CWU baseball completed 13 games on the road with the team starting the season 4-9. For the first time since the 2019 season, CWU has its first full schedule of games ahead of them. 

For head coach Desi Storey, it’s the consistency of a full schedule that he has been looking forward to the most. 

“On the coaching side, it’s great,” Storey said. “We actually get an opportunity to get rolling and have a consistent weekend to weekend schedule.” 

Last season, CWU faced an on and off schedule with eight of their 36 regular season games being canceled due to COVID-19. The uncertainty of each week kept players like junior outfielder Adam Fahsel wondering if they would have the opportunity to play ball.

With a full schedule in front of them, Fahsel said knowing they can look forward to getting to work and playing ball every weekend is a good feeling. 

“In 2020 to 2021, it was up in the air all the time,” Fahsel said. “[In 2022] you know you’re going to be playing ball and there’s really no uncertainty, it’s go time.” 

For CWU, it is indeed “go time.” The Wildcats finished a 13 game road stretch to start the season. CWU traveled to Caldwell, Idaho where they played College of Idaho. CWU split the series 2-2 before heading to San Bernardino, California to play California State University San Bernardino where they lost three out of four games. 

Playing road games to begin the season is nothing new for CWU. The baseball team typically travels for their first couple series due to the weather in Ellensburg early in the season. Storey explained that the expectations for the team remain the same despite being on the road.

“The expectation doesn’t really change,” Storey said. “The old baseball adage is you split on the road, but our expectation going in is to come out with a series win and grow.” 

CWU has yet to capture that series win on the road, however Storey explained that he has seen growth within the team through their first nine games. According to Storey, the goal for this weekend is to continue to learn and improve as a team in order to beat their opponents. 

“We’ve got good competition we’re playing, and we have to rise to that,” Storey said. 

Storey explained that the team has been hitting well and the offense has been a standout for this season. CWU has scored 62 runs in their first nine games. According to Storey, they would like to see improvements on the defensive side of the ball. 

“Pitching is huge in baseball,” Storey explained. “You got to throw strikes, you got to challenge the other team, so that’s the biggest place we are looking to improve in the next couple weeks.”

Fahsel also echoed the sentiment of making improvements, and said he believes the team can play very well once they do. Fahsel said the team needs to start executing in all phases of the game.

“Once we do that and get it done doing that, I think it’s going to click and we’re going to know how we can win games,” Fahsel said. “I just think we need to see ourselves do it one time.” 

Storey explained that making improvements, learning from their mistakes and striving to get better every week are the steps the team is taking to achieve their ultimate goal. Storey said that goal is the same every year when they start, and it is to win a conference title. 

“I think this team has got a lot of potential ahead of it,” Storey said.

The Wildcats return home to play the home opener against Western Oregon University on Feb. 26.