PORTLAND, Ore. – Sophomore Rylie Wales delivered a two-out, walk-off single in the bottom of the 9thinning to send the Western Washington University softball team to a 4-3 extra-inning victory over Eastern Oregon to open play in the Cavalier Classic on Friday at Porter Park.
With the International Tiebreaker in effect placing a runner on second base to start the inning, EOU put the go-ahead run on the scoreboard in the top of the 9th inning. WWU tied the game on a groundout by senior first baseman Emily Benson, and after a double by junior designated player Paityn Cyr, Wales punched a two-out single up the middle for the game-winner.
With nearly the entire team battling sickness, the Vikings persevered despite being out-hit by the Mountaineers 9-5. EOU took the early lead with a run in the top of the 3rd inning, and held Western hitless until Benson hit a towering 2-run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning. The homer was Benson's third of the season and 34th of her career to extend her own school record and move her into 8th place in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history.
The Mountaineers tied the game in the top of the 6th inning on a home run by Haley Ebner.
Relief pitcher Kira Doan (1-0) recorded the win for the Vikings allowing one unearned run in 1.2 innings. Junior starter Seli Aholelei recorded a no-decision, scattering 8 hits and 2 runs in a career-high 7.1 innings.
Benson finished 1-for-4 with 3 RBI and junior center fielder Jackie Lucido scored a pair of runs for the Vikings.
EOU lefty Amanda Smith logged the complete-game allowing 5 hits and 4 runs (2 ER) in 8.2 innings.
WWU takes on Simpson University (Calif.) this afternoon to complete the first day of play in the Cavalier Classic, and then returns tomorrow with games against Eastern Oregon (2 pm) and Northwest University (8:30 pm). Both games tomorrow will feature live statistical updates with links at GNAC.tv.
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Western Washington 4, Eastern Oregon 3 (Feb. 22, 2019 at Portland, OR)
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Score by Innings
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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R
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H
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E
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Record
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Eastern Oregon
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0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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1
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3
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9
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1
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(1-6)
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Western Washington
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0
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0
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0
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2
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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4
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5
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0
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(5-4)
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EOU – Smith and Henley
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WWU – Aholelei, Doan (8) and Hardy
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Win: Doan (1-0) Save: None Loss: Smith (1-1)
Home Runs: Benson (3), Ebner (2)
Time of Game: 2:29 Attendance: 111
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Notes: International tiebreaker was put into place in the top of the 8th inning
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Up-to-date season information, including season statistics, bios, roster, schedule and historical information can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/Softball. WWU Softball also has a strong social media presence on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, so give them a follow!
The WWU softball program is in its 27th season, with the Vikings posting a winning record in 16 seasons and made four trips to the NCAA Division II Championships. WWU won the 1998 NAIA National Championship to record the school's first ever team national title. Over the last five seasons leading up to the 2019 season, the Vikings recorded a 135-104 (.565) record and won the 2017 GNAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA II West Regional in Monterey, California. In the first game of the regional, the No. 8-seed Vikings beat top-seed and regional host Cal State Monterey Bay for the program's first NCAA Championships victory. Head coach Sheryl Gilmore is in her first season at the helm of the program.
-- WWU Softball --
