ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University baseball team closes the regular season this week on the road with a pivotal four-game GNAC series at RV Northwest Nazarene, beginning Thursday at Elmore W. Vail Field in Nampa, Idaho. The Wildcats and nationally ranked Nighthawks meet for the second time this season, with postseason positioning on the line as conference play winds down.
PLAYOFF TRACKER:
Central sits on the brink of clinching the final berth in the 2026 GNAC Championships, needing just one more win or one loss by Western Oregon to lock up a postseason spot. The Wildcats enter the final four conference games at 15-13 in GNAC play, holding a six-game advantage over the Wolves, who sit at 10-15 with four games remaining as well. Any result that increases that cushion will mathematically secure CWU's place in the conference tournament as the regular season comes to a conclusion.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Central Washington at RV Northwest Nazarene
Game One: 2:00 p.m. PDT / 3:00 p.m. MDT
Game Two: 5:00 p.m. PDT / 6:00 p.m. MDT
Elmore W. Vail Field
Nampa, Idaho
WATCH
LIVE STATS
TICKETS
HISTORY
Friday, May 1, 2026
Central Washington at RV Northwest Nazarene
Game One: 12:00 p.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. MDT
Game Two: 3:00 p.m. PDT / 4:00 p.m. MDT
Elmore W. Vail Field
Nampa, Idaho
WATCH
LIVE STATS
TICKETS
HISTORY
LAST WEEKEND:
Central split its four-game GNAC series with Saint Martin's over the weekend at CWU Baseball Field, taking both games of Friday's doubleheader before dropping both contests on Senior Day Saturday. The Wildcats opened the series with a 13-7 win in Game One on Friday, building an early lead before holding off a late Saints rally, then walked off a 2-1 victory in Game Two on back-to-back hit-by-pitches in the seventh inning. Saint Martin's responded the following day, claiming a 9-3 victory in Saturday's opener after pulling away early, and completed the doubleheader sweep with a 9-0 shutout in the finale to earn the split and spoil CWU's final home stand of the season.
Offensively,
Ethan Swenson led the Wildcats during the series, driving in runs in all four games and finishing with multiple extra-base hits, including a two-run homer in Friday's opener.
Logan Blank paced CWU at the plate with consistent production, highlighted by a four-hit performance in Saturday's first game, while
Max Bledy,
Kaiden Hernandez and
Jonathan Rominger each contributed key RBIs during the series. On the mound,
Austin Cupic earned the win in Game 1 on Friday after striking out seven over six innings, and
Garet Hagy turned in a strong seven-inning effort in Game 2, allowing just one run to secure the walk-off victory.
SCOUTING THE NIGHTHAWKS:
Since splitting its four-game GNAC series at CWU in late March, Northwest Nazarene went 8-4 overall, building momentum through back-to-back strong series before stumbling on the road last weekend. The Nighthawks swept Western Oregon in Monmouth on April 3–4, stringing together four straight wins, then returned home to take three of four from Saint Martin's in mid-April. That surge was slowed last weekend at Montana State Billings, where NNU dropped three of four games, including a pair of one-run losses and an 11-inning defeat, to close the stretch with a 1-3 road showing.
Northwest Nazarene's offense has been led by a balanced and productive core throughout the season. Carter Walsh tops the lineup with a .376 batting average, 70 hits and 32 stolen bases, while also driving in 39 runs and scoring 45 times. Kyle Becker (.369) and Gavin Brubaker (.356) have provided consistent batting and run production, combining for 73 RBIs, while Becker adds five home runs and a team-leading .582 slugging percentage. Kaleb Karpstein anchors the middle of the order with 38 RBIs and 25 walks, and Adrian Arechiga has added six homers, 36 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.
On the mound, Corbin Talley has emerged as the staff ace, posting a perfect 9-0 record with a 1.76 ERA over 61.1 innings while striking out 82 and holding opponents to a .206 average. Dillon Eden has also been a workhorse in the rotation, logging 54.1 innings with five wins and 47 strikeouts. In the bullpen, Wade Duncan has shouldered the closing role with eight saves and 32 strikeouts, while Kaden Mullins owns a 1.13 ERA and a save in relief.
The Wildcats and Nighthawks take the field on Thursday, April 30, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. PDT, followed by Game Two at 5 p.m. PDT at Elmore W. Vail Field in Nampa, Idaho. The series continues Friday, May 1, with a noon PDT opener and a 3 p.m. PDT series finale.
