By SARAH RUIZ, staff reporter
After Central Washington lost 2-0 to Saint Martin’s in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament opener, the Wildcats split their two games on Day 2 but were eliminated by Simon Fraser, 2-0.
The No. 4 seed in the tournament, the Wildcats ended their season 20-20 overall, 13-11 GNAC. They upended No. 2 seed Western Oregon 3-2 in their second game of the tournament before losing to Simon Fraser in Game 3.
In their 8-0 loss to No. 1 seed and 22nd-ranked Saint Martin’s University, who later captured the GNAC title, Central managed only three hits and committed four errors.
“A lot of it was just us not being relaxed and aggressive at the plate,” senior Cassi Ellis said. “That was our main issue that game. We didn’t have our complete ‘A’ game, but our defense wasn’t the main reason for the loss.”
In the second day of the tournament, the Wildcats defeated Western Oregon 3-2. Ellis proved to be the game changer when she hit the game-winning home run in the sixth inning, with the score tied 1-1.
Junior pitcher Maria Gau pitched seven innings and tallied three strikeouts against the Wolves. Gau allowed only four hits and two runs, which was an improvement after the Saints knocked 12 hits and eight runs off her.
“I just wasn’t going to let them win,” junior Maria Gau said. “I had all that night to think about how the Saint Martin’s game went and just come out as a pitcher with a different mentality.”
The Wildcats had seven hits in the game, four of which were hit by freshman Alexa Olague. Central was 2-2 against the Wolves entering the game.
“I mean, we just never gave up, which is our team motto,” Ellis said. “We just knew we were going to win.”
The win against WOU set-up their matchup with Simon Fraser. It was scoreless game until the sixth inning, when Simon Fraser’s Kaitlyn Cameron hit a two-run home run.
Hamada was the only Wildcat to make contact off the Clan pitchers. Walks allowed by them gave the Wildcats opportunities to score runs, but they were unable to capitalize.
“I think we played just as aggressive against Simon Fraser as Western Oregon,” Gau said. “We were still loud and aggressive, it just didn’t go our way. Balls weren’t landing for us.”
Seniors Ellis, Elena Carter and Kimberly Kocik ended their careers on Friday. Despite the loss, Ellis was confident with the way Central has improved from a year ago, and is hopeful for the future of the program.
“We improved a lot from last year,” Ellis said, “which is something they can keep building off.”
