BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team was swept in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday at Viking Field, dropping games to Central Washington 8-6 in 10 innings and 9-5.

 

The Vikings entered the day having won eight of their last nine games, but for the first time this season have lost back-to-back conference games to fall to 13-8 overall and 7-3 in GNAC play. CWU improved to 13-4 overall and remained undefeated in league play at 6-0.

 

After making only three errors in the previous nine games, WWU made seven errors in the two games Saturday leading to eight unearned runs.

 

Senior Shearyna Labasan was saddled with the loss in both games of the doubleheader after going 3-0 last weekend, allowing 17 hits and 12 runs (6 ER) in 9.1 innings. Labasan led the Vikings offensive attack that netted 26 hits in the two games, going 5-for-8 with 2 runs scored, a double and one RBI. 

 

Senior first baseman Emily Benson was 3-for-8 and hit her team-leading 6^th home run of the season. Senior shortstop Cylie Richards was 4-for-8 with a pair of RBI. Senior pitcher/third basemanMakinlee Sellevold went 3-for-10 with a hit in each game to extend her hitting streak to 10 consecutive games.

 

The Vikings return to GNAC play tomorrow hosting Saint Martin's in a doubleheader starting at noon at Viking Field.

 

GAME NOTES…Emily Benson hit her sixth home run of the season, the 37^th of her career to tie for 4^th-most in GNAC history…Makinlee Sellevold made her 97^th pitching appearance to move into a tie for 2^nd place in program history with Jenna DeRosier (2011-14)…Shearyna Labasan recorded her 24^th career double, tied for 11^th-most in WWU program history.

 

 

The Vikings dropped a tough 8-6 decision in 10 innings to the Wildcats in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.

 

WWU led 4-1 through five innings and carried a 5-3 lead into the 7^th inning before the Wildcats pushed across the tying run when the Vikings committed a pair of errors on the same play. 

 

The Wildcat struck first in the top of the 1^st inning when catcher Theresa Moyle scored on a wild pitch. Moyle doubled with one out and moved to third base on a single to right field by designated player Maddy Zerr before scoring on the Sellevold wild pitch.

 

After starting pitcher Makinlee Sellevold got out of a no-out, bases loaded jam in the top of the 4^thinning, the Vikings responded in a big way pushing across four runs in the bottom of the 4^th inning. Sophomore second baseman Kira Doan plated a pair of runs with a single to center field and senior shortstop Cylie Richards also drove home a run with a single. 

 

CWU cut the deficit to one run with a two-out, two-run pinch-hit double off the left field fence by Alycia Bannan. WWU added what at the time was an important insurance run on a RBI triple by Sellevold in the bottom of the 6^th inning extending the lead to 5-3.

 

The Vikings looked to seal the game in the top of the 7^th inning when Katie Kastning lined out to shortstop for the second out of the inning. But when Richards tried to double off the runner at second base to end the game, her throw sailed into right field to move the runners up. Backing up the play, right fielder Mackenzie Palmer's throw back into the infield caught part of a fence down the right field line allowing both runners to score to tie the game.

 

Both teams were held scoreless in the 8^th and 9^th innings, and the Wildcats pushed three runs across in the top of the 10^th inning with the international tiebreaker rule in effect placing a runner in scoring position to begin the inning. WWU got a run back in the bottom of the 10^th on a sacrifice fly byShearyna Labasan, but couldn't get any closer for the 8-6 final.

 

Labasan went 3-for-4 with a double, while Sellevold (2-for-6, 3B, RBI), Doan (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Seli Aholelei (2-for-5) also tabbed multi-hit games. WWU left a season-high 13 runners on base and were 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

 

Starting pitcher Makinlee Sellevold recorded a no-decision allowing 11 hits and 5 runs (3 ER) in 7.2 innings. She struck out 5 and walked 3 batters. Labasan suffered the loss to fall to 3-1 on the season, allowing 3 unearned runs in 2.1 innings of relief work.

 

CWU designated player Maddy Zerr was 3-for-4 to lead the Wildcats at the plate. Starting pitcher Lexie Strasser recorded the complete-game victory on 176 pitches, allowing 13 hits and 6 runs (5 ER).

 

 

 

The Vikings and Wildcats were tied 3-3 through the first four innings, but Central Washington closed the game scoring six runs over the final three innings to win the second game of the doubleheader 9-5.

 

Senior first baseman Emily Benson hit her team-leading sixth home run of the season in the 3^rdinning to tie the game 3-3. After a scoreless 4^th inning, CWU scored a pair of runs in the 5^th inning, with junior first baseman Julia Reuble providing a go-ahead solo home run to left field. 

 

After the Wildcats added a single tally in the 6^th and three more runs in the 7^th, WWU rallied in the bottom of the 7^th inning. The Vikings scored a pair of runs and brought the tying run to the plate, but freshman Isabel Womack got the final two outs to seal the win and record her first save of the season.

 

WWU starting pitcher Shearyna Labasan recorded the loss to fall to 3-2 on the season, allowing 15 hits and 9 runs (6 ER) in the complete-game effort.

 

Senior shortstop Cylie Richards went 3-for-4 to lead the Vikings 13-hit attack, while Benson (2-for-3, R, HR, 3 RB) and Labasan (2-for-4, R) also recorded multi-hit games. All nine WWU starters recorded at least one hit in the game.

 

CWU leadoff hitter Savannah Egbert went 3-for-5 with a run scored and right fielder Katie Kastning was 2-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. Second baseman Bethany Balucan went 3-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. 

 

Wildcat starting pitcher Samantha Stanfield did not factor in the decision allowing 6 hits ane 3 runs in 2.0 innings. Relief pitcher Taylor Williams (2-0) recorded the win allowing 6 hits and 2 runs in 3.1 innings.

 

 

WWU (13-8, 7-3 GNAC) continues its weekend of home GNAC games hosting Saint Martin's on Sunday with the doubleheader featuring a noon first pitch at Viking Field. All WWU home games offer free admission and parking and stream live with links at WWUVikings.com/Live.

 

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!

 

If you can't make it to Viking Field to watch the home games in person, you can tune in to VikingsTV to catch all the action…all GNAC games, home and road, will stream live and feature live stats at GNAC.tv, with home games also streamed live on YouTube…in addition to being available online, all conference matches are available via the GNAC channel on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV…live links can be accessed through WWUVikings.com/Live.

 

The WWU softball program is in its 27^th 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.