BY Spencer Hansen
Staff Reporter
The Wildcats baseball team continued their winning streak over the weekend by taking three of four games from the reeling, Montana State-Billings Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets took game one to break up the Wildcats six-game winning streak, but Central went on to win three in a row in blowout fashion.
In game one, Coach Desi Storey sent Stuart Fewel to the mound, but he would struggle only to pitch 3.1 innings, allowing nine earned runs and surrendering 11 hits, including a homerun to MSU-Billings slugger Brody Miller. The Wildcats tallied 15 hits, but couldn’t muster enough to keep the pace with a potent offensive attack for Billings. Brady Muller pitched all seven for the Yellow Jackets allowing three earned runs and striking out six. Billings took game one in a shootout, 15-7.
Game two was a much different story as the Wildcats would bounce back and grab a 10-0 win. Brandon Williams took the ball and went the distance on his way to getting his team-best eighth win. Williams mixed in a change-up and changed locations with precision to lead Central to the win. He struck out eight while scattering three hits.
The Wildcats also brought the bats in game two with four big solo shots coming from Ethan Sterkel, Eric Tinnell, Scott Stone and Cory Welch. Welch collected four hits in the game and seemed to flourish in the lead-off spot over the weekend. The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first three innings due to the solo shots and wouldn’t stop there; as they would add four more in the seventh on an RBI single from Zach Reay and an RBI double from Jaycob Sells.
Game three would queue a hitting barrage for CWU…the Wildcats put up 20 runs en route to a 20-6 win on day two in the first game of the double header. The only homer was hit to score those 20 runs; Kasey Bielec’s team-leading 7th homerun was just the icing on the cake. Central pounded out 25 hits and threw up nine runs in the second inning in which they would bat around.
Senior Skye Adams took the ball pitching seven innings while allowing five earned runs; he would pick up his fifth win of the year. Billings used four pitchers to get through the game and the first two, Jake Capeau and Jake Mills combined to allow 13 earned runs and 20 hits. Adams was relieved by Nolan Amundson and Davis Engel and they combined to shutout the Yellow Jackets and allow only three hits.
Game four was a much closer affair. CWU sent senior Kurtis Pitcher to the mound and he pitched 3 innings and allowed three earned runs and struck out five. He was relieved by Cory Welch who would pitch the final four frames and pick up his second win in a 7-3 win.
The game was tied 3-3 after five innings, but in the top of the sixth Wildcats would strike for four runs off of MSU-Billings reliever Bret Bitow, pulling away for good.
