Athletics Weekend Recap
In this week’s edition of the CWU Athletics Weekend Recap, softball caught a series win against Western Washington, baseball competed in Idaho, and track & field earned the GNAC Team of the Week honor after some big performances at the Doris Heritage Track Festival. Read the full recap below.
Softball
In their opening series of conference play, the Central Washington University softball team took down the Western Washington Vikings in three games to earn the series win at home this weekend. In Game 1, Ashlee Laver’s complete games and Alyssa Benthagen’s solo HR propelled the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory. In Game 2, the offense exploded for 14 runs, invoking the run rule after five innings as the ‘Cats won 14-5. Myiah Seaton’s three-run slam plus three hits each from Allie Thiessen and Benthagen led the team. Payton Kessler got the win on the mound.
In Game 3, Laver pitched another complete game, but the CWU offense couldn't muster any runs as the team fell 0-3. In Game 4, Seaton led the offense again with three hits and three RBIs as the Wildcats won 8-4. Kessler earned her second win of the weekend. The Wildcats (12-11, 3-1) will head to Montana State Billings for a four-game series next weekend.
Baseball
The Central Washington University baseball team traveled to Nampa, Id. for a four-game series against Northwest Nazarene this weekend. The ‘Cats dropped Games 1 & 2 by scores of 5-9 and 3-5. In Game 1, Kevin Varner Jr., Ben Leid, and Austin Ohland led the team with two hits each. Leid followed it up with another strong performance in Game 2 with two hits and two RBIs.
In Game 3, Ryan Arredondo pushed the Wildcats to a 7-2 victory, throwing 7.1 innings and striking out three batters. Ohland added three hits and drove in three runs. In Game 4, the ‘Cats fell just short with a 5-6 loss. Ohland and Travis Helm logged a pair of hits each. The Wildcats (8-19, 4-8) will play a single game at home against Whitman this Wednesday, Mar. 22, at 2:00 p.m.
Track & Field
The Central Washington University track & field team took on the Doris Heritage Track Festival in Renton, Wash. this weekend, logging 15 event wins on their way to being named the GNAC Team of the Week. Additionally, E’lexis Hollis earned her 3rd GNAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week award. Hollis ran a 1st place time of 11.95 seconds in the 100-meter dash, putting her 1st in the conference standings currently.
A total of 10 more Wildcats earned 1st-place awards: Lauryn Chandler, Aiden Wise, Juliette Williams, Austin Albertin, Jack Pratapas, Johan Correa, Branden Wise, Erica Cabanos, Isaiah Webster, and Braydon Maier. Aiden Wise, Branden Wise, Webster, and Drew Klein earned PRs at the meet. The Wildcats also swept all four relays. Next week, the Wildcats will compete at the Peyton/Shotwell Invitational, hosted by the University of Puget Sound, at Baker Stadium on Saturday, Mar. 25.
Men’s Rugby
The #2 Central Washington University men’s rugby team hit their first obstacle of the 2023 campaign, falling to the #7 BYU Cougars in Provo, Utah by a score of 23-24. The Wildcats had multiple tries disallowed in the last 10 minutes, and couldn’t break through the BYU defense. Tiai Vavao scored a pair of tries for the Wildcats while Oliver Cline knocked through three penalty kicks. The Wildcats (7-1) will face the #11 Arizona Wildcats at Tomlinson Stadium on Saturday, Mar. 25, at 12:00 p.m. for Senior Day.