight walks, and earned nine strikeouts against 82 batters.
 
Alyssa Benthagen had 17 at-bats over the weekend earning eight hits, three RBI, and one walk while going a perfect eight for eight in putouts.
 
SCOUTING THE PIRATES
 
Whitworth has started its season 4-6. They posted a split in each of their double-headers in California at Pomona-Pitzer, Redlands, and La Verne. The Pirates went 1-3 at Eastern Oregon falling in day one by scores of 6-1 and 3-1. The Pirates and Mountaineers split on day two with EOU coming out victorious 12-4 in six innings in game one before the Pirates earned the 7-1 victory in game two.
 
Offensively, WU is led by Jazz Johnson who's batting .313 on the season in 32 at-bats. Johnson has 10 hits, one double, and five RBI while drawing one walk so far this season. Haley Montoya is another name to watch for the Pirates, averaging .278 on the season with 10 hits, three doubles, one home run, and four RBI while drawing three walks. Julia Dillon has the most home runs and RBI for the Pirates with two homers and seven RBI adding a .265 batting average, nine hits, and one double.
 
Momi Lyman has led Whitworth in pitching, currently owning a 3.27 ERA and a 2-3 record with four complete games under her belt. Lyman has pitched 30 innings and allowed 45 hits, 19 runs 14 of which are earned, and six walks while striking out 16 against 134 batters. Corinne Vasiloff is the other starter for the Pirates, currently with a 4.52 ERA, a 2-3 record, three complete games, and one shutout. Vasiloff has pitched 31 innings allowing 42 hits, 26 runs 20 of which are earned, and eight walks while getting 15 strikeouts against 133 batters.
 
SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS
 
MSUB is 7-16-1 overall this season and 1-3 in GNAC play. They opened their season at the Concordia Kickoff Classic in Irvine, Calif. where they went 1-4 with their sole victory coming against Hawaii Pacific 12-3 in five innings. They fell 0-8 in five innings in a single game at Azusa Pacific before heading back to Billings where they swept Providence 10-0 in five innings and 11-6 and went 0-1-1 against Carroll falling 12-0 in five innings before tying 9-9 in game two. The Yellowjackets then went to The Spring Games in Florida where they finished 3-7 with victories coming over Upper Iowa (8-0 in six innings), California (Pa.) (6-2), and Edinboro (8-4). Last weekend MSUB travelled to Western Oregon falling 4-1 and 13-2 in five innings on day one before earning the split on day two falling 5-4 in 11 innings before bouncing back for the 6-3 victory in game two.
 
The Yellowjackets have five players averaging over .300 on the season led by Teagan Seeton with a .397 batting average. Seeton leads the Yellowjackets with 27 hits and nine home runs and has added two doubles, one triple, 19 RBI, and seven walks. Alexis Tovar owns a .344 batting average with 21 hits, four doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, and a team-high 12 walks. Jazlyn Kalehuawehe has a .333 batting average with 16 hits, four home runs, eight RBI, and eight walks. Marin Penney and Kilee Imada are also both hitting over .300 on the season at .324 and .315, respectively.
 
Caitlyn James leads MSUB with a 5.41 ERA, 4-10 record, eight complete games, one save and two shutouts. James has pitched 86.2 innings allowing 140 hits, 83 runs 67 of which are earned, and 22 walks while getting a team-high 27 strikeouts. Shelby Wasilewski has been the other starter for MSUB owning a 6.70 ERA and a 2-5 record in 38.2 innings pitched. Wasilewski has allowed 72 hits, 47 runs 37 of which are earned, and 32 walks while striking out nine.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Wildcats will have a brief break from conference action as they travel down to California to participate in the Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State in Turlock, Calif. The Wildcats will play five games first against Cal State Dominguez Hills at 11:30 a.m. followed by host Stan State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, March 22nd. On Saturday the Wildcats will battle Cal State East Bay at 11:30 a.m. and Sonoma State at 3:00 p.m. CWU will wrap up its time in Turlock against Chico State at noon on Sunday.