PORTLAND, Ore. – The Central Washington University baseball team powered its way to GNAC Athletic Solutions Team of the Week honors after taking three of four games at Montana State Billings behind heavy offense, late inning execution and a standout performance from the GNAC Player of the Week Conrad Henkel.
 
The Wildcats opened the weekend with a 9-6 win, jumping ahead with two runs in the first before MSUB briefly moved in front on a four-run third inning capped by a River Smith grand slam. CWU answered nearly immediately as Max Bledy delivered the decisive swing in the fifth, launching a grand slam to right center to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 7-5 lead. He later added a two-run homer in the ninth, finishing with six RBIs. Austin Cupic earned the win, and Kellen Berg secured the save.
 
Central kept rolling in the second game, a 10-8 victory fueled by more power. Ethan Swenson blasted a three-run homer in the third, and Henkel followed with a solo shot in the fourth. Henkel later capped off a four-run seventh with another dinger, this time a two-run shot down the right-field line to finish a two-hit, three-RBI performance. MSUB rallied late with seven runs across the sixth and seventh, but Berg shut the door again for his second save of the day and fifth save of the season.
 
MSU Billings edged CWU 6-5 in Sunday's opener, capitalizing on a pair of late scoring innings and a ninth inning defensive miscue to walk it off. Central led 4-2 entering the fifth behind home runs from Bledy and Henkel and briefly regained the lead in the eighth, but the Yellowjackets answered each time.
 
The Wildcats responded in the finale with an 11-2 win behind one of its most complete offensive showings of the season, piling up 15 hits while Conrad Henkel led the way with a 3-4, two‑RBI performance and Camdyn Martindale threw a seven‑inning complete game. The Wildcats broke the game open with a five‑run fifth inning that featured RBI doubles from Andre Garza, Swenson and Berg, followed by an RBI single from Henkel. Kaiden Hernandez added two doubles and two RBIs. Swenson and Jonathan Rominger each delivered two hits, and Rominger later capped the scoring with a two‑run homer in the seventh. Martindale struck out five and walked just one while allowing only two late runs to deliver the Crimson and Black its 11th conference win.
 
Across the four-game set, Central totaled 32 runs, hit five home runs, and received saves from Berg in two different contests. Henkel's production, including three home runs and several multi-hit games, anchored the lineup and helped propel CWU to one of its most complete weekends of the season.

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