ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University baseball team (23-22, 13-15 GNAC) looks to lock down the final spot in the GNAC tournament as the Wildcats head on the road for the final series of the 2025 regular season at Montana State Billings (28-16, 19-9 GNAC), taking on the Yellowjackets in a four-game series starting Thursday, May 1 at Dehler Park.
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, May 1 (Doubleheader) Friday, May 2 (Doubleheader)
Game One: Noon PDT Game One: 11:00 a.m. PDT
Game Two: 3:00 p.m. PDT Game Two: 2:00 p.m. PDT
Central Washington vs Montana State Billings
Dehler Park
Billings, Mont.
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THE WILDCATS
Central enters the final week of the 2025 season two games ahead of fourth-place Western Oregon. The Wildcats couldn't lock up the spot in their last GNAC series against first-place Northwest Nazarene, getting swept by the Nighthawks in their four-game series. The Wildcats, however, are coming off a strong weekend after defeating Whitworth University in three games out of four, which could prove to carry momentum after strong performances from the Crimson and Black.
The Wildcats had impressive performance came team-wide on the offensive side this past weekend with the 'Cats hitting .407 overall against the Pirates. No shortage of offense as Central recorded 57 hits, 40 RBIs, and six home runs. Baba Varner Jr. and Marcus Manzardo had impressive showings with Varner Jr. recording seven hits and three RBIs and Manzardo earning five hits and six RBIs.
While the Wildcat offense showed successful outcomes, Whitworth's offensive lineup also performed strong against the CWU pitching staff. In 32 innings pitched, Central gave up 33 earned runs on 47 hits and walked 16 batters. Overall, the Crimson and Black pitching recorded a 9.28 ERA over the four games. However, a positive aspect appeared in the performance of Drake Anderson, who recorded six strikeouts, nine hits and three earned runs over 32 batters faced in his six innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE YELLOWJACKETS
Montana State Billings is in a strange position for the first time in GNAC play this season. The Yellowjackets are coming off their first conference series loss of the season after going 1-3 against Western Oregon last weekend. The Yellowjackets lost the series despite scoring the same amount of runs as the Wolves overall with each team scoring 24-24.
MSUB saw success on the offensive side for the series, recording a .358 batting average overall, and scoring 24 total runs with 22 RBIs on 48 hits. Jack Nehler found consistent success in all four games, recording at least one RBI in each game. Overall, Nehler recorded five RBIs on six hits.
The Yellowjackets' pitching didn't see as much success against the Wolve as their offense did. In 29 innings pitched, MSUB's pitching staff allowed 23 earned runs on 43 hits for a 7.14 ERA and walked five batters. The Yellowjackets, however, did find success in the strike zone after striking out 23 batters during the series.
The Wildcats and Yellowjackets face off on Thursday, May 1. First pitch from Dehler Park in Billings, Mont. is scheduled for Noon PDT.
