MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon softball team closed the regular season by pushing their winning streak to six games, earning a doubleheader sweep of Central Washington 4-3, 8-4 on Sunday at WOU Softball Field.

The regular season finale also represented Senior Day and the final home games for Haley Fabian, Jenna Kelly, Cheyanne Rimer and Ryanne Whitaker. All four would be in the starting lineup for game one.

Central Washington (30-16, 21-7 GNAC) began both games with a run in the first, but were unable to hold onto their 1-0 leads for long.

Katie Kastning reached on a fielding error in the first inning of game one, scoring later on a single to right field to give the Wildcats a brief advantage.

Western Oregon (31-14, 20-8 GNAC) pounced for three runs in the second inning to erase the deficit and take their first lead of the game. Bailey Kahele singled to right to score Jenna Kelly who had reached on a fielding error earlier in the inning to open the scoring. Kennedy Coy singled in a run right behind her and Ryanne Whitaker's fielder's choice allowed Kahele to score two batters later.

The Wolves would not trail again in the game, backed by the complete game from Haley Fabian. It was the third straight complete game for Fabian (13-3), who tossed seven innings, allowing three runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out two in her final start in Monmouth.

Whitaker lined her first home run of the season to center in the fifth to extend the lead to 4-2 for WOU, a run that proved invaluable down the stretch.

Leading by a pair of runs going to the top of the seventh, the Wolves' defense would be tested by the Wildcats. Keegan Wise led off the inning with an infield single, bringing the tying run to the plate. Rachael Johnson singled right behind her, pushing runners to the corners with nobody out and the go-ahead run stepping to the dish.

Johnson was caught trying to steal second, and in the same sequence, Wise got caught in a rundown between third and home, providing a crucial double play for WOU. Both runners were tagged out to quickly turn the tides of the inning, going from two on and nobody out to the bases empty and two away.

CWU, however, was not done yet. Kastning tripled to score Savannah Egbert, putting the tying run at third, but it would be left aboard. Fabian drew a fly ball to center in the next at-bat to end the game and preserve the win.

Sydney Bowers went 2-for-2 in game one, lining a double to boost her line.

Kahele finished 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

Game one's win was the 200th for head coach Lonny Sargent at Western Oregon. Earlier this season, Sargent achieved his 400th overall win in collegiate coaching.

The Wolves did not allow game two to play so close, busting out seven runs inside the first three innings and putting a mercy rule run in scoring position twice.

Central again capitalized for a run in the first, getting a double from Julia Reuble to plate one.

WOU wasted no time jumping on the Wildcat pitching, knocking two pitchers out of the game inside the first three innings.

Jenna Kelly doubled in Cheyanne Rimer in the first to get the game back to tied.

An inning later, Kahele led off with a triple to begin a string of four consecutive hits for the Wolves, capped by the two-RBI single of Whitaker. Whitaker contributed an RBI double the very next inning to help take advantage of multiple two-out errors from the Wildcats' infield as the Wolves scored another three.

Freshman Reilly Tidwell (3-2) tossed four innings in the start, allowing two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out three to earn the win. She was backed up by three solid innings of relief from fellow freshman Maddie Mayer who nabbed her second save of the year.

Four Western batters provided multi-hit games to help complete the doubleheader sweep. Whitaker went 2-for-3 with a run scored, three RBI, double and two walks.
Outfielder Tyler Creach backed her up with a 2-for-4 line with two RBI hitting in the second slot.

Over the two games, the three seniors at the plate combined to go 8-for-18 with two doubles, a home run, four runs scored, six RBI and four walks, reaching in 13 of 22 plate appearances.

Western Oregon has earned the No. 2 seed in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament. They will play No. 3 Concordia in the opening round Thursday, May 2 at Porter Park on the campus of Concordia University in Portland. Central Washington holds the No. 1 seed and will play No. 4 Northwest Nazarene. The Wolves remain the only program to qualify for every GNAC Tournament, making their seventh consecutive appearance since the tourney's inception in 2013.