April 22, 2011

Box Score - Game 1

Box Score - Game 2

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Central Washington University took over first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, extending its winning streak to a school-record 15 games as it swept a softball doubleheader with arch-rival and nationally ranked Western Washington University, 6-0 and 9-4, Friday at Viking Field on the WWU campus.

The Vikings, tied for No.21 in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll and No.1 in the West Region, fell to 30-11 overall and dropped to second in the conference standings at 18-8.

Central, the defending league champion, hit five home runs in the two games, improving to 25-11 overall and taking over the GNAC lead at 19-5. During the victory string, the Wildcats have hit 31 home runs.

Kelsey Haupert and Samantha Petrich each hit two homers for Central, upping their season totals to 13 and 10, respectively.

Central's Lauren Hadenfeld was credited with both wins, pitching a two-hit shutout in the opener and 3-2/3 innings of no-hit relief in the nightcap as she improved to 18-6 and ran her winning streak to 11.

In the first game, Hadenfeld retired the first the first 11 batters she faced before the Vikings' Meghan Carrillo (Fr., Prunedale, CA/North Monterey County) blooped a single into left field. Western's other hit came in the sixth, Rachelle Berry (So., Alger/Burlington-Edison) leading off with a single.

Hadenfeld, the 2010 GNAC Pitcher of the Year, struck out seven and walked two.

Central scored one run in the first and put five more on the board in the fifth, the big blow a three-run homer by Haupert.

Western pitcher Erika Quint (Sr., Silverdale/Central Kitsap) lost both games, just her third and fourth setbacks of the year against 23 victories. The losses are her first this season that have not gone into extra innings.

In the first game, Quint struck out 10 in six innings of work, tying a GNAC season record with 10 or more strikeouts in a game 10 times.

In the nightcap, Quint gave up a two-run homer to Petrich in the first and back-to-back home runs to Petrich and Haupert in the third in 2-1/3 innings as Central took a 4-3 lead.

The Vikings scored three runs in the second on a two-run homer by Krista Bickar Krista Bickar (Jr., Hoquiam), her first of the season, and Michelle Wrigley (Sr., Bothell/Inglemoor) drove in a run with an infield single.

Central scored twice more in the fourth, one on a solo home run by Elena Carter, her second of the year, and three in the fifth, two on a two-out double by Molly Coppinger, her second of the game.

The Wildcats had 13 hits in the contest, three by Petrich, who had six in the two contests.

Western entertains Simon Fraser in a GNAC doubleheader Saturday (12 noon).

Central sweeps WWU

MICHELLE NOLAN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Amy Suiter didn't hesitate for a single second when asked if Western Washington University's doubleheader loss to rival Central Washington in a matchup for the GNAC softball lead would hurt her team's confidence.

"Absolutely not!" the first-year coach replied, indicating the Vikings (30-11 overall, 18-8 GNAC) "definitely would learn from this" - 6-0 and 9-4 losses to the Wildcats - with 10 games remaining, including a doubleheader at Central (25-11, 19-5) May 7 to end the regular season.

In fact, Suiter said she fully expects the Vikings "to keep getting better" and take a strong shot at a 40-win season, which may include one of the eight berths in the NCAA Division II Western Regional May 14-16. Western, which hosts Simon Fraser Saturday, April 23, at noon, has 30 victories for only the second time in a nine-season span and came in ranked 21st nationally in Division II and first in the West. 23 WWU softball

One vital thing the Vikings were reminded of in their lopsided losses to the defending champion Wildcats on Friday, April 22 was "to keep the ball off the plate with 0-2 and 1-2 counts," as Suiter put it.

"We didn't execute. They jumped on every mistake we made," the coach said of the Wildcats, who came in batting a league-leading .316 with 45 home runs. The Wildcats left with 21 more hits and five more homers while extending their school-record winning streak to 15 games.

Central seniors Samantha Petrich and Kelsey Haupert - who came in as the GNAC's leading hitters at .476 and .402, respectively - improved those numbers while combining to go 10 for 15 with six extra-base hits, including two homers, one double and four runs batted in apiece.

"They've been hitting like that all through our 15-game winning streak," said first-year head coach Mallory Holtman of the two sluggers, who have combined for 23 of Central's 50 home runs. "Sam is hitting over .560 during our streak and Kelsey is way over .400 at the same time."

Former Central standout Holtman and a teammate became national sensations three years ago when they helped an opponent circle the bases with a game-winning home run after she tripped and sustained a serious leg injury.

On Friday, Petrich and Haupert needed no help - except perhaps tempting pitches they could wallop - when they launched two homers each off record-setting Western senior Erika Quint (23-4), whose only two losses coming in were in extra-inning games.

Meanwhile, sturdy Central senior Lauren Hadenfeld - a power pitcher who came in 16-6 and was the GNAC Pitcher of the Year with 24 victories last season - thoroughly shut down the Vikings, who had been batting .300 yet were held to six hits in the doubleheader.

In the opener, Western managed only singles by Meghan Carillo and Rachelle Berry as Hadenfeld struck out seven and walked two. In the second game, Western's Krista Bickar hit her first homer and Western's 13th of the season, a two-run shot, and Michelle Wrigley had two hits and two RBIs after hits by Samantha Rutherford. Hadenfeld, however, threw hitless relief over the final 3 2/3 innings to cap the Vikings' frustrations on one of the few sunny days all spring.

Quint struck out 10 in the opener, tying the GNAC record with her 10th double-figure strikeout game of the season, but suffered miserable luck in the Wildcats' five-run fifth inning.

With two outs and two runs in thanks to a walk, an error and two hits, Petrich got her only cheap hit of the day, an infield single. Haupert followed with a two-out, three-run homer and Hadenfeld responded to the support by earning five of her seven strikeouts in the final three innings.

In the second game, Petrich lined a two-run homer off Quint in the first inning. Petrich, a second-team All-American last season, and Haupert chased her with consecutive homers in the third inning, giving Petrich 10 homers for the season and Haupert 13. Central's Elena Carter also homered before Western freshman Devyn Baker pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts.

Quint struck out two before leaving, extending her school season record to 231 strikeouts in 178 2/3 innings. The fact that Petrich and Haupert handled Quint as well as they did showed just how powerful their coach feels they are.

"It's nice to see them doing so well this season, especially when you knew they could," said Holtman of Petrich, who was recruited from Lower Columbia College, and Haupert, an Olympia native who formerly played at Purdue after a stellar high school career at Black Hills.

Holtman said the Wildcats felt a sense of urgency, especially since they lost 3-0 and 5-4 to Western on March 27.

"You have to win the GNAC title to be assured of a Western Regional spot," Holtman said. "We've learned how to play with a lot of heart (since those losses to Western)."

Four-year starter Wrigley's two hits improved her career total to 188, leaving her six shy of tying Western's record. Saturday against Simon Fraser, she comes in having tied the career marks for doubles (38) and runs scored (125).