By Jacob Mitchell Staff Writer
Western’s softball team celebrated Senior Day this past Sunday by sweeping conference competitor Central Washington University in a close two-game series.
With two wins, the Wolves hope for a playoff berth remains alive, and the Wolves go up three games on the Wildcats of Central Washington, with both teams scheduled for four more regular season games.
The Wolves offense was spearheaded by the bat of Amanda Evola, with five hits in eight at-bats, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Evola’s efforts earned her GNAC player of the week honors.
Zoe Clark and Kelsie Gardner added to the Wolves’ offense with four and three hits, respectively, while Clark equaled Evola with two RBIs.
Jourden Williams picked up her seventh win of the season on the mound in game one, pitching a complete game and giving up only a solitary run.
In game two, the Wolves were led by the arm of Alyson Boytz, finishing the weekend with two, one-run victories.
This coming week, the Wolves will be traveling to Montana for a four-game series to take on fellow GNAC competition Montana State University Billings for the first time this season.
“This past week our focus has really been mainly on our hitting, defensively we have been strong both pitching wise and fielding,” Evola said. “These past few weeks our girls have really come together with the bats and have been producing offensively as a unit much better, but we place the focus there because it is such a critical part of the game, and we want all the insurance runs we can get.”
The Wolves are 20-25 in regular season play, and 12-8 in GNAC contests. The Wolves need to win at least one game against the Yellowjackets in order to clinch the fourth and final spot in next month’s GNAC Tournament.
In the event of a three-way tie for the final playoff spot between Western Washington, Western, and Central Washington, the Wolves would still advance to the postseason, thanks to its single win against Saint Martin’s earlier this season.
The Wolves are slated to start the series off Friday, April 24 at 1 p.m. in Billings, Montana.
