Alyssa Darby/Observer
The Central softball team has two important home games on the horizon.

On Friday, Central will host  Western Washington University (WWU). Two days later, on Sunday, the Wildcats will take on Simon Fraser University.

These are the last two games before the GNAC Championship. The top four teams move on to the tournament, and the Wildcats are still alive for a tournament berth.

The only team thus far to secure a bid is Saint Martin’s with a 16-4 GNAC record and a 5-0 record versus Central.

Earlier in the season, WWU (24-16 overall, 13-7 GNAC) swept a two-game series against the Wildcats. Wildcats sophomore pitcher Kiana Wood was credited with the outcome in their first meeting, a 7-1 loss.

“I like pitching against them because they’re a good challenge,” Wood said. “I’d rather have a challenge when I pitch.”

In their second game, pitcher Lindsey Kamphuis took the loss, and recorded seven strikeouts.

In Central’s last meeting with WWU, sophomore Kaitlyn Campbell hit two for six with one run batted in.

“I had a little trouble last time,” Campbell said. “I know how to respond from that.”

The day before, the Wildcats swept their series versus Simon Fraser University (16-26 overall, 5-15 GNAC). The Wildcats took game one 3-1, and they shut out Simon Fraser 7-0 in game two.

Game one saw sophomore shortstop Taylor Ferleman hit a two run homer to seal the victory.

In game two, junior Laura Steiner collected three RBIs on the Wildcat’s way to  victory. The winning pitchers were Wood and Kamphuis, respectively.

As of April 19, Central is third in the GNAC in overall team batting average (.326), and second in overall team ERA (4.00).

Wood is 5-8 with an impressive 4.05 ERA, while Kamphuis owns a 10-10 record and 4.95 ERA. Both players are expected to get the starts on the mound for the Wildcats  this weekend.

“It’s important because it’s a rival,” Wood said. “We want to go to the playoffs.”