ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University baseball team (19-21) prepares for its final home series of the 2025 regular season, hosting the Whitworth University Pirates (22-11) of the Northwest Conference in a four-game series starting on Saturday, April 26.
   


THE WILDCATS
Central had a tough series last weekend, taking on the GNAC-leading #16 Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks. The Wildcats produced offensive chances and performed well against the Nighthawks, but costly errors spelled CWU's fate as the conference's top team swept them.

The Wildcats almost had a chance to take game two of the series on Friday afternoon behind six strong innings from this week's GNAC pitcher of the week Jonathan Garza II, as Central held a 4-1 lead entering the final seventh inning. However, the bullpen could not handle the offensive momentum that NNU found and gave up a game-tying three-run homer from Adrian Arechiga and eventually gave up three additional runs in the eighth inning to give the Nighthawks the come-from-behind victory.

While the outcome on the scoreboard didn't show in the Wildcats' favor, silver linings were shown in the form of strong performance at the plate, specifically from the GNAC's leader in home runs Brandham Ponce, who added to his total in game four with two dingers to make a total of 17 home runs this season. Ben Leid also performed well at the plate as he hit two home runs of his own, with one in game two being a grand slam in the first inning to give the Crimson and Black a 4-0 lead early.

Pitching had two bright spots for the 'Cats in the series, including Jonathan Garza II and Logan Pierce. Garza II pitched six strong innings against the Nighthawks, allowing five hits and no earned runs. He struck out eight, walked one, and faced 26 batters. His commanding performance against one of the nation's top-ranked teams highlighted his composure on the mound and his ability to overpower hitters. Pierce pitched six and one-third innings and played strong through the first six, allowing seven hits, four runs, two walks, and striking out six batters to keep the Wildcats in a 4-4 tie going into the final inning.
 

SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Whitworth plays in the Northwest Conference in the NCAA Division III. The Pirates have had a successful season, going 22-11 overall and 13-8 in conference. Among their wins this season, the Pirates swept Saint Martin's in a four-game series on March 7-8 in Spokane, Wash. In its last 10 games, Whitworth has gone 7-3 and is currently in second place in its conference standings.

The Pirates are led by Kyle Memarian, who's hitting .407 with 44 hits in 108 at-bats with a 1.088 OPS. Strong hitters for WU also include Caleb Gray and Carson Coffield, who have hit 11 and 10 home runs this season, respectively. Leading on the mound for Whitworth is AJ Woodward. In his 60 and two-thirds innings pitched, Woodward struck out 42 batters and allowed 57 hits and 22 earned runs for a 3.26 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with a 5-1 record.

The Wildcats and Pirates take the field starting Saturday, April 26. First pitch from the CWU Baseball Field is set for noon.