Thursday, May 5, 2016
by Sammy Henderson, Central Washington Sports Information Director

AZUSA, Calif. - Central Washington and GNAC Pitcher of the Year Kiana Wood pitched a two-hitter, leading the Wildcats to a 2-0 victory over Dixie State University in the first round of the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament.
 
The win was Central Washington's first NCAA Division II softball tournament victory. The Wildcats advance to play the winner of UC San Diego and Azusa Pacific today at 6 p.m.  The game, originally scheduled for tomorrow, was moved due to thunderstorms in the forecast.
 
"Kiana was fantastic," CWU Head Coach Mike Larabee said.  "She hit her spots all game long and really handcuffed a lot of batters."
 
The Wildcats got on the board in the first inning with Kailyn Campbell reaching on a single, and two batters later Austin Wilkerson drove her home on a screaming single to right center field.
 
In the fifth inning, pinch-runner Michaela Hazlett made a heads up play that helped the Wildcats gain a 2-0 lead. Rachael Johnson attempted to bunt and the ball was fouled backwards near the fence.  Dixie State catcher Autumn Woodfall made a diving catch, crashing into the backstop.  Hazlett tagged up from first base and slid in safe at second base. Celine Fowler took the next pitch and singled up the middle allowing Hazlett to score from second base.
 
"We had some outstanding performances today, but Michaela's heads up base running was the play of the game in my mind,"  Larabee added.  "It is not often that you see a runner advance on an infield foul out."

Wood, meanwhile, successfully work out of a a couple of jams against the Trailblazers' potent offense. A one-out single and a hitter batter gave Dixie State two runners in the top of the third, but Wood coaxed Shelby Yung into a fielder's choice and struck out Jessica Gonzalez to end the inning.

In the fifth, the Trailblazers used a hit batter, a walk and a ground out to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. The Wildcats elected to intentionally walk Gonzalez before Wood got Woodfall to fly out to end the threat.
 
Wood picked up the win by allowing just the two hits and three walks while striking out one. Aryn Feickert took the loss for Dixie State, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Four Central Washington batters had the team's four hits, with Fowler and Wilkerson batting in runs.