ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University baseball team's season came to an end Friday afternoon, falling to the second-seeded Montana State Billings in the semifinal of the GNAC Championship. While the Wildcats fell to the Yellowjackets, a silver-lining came from Brandham Ponce as he hit his 19th home run of the season, officially breaking the GNAC's single-season record.  

Quoting CWU Baseball Head Coach Desi Storey 
"Super proud of these guys, battling injuries and guys stepping up. They just kept competing. Always want to be the last one standing, but they believed right till the last out." 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 

Final: Central Washington (4), Montana State Billings (7) 

SCORING: 

• Ponce opened the scoring in the first inning, grounding out to shortstop while allowing Marcus Manzardo to score. 

• Jack Nehler answered in the bottom of the frame, singling to center field to score Bodee Wright to tie it 1-1. 

• Central broke the tie when Justin Birch singled to left field to score Andrew Sharp to make it 2-1. 

• The 'Jackets tied it back up at 2-2 as Zack Blaszak singled to right field, bringing in Nathan May. 

• Nehler followed up with a single to left field that scored Blaszak to give MSUB the 3-2 lead. 

• Ponce found his moment in the sixth inning, blasting a game-tying shot to left-center field to break the GNAC single-season record with 19 total dingers.  

• The moment didn't last long though, as Ryker Fortier returned the favor in the bottom of the sixth with a homer to left field to make it 4-3 MSUB. 

• The Yellowjackets got insurance runs as Kaden Bertram hit a three-run home run to left field in the eighth inning to give the 'Jackets a 7-3 lead. 

• The Crimson and Black looked to get a rally going as Brady Hinkle hit a sacrifice fly to allow Max Bledy to score. However, that's as much as Central could muster as Montana State Billings held on to win the game 7-4 and end the Wildcats' season. 

PITCHING: 

• Logan Pierce pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out two of the 30 batters he faced. 

• Gabe Bustamante faced two batters and allowed two runs and one walk. 

• Dakota Todd pitched the final inning, allowing one hit, one run, while facing four batters. 

• Brennen Chappell pitched all nine innings, allowing four runs on six hits and no walks, while striking out six batters. 

  
HITTING: 

•  Ponce led the 'Cats with two RBIs, while Hinkle and Birch each recorded an RBI. 

• Sharp got two hits, while Birch, Manzardo, Ponce, and Noah Juarez all recorded a hit. 

• Bertram led the 'Jackets with three RBIs and Nehler got two RBIs, while Blaszak and Fortier recorded an RBI each. 

• Blaszak, Fortier, and Nehler led with two hits apiece, while Bertram, May, and Wright all recorded a hit. 

END OF SEASON: 
Thank you for an awesome season, Wildcats. From amazing multi-home run performances and walk-off wins to broken records, you always found a way to keep the fans excited for Wildcat baseball. Until next season. Have a great summer!