The CWU baseball team clinched its berth to the 2018 GNAC Championship Tournament starting Wednesday May 9 at home in Ellensburg.

Normally held in Portland, Oregon, it was decided to bring the tournament to Ellensburg this year.

Sitting in third place, the team is set to play number two seed Western Oregon University, who took six of the eight games played against the Wildcats this season.

The Wolves, sitting with a 24-20 overall record, boast a 6-2 season record over CWU. With senior infielder Jay Leverett leading the team with a .356 batting average and on base percentage, Leverett will be a threat at bat.

No matter their competition, the team is excited to be making playoffs and hoping this year is their year to earn a championship.

“I’m stoked to make the GNACs. It’s my last year playing ball and I want to end it on a high note and with a championship ring,” junior outfielder Tristin Parton said.

Parton, a transfer from Big Bend Community College, is originally from Leavenworth, Washington and has stepped in this year, taking the lead at the plate. Starting in 23 of the 40 games he has played in, Parton is leading the team with a .392 batting average.

The championship ring is on the mind of each senior this season, all knowing this is their last chance.

“Making the GNAC my senior year means everything,” senior pitcher Chris Dalto said. “I’ve been so close to getting a ring my last two years. I’m going to make sure this is the year.”

Dalto, a senior from Valencia, California appeared in 50 games last season with 13 games on the mound, earning NCBWA West Regional Player of the Week and First Team All-GNAC honors.

Dropping their first two games to the GNAC champions, the Wildcats came back May 4 to take both games from the Yellowjackets, including their 21-6 win in the second game of the day.

“We got good pitching, Mac [Gaul] battled and we got some big hits,” head coach Desi Storey said in a press release. “It just carried over to game two. We hit everybody they threw at us, we were just barreling them up.”

Mitch Lesmeister, a freshman out of Walla Walla, Washington, is standing out this year with a .305 batting average and two home runs. Lesmeister, an infielder for the team, has also started 36 out of the 39 games he has played in for the Wildcats this season.

For the 14 seniors on the team, this could be the last time they ever play baseball.

“Knowing this will be my last season ever playing baseball is shocking, so I have to make every second count,” Dalto said.  

With a 21-19 GNAC conference record, the Wildcats battled all season to get where they needed to be.

“This season has been a lot of fun. Overcoming adversity and battling through tough conditions has really brought the team closer together,” Lesmeister said.