Central Washington scored five runs in the third inning and held on to defeat Northwest Nazarene 8-5 in the first game of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball doubleheader Saturday at Frederick Field

The Wildcats (21-11, 15-5) also won the second 18-6 to extend their win streak to 11 games and pull to within one game of first-place Western Washington.

Catcher Elena Carter and second baseman Molly Coppinger each drove in two runs in Central's big third inning; Carter with a double and Coppinger with a home run.

The Wildcats outhit the Crusaders 10-5 as Keilani Cruz, Liz Jusko and Coppinger had two base hits each.

All five of NNU's runs off of Lauren Hadenfeld in the first game were unearned. Hadenfeld gave up five hits and five walks and Central had five errors. The CWU hurler fanned 10.

NNU's RBI came in the sixth when Arielle Chao singled to plate the Crusaders' final run of the contest.

Hadenfeld (15-6) won her fourth game of the weekend in the nightcap, pitching the final three innings and allowing five hits and one run.

She entered the game in the third with two runners on and no one out and CWU ahead 6-5. After giving up a single to load the bases. Hadenfeld got the next three hitters out without surrendering a run.

The Wildcats then broke the contest open with four runs in their half of the third and eight more in the fourth. CWU's third inning featured a two-run home run by Carrina Wagner and a two-run single by Samantha Petrich.

Petrich, who had six RBI, Carter and Bre Thomas all then had two-run home runs in the fourth. Thomas' was an inside-the-park variety.

Kelsey Haupert led CWU's 19-hit attack with four safeties, while Petrich, Thomas and Coppinger each had three. Chao and Elizabeth Beaty had three hits each for NNU.