NAMPA, Idaho. – The Central Washington University baseball team (12-7, 7-1 GNAC) hits the road this week, heading to Nampa, Idaho for a four-game series against Northwest Nazarene University (16-10, 5-3 GNAC) starting on Friday, March 14.
GAME INFORMATION
Friday, March 14 (
Doubleheader)
Game One
2:00 p.m. PDT
Game Two
5:00 p.m. PDT
Central Washington vs Northwest Nazarene
Elmore W. Vail Field
Nampa, Idaho
WATCH LIVE STATS
Saturday, March 15 (
Doubleheader)
Game One
Noon PDT
Game Two
3:00 p.m. PDT
Central Washington vs Northwest Nazarene
Elmore W. Vail Field
Nampa, Idaho
WATCH LIVE STATS
THE WILDCATS
Central continued its winning ways last week, earning a sweep over the Western Oregon Wolves in the Wildcats' first home series of the season. The Crimson and Black outscored the Wolves 47-24 in four games behind the hitting power of the GNAC and NCBWA West Region Player of the Week
Brandham Ponce, who slashed .500/.556/.875 with four home runs, 14 RBIs, eight runs scored and nine hits in the series. The senior from Federal Way, Wash. is hitting .347 on the season and ranks third in Division II baseball with 11 home runs. Strong hitting performances were evident all-around for Central with
Logan Blank (8 hits, 8 runs, and 3 RBIs),
Ben Leid (5 hit, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs),
Marcus Manzardo (4 hits, 2 runs, and 5 RBIs), and
Baba Varner Jr. (6 hits, 9 runs, and 1 RBI) showing their presence at the plate.
CWU's pitching staff had a strong series as well with
Daniel Charron setting the tone in game one, pitching the full game and recording the 4-0 shutout that earned him GNAC Pitcher of Week honors.
Logan Pierce had a strong start in game four, pitching six innings and holding the Wolves to three runs as his offense unleashed 14 runs on the WOU defense.
SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS
Northwest Nazarene currently sits in second-place in the GNAC standings with a 5-3 record. The Nighthawks lost the conference opener to Western Oregon 0-3 on Feb 28, before taking the next three over the Wolves. In their home opening series, NNU split with Montana State Billings with two wins each. Each team won by a single run, and then another by double-digits.
The Nighthawks have three batters that are currently hitting above .300 with Kaleb Karpstein going 23-59 for .390, Bryan Rojas going 34-97 for .351, and Nin Burns II going 30-98 for .306.
NNU has a pair of pitchers that have gone a combined 9-0 for the Nighthawks. Cole Calnon has pitched 36 innings and has only allowed 30 hits, seven runs, and has struck out 23 of the 134 batters he's faced for a 0.75 ERA and .94 WHIP. Ernesto Lugo-Canchola has pitched 31 and two-thirds innings, allowing 17 hits, 11 runs, and has struck out 41 of the 107 batters he's faced for a 2.56 ERA and .98 WHIP.
The Wildcats and Nighthawks face off in Nampa starting on Friday, March 14. First pitch from Elmore W. Vail Field is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PDT
