CORVALLIS, Ore. – Nearly 15,000 miles traveled and zero true home games are two factors that could stymie a team from excelling on the field. The Western Oregon softball team rose above adversity for an important cause Sunday.
 
Needing one win to qualify for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, the Wolves swept their final doubleheader of the regular season against league champion and upcoming tournament top seed Central Washington (5-1, 4-0) with eight seniors playing key roles in the victories.
 
WOU improves to 27-22 overall, 14-14 in conference. The Wildcats drop to 33-13, 20-8 in the GNAC suffering just their second DH sweep in league play.
 
The Wolves finished with 17 hit between the two games, including 10 in the first game.
 
GAME ONE: Western Oregon 5, Central Washington 1
 
Chandler Bishop worked around bases-loaded jams in the first and third innings, allowing just one run in the top of the first inning on a RBI single by Julia Reuble.
 
The Wolves sparked their offense in the bottom of the first, getting a leadoff bunt single from Kelsie Gardner and a two-out RBI double from Mercedes Green scored Gardner from first base.
 
Haley Fabian entered the circle to pitch for Western Oregon in the top of the fourth inning and kept the Wildcats off the board despite a pair of one-out singles.
 
WOU scored single tallies in the bottom of the fourth and fifth while adding insurance with two more runs in the sixth inning against CWU's southpaw ace Kiana Wood. Zoe Clark walked and Jenna Kelly singled to put two runners on base. Cheyanne Rimer laid down a bunt to the left side that was handled by the Wildcats' Savannah Egbert. Her attempt to get Clark at third sailed away, allowing Clark to score for a 2-1 lead.
 
Clark tacked some insurance in the fourth, lining a RBI single to left field to extend WOU's lead to 3-1.
 
In the fifth, Emma Alfonso scored after an errant throw on Gardner's bunt single went into foul territory in right field. Green knocked in Gardner with the final run finding grass in right-center field for a hit.
 
Fabian earned her 12^th win of the season tossing four shutout innings with three strikeouts. Wood allowed 10 hits and walked two while fanning three in her first losing decision since March 10.
 
Gardner and Green each had three hits while Kelly had two pacing the Wolves' offense.
 
GAME TWO – Western Oregon 4, Central Washington 0
 
The second game was a pitcher's duel between Western Oregon's Sammi Cadwallader and CWU's Kayla Smith over the first three innings as the Wildcats had only two hits while the Wolves could only post a second-inning single from Destiny Kuehl.
 
WOU used a pair of extra-base hits to grab the lead in the fourth. With one out, Ashlee Lynch sent a screamer past shortstop and into left-center for a double. Three pitches later, Clark's sinking liner got past center fielder Celine Fowler for a RBI triple to put the Wolves up 1-0.
 
Momentum continued to build in the bottom fifth as Hailee Watilo led off the frame with a towering home run to left field to double the lead to 2-0. The bases loaded with a Gardner single, Kuehl's intentional walk and Lynch reaching on a fielding error at shortstop. Clark singled to left, driving in two more runs for the Wolves, 4-0.
 
Cadwallader allowed one hit from the third inning on and retired the final seven batters she faced for her third solo shutout of the season. She improved to 9-3 with five strikeouts and two walks. Smith walked five and gave up seven hits in the loss, evening her record at 9-9.
 
Clark paced the offense in game two going 2 for 3 with three knocked in.
 
UP NEXT
 
Western Oregon will get another look at the Wildcats as the teams will tangle on day one of the GNAC Championships on Thursday, May 4 at 2:30 p.m. The tournament will be hosted by Saint Martin's in Lacey, Wash. The Saints will open play at 12 p.m. Thursday as the No. 3 seed against Western Washington.