CWU Baseball is looking to kick off the second half of the season this weekend in Lacey, Washington in their four-game series against Saint Martin’s University (SMU) starting Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats, currently 13-11 in the GNAC with a 18-16 overall record, are seeking another series win over SMU.

SMU is currently last place in the GNAC at 5-19 and an overall record of 6-26 and is led by junior outfielder Austin Feist and senior outfielder Steven Sordahl this season.

Feist is batting .298 with four home runs, 19 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .496. Sordahl is batting .287 with a slugging percentage of .344.

The two teams met earlier this season in March, with the Wildcats taking the series 3-1 at home in Ellensburg.

The Wildcats are sitting third in the GNAC and looking to improve their record after a tough series against Montana State University Billings (MSUB) dropping the series 1-3 March 30 and 31.

“We really have to take it one weekend at a time, one game at a time,” assistant coach Scott Stone said after the losses against MSUB.

Senior outfielder Dusting Braun has made an impact with the team this season. The senior transfer is the fourth best hitter for the Wildcats with a current .347 batting average.

With a younger team this season, the Wildcats are looking at freshmen to step up. Mitch Lesmeister’s name was mentioned time and time again.

“He’s been in the leadoff position and stepped up big this season and filled that hole we were missing,” Stone said.

Lesmeister, a freshman out of Walla Walla, Washington is currently sitting at a .310 batting average and .420 slugging percentage.  

“We worked on the fundamentals all week,” Braun said. “We worked on the little things this week, doing the little things right will lead to greater success.”

The Wildcats are looking to come off a three-game losing streak against Concordia University this past weekend when they went 1-3.

“We aren’t playing consistent baseball,” head coach Desi Storey told wildcatsports.com after Monday’s losses in Portland.

The Wildcats started the series off strong with a 7-0 win before dropping the final three games 2-3, 3-16, and 2-5.

“I’m looking forward to a new weekend and [proving] that we are a new team and can come out here and win,” Braun said.

Braun has hit four home runs this season with 23 RBIs and has a slugging percentage of .570.

“The hardest part this season has been staying consistent,” sophomore outfielder Justin Hampson said. “Sometimes our hitting works and sometimes our pitching works, and we really need to mesh that together.”

Hampson has a .365 batting average with one home run on the season, 16 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .504

The Wildcats are looking to hold strong in the GNAC standings with the start of the second half of the season quickly coming to an end.

“There were times in the first half where we played to our abilities. We need to find the consistency to play to our capabilities game in, game out. We had some success at home and now it’s time to expand on that success on the road,” Storey said to wildcatsports.com