ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University Softball Team earned first year Head Coach Ronnie Ladines her first career win as the Head Coach of the Wildcats with a season-opening split against the third-ranked NAIA Eastern Oregon Mountaineers Friday afternoon.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
 
SCORES:
 

• Game 1: Central Washington (9), Eastern Oregon (4)
• Game 2: CWU (11), EOU (14) (5 Innings Due To Darkness)

 
RECORDS:
 

• CWU (1-1)
• EOU (1-1)

 
LOCATION:
 

• Ellensburg, Wash. (Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field)

 
GAME 1:
 
SCORING:
 

• Eastern Oregon earned the first runs of the game in the second inning when Hope Burke homered to center field to also score Alexis Blank.
• McKayla Cable tied things up in the bottom of the second inning with a single to center field paired with an error from the center fielder to score Izzy Vargas and Melise Brown.
• EOU retook the lead after Lexi Grumbois sacrificed herself to the pitcher to score Isabella Lauerman and make it 3-2 EOU after the top of the third.
• Jadyn Holdren gave the 'Cats their first home run of the season as she tied the game at three apiece in the bottom of the third.
• Still in the bottom of the third, Joelie Eder sacrificed herself to the center fielder to score Jessica Reitz-Eaton and give the 'Cats their first lead at 4-3 to end the third.
• Holdren added on in the bottom of the fourth with a single to left field to score Vargas and make it a 5-3 CWU lead.
• Hallie Sehlin added in in the bottom of the fourth when she reached on a fielding error by the second basemen which scored Mia Flores and gave the 'Cats a 6-3 lead.
• EOU added one more in the top of the sixth when Kelly Monaghan doubled to right center to score Burke and make it a 6-4 CWU lead.
• The 'Cats added on three more in the bottom of the sixth when Sehlin reached on a throwing error by the pitcher to score Holdren followed by Cable singled to center field to score Kayla Brusseau and Sehlin to give the 'Cats a 9-4 victory.

 
HITTING:
 

• Holdren led the game with four hits while adding two RBI and made it home twice.
• Cable added three hits and three RBI.
• Flores added a hit and a drawn walk while making it home once.
• Eder and Vargas added a hit each with Eder earning an RBI and Vargas getting a drawn walk and making it home twice.
• Burke led the Mountaineers with two hits and two RBI while making it home twice.
• Emily Barry, Alexis Blankenship, and Monaghan all had a hit with Monaghan adding an RBI and Blankenship tacking on a drawn walk while making it home once.

 
PITCHING:
 

• Zoey Theophilus earned the win after pitching six innings allowing five hits, four runs with three earned, and two walks while facing 26 batters.
• Alex Flohr pitched the final inning, earning a one, two, three inning to secure the victory.
• Maliyah Mann earned the loss for EOU, pitching three innings allowing four hits, four runs with three earned, four walks, and three strikeouts against 17 batters.
• Camille Schmitz pitched the final three innings for EOU and finished with six hits, five runs with only one earned, two walks, and four strikeouts against 21 batters.

 
GAME 2:
 

• The Mountaineers got off to a bang after Lauerman singled to the shortstop to score Raygun Klippert which was followed later in the first by Grumbois homering to left center to score Barry and Lauerman to make it a 4-0 EOU lead heading into the bottom of the first.
• The 'Cats bounced back, first when Holdren reached on a fielder's choice that scored Cable after a fielding error by the first baseman to cut it to a 4-1.
• A little later in the inning Sehlin was walked with the bases loaded which scored Vargas to make it 4-2 EOU.
• Still in the bottom of the first, Brusseau reached on a throwing error by the third baseman to score Holdren and Flores and tie things up but the next at-bat saw Eder reach on an error by the first baseman to score Brusseau and Sehlin which was followed by a single from Vargas to center field to score Eder and give the 'Cats the 7-4 lead to end the first.
• CWU tacked on two more in the second inning as Reitz-Eaton singled to left field to score Holdren followed by Cable sacrificing herself to the first baseman to score Brusseau to make it 9-4 after the second inning.
• EOU got back in the scoring column in the top of the third when Monaghan singled up the middle to score Barry followed by Ashlynn Komp singling up the middle to score Allison Baum which was followed by Klippert sacrificing herself to the second baseman to score Monaghan to make it a 9-8 CWU lead.
• Sehlin added one more in the bottom of the third when she singled up the middle to score Jenna Markuson and make it a 10-8 CWU lead.
• The Mountaineers took the lead in the top of the fourth after Grumbois singled to center field to score Barry and Monaghan singled up the middle to score Gumbois to tie it, then Klippert tripled down the right field line to score Blank, Elizabeth Heins, and Monaghan followed by Barry reaching on an error by the first baseman to score Klippert to make it a 14-10 EOU lead.
• Holdren added a home run in the bottom of the fifth but the Mountaineers took the 14-11 victory due to darkness.

 
HITTING:
 

• Holdren led the game with three hits while adding an RBI and making it home three times.
• Cable and Vargas both added two hits with both adding an RBI and both making it home once while Cable added a drawn walk.
• Sehlin, Brusseau, Reitz-Eaton, and Eder all had a hit with Brusseau and Reitz-Eaton adding an RBI and Brusseau making it home twice while Eder made it home once.
• Flores drew two walks while making it home once.
• Klippert, Barry, Grumbois, and Monaghan all finished with two hits to lead Eastern Oregon.
• Klippert had four RBI and made it home twice while Barry added a drawn walk while making it home three times, Grumbois finished with four RBI, a drawn walk, and made it home three times, and Monaghan had two RBI and made it home twice.
• Lauerman, Burke, Komp, and Heinz all had a hit each.
• Lauerman had an RBI, drew a walk, and made it home once while Komp had two RBI and Heinz made it home once.

 
PITCHING:
 

• Ellie Gilbert had the start for CWU, pitching 2.1 innings and allowing seven hits, eight runs, three walks, and struck out two of 17 batters.
• Flohr pitched the next 0.2 innings allowing no hits or runs but one walk against three batters.
• Reese Anderson earned the loss for CWU, pitching a full inning while allowing five hits, six runs with five being earned, two walks, but earned two strikeouts against 11 batters.
• Brooke Baker pitched the final inning allowing no hits or runs but walking one of four batters faced.

 
SERIES HISTORY:
 

• CWU leads the all-time series 19-17.
• The 'Cats are 10-6 in Ellensburg against EOU.
• CWU is 7-3 against the Mountaineers in the past 10 matchups.

 
UP NEXT:
 

• The 'Cats will have another pair of games tomorrow as they welcome the Warner Pacific Knights to Ellensburg.
• The 'Cats and Knights first pitch is set for noon with game two to follow approximately a half an hour later.