Monday, March 18, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Looking to build on some momentum from its road sweep of Northwest Nazarene to lift the lid on conference play, the Central Washington softball team kept things rolling with another perfect road trip last week.

Heading north for their border swing, the Wildcats started the weekend with two victories in Bellingham against Western Washington on Saturday. They then ventured into Burnaby one day later, sweeping two games against Simon Fraser to run their record to 15-4 (8-0 GNAC) while earning the selection as GNAC Team of the Week. 

"I couldn't be more proud of our entire team and coaching staff," said head coach Mike Larabee. "It was just a complete team effort. Everybody on the club contributed in some way."

The week got underway with a pair of victories over the Vikings, winning 8-6 in game one before posting a 9-5 victory in the nightcap. Right fielder Katie Kastning shined in the second game, going 2 for 5 with three RBIs and three runs at Viking Field. 

It was a balanced effort that got the job done against SFU on Sunday. After exploding for 14 runs in a 14-10 win to start the day, the CWU pitching staff helped the club to an 8-4 victory in game two.

Freshman Isabel Womack got the win after striking out five in 6.1 innings of work in that nightcap. Right-hander Taylor Williams then took over out of the bullpen, recording the final two outs to earn the save.

"Our players played with a lot of grit and simply refused to lose," Larabee said when recapping the weekend. "This team knows how to battle." 

Offensively, sophomore Theresa Moyle has led Central Washington as the second month of the season rolls on. Moyle currently tops the team in batting average (.514), RBIs (22) and home runs (7). 

The Wildcats return to the field this week, hosting Western Oregon for two games on Saturday before Concordia comes calling for a doubleheader one day later. The contests will mark the team's first home games of the 2019 campaign.