Softball | 3/8/2019 6:38:00 PM

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team looks to carry their momentum from a 4-0 start in conference play into a pair of road Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheaders this weekend at Concordia and Western Oregon. 

 

The Vikings carry a five-game winning streak into the four GNAC games this week and are 10-5 overall and off to a perfect 4-0 start in league play after sweeping Montana State Billings last weekend at Viking Field. 

 

WWU begins its Oregon road trip on Saturday facing Concordia (7-8, 0-0 GNAC) with games at noon and 2 pm at Porter Park. The Vikings continue South on I-5 facing Western Oregon in Monmouth at WOU Softball Field with a noon start to the doubleheader. All four games in Oregon will stream live online and feature live statistical updates at GNAC.tv.

 

"We're looking forward to getting back out on the road. Those were huge (and fun) wins last weekend at home and it's always great to go into the next weekend with some momentum, but in this league, you can't take any game granted. Concordia and WOU are both great teams, who are also coming into the weekend with a lot of success under their belts and we have a lot of respect for both programs. We have a team full of players who love to compete and are up for the challenge. We can't wait to get out there tomorrow and learn more about ourselves"   - WWU head coach Sheryl Gilmore

 

The Vikings swept Montana State Billings in a pair of GNAC doubleheaders at Viking Field, combining to out-score the Yellowjackets 39-10. WWU combined to bat .394 (41-for-104) in the series with 17 extra-base hits (12 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs) and hit .463 (19-for-41) with runners in scoring position. In the circle, Makinlee Sellevold helped lead the Vikings to a 2.62 team ERA and a .157 opponent batting average. Sellevold was 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA (1 ER, 18.0 IP) with 28 strikeouts and only 6 hits allowed.

 

At the plate, WWU was led by GNAC Player of the Week Emily Benson, who hit .500 (6-for-12) with 4 runs scored, 6 RBI and 4 extra-base hits (2 doubles, triple, home run). The senior first baseman hit for the cycle in the series finale going 4-for-4, capped by a walk-off home run in the 18-9 victory.

 

Sophomore right fielder Mackenzie Palmer hit .643 (9-for-14) with 6 runs scored and 5 RBI. Junior designated player Paityn Cyr recorded a hit in each game to extend her hitting streak to 14 consecutive games.

 

Seniors Emily Benson and Makinlee Sellevold swept the GNAC Softball Player of the Week awards for Feb. 25-March 2. Benson was named the Player of the Week for the third time in her career, going 6-for-12 (.500) with 4 runs, 2 doubles, one triple, one home run and 6 RBI in the series vs. MSUB. Sellevold earned her sixth GNAC weekly award going 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA, allowing only one run in 18.0 innings, and struck out 28 batters. She set the tone early in the series, recording a pair of complete-game shutouts in Saturday's doubleheader. In the first game she fired a 1-hitter over 5.0 innings and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts. In the nightcap Sellevold recorded the 25th no-hitter in GNAC history, striking out 9 in a run-rule-shortened 6.0-inning game.

 

WWU is 10-5 overall and 4-0 in GNAC play, with a current five Four of the five losses have come against teams that were nationally ranked, including No. 7 Chico State, No. 10 Concordia Irvine, No. 21 Colorado Mesa and No. 17 Dixie State. 

 

The Vikings lead the all-time series vs. the Cavaliers 19-5, with a 7-5 mark since CU joined the GNAC in 2016. WWU was 3-1 vs. the Cavaliers last season. Western is 8-2 all-time vs. the Cavaliers in games played in Portland, and were 2-1 at Porter Park earlier this season vs. Eastern Oregon (2-0) and Simpson (0-1) at the Cavalier Classic.

 

The series history between the Vikings and Wolves goes back to 1995, with WWU leading 66-42. Western Oregon swept the season series last year winning all four games, including the final two games of the regular season. The Vikings went 4-2 vs. the Wolves during the 2017 GNAC Championships season, beating the Wolves in the title game to advance to the NCAA II Tournament. Over the last four seasons (since 2015), WWU is 9-10 vs. WOU.

 

The Vikings return home next weekend with a pair of GNAC doubleheaders at Viking Field, hosting Central Washington on Saturday (March 16) and Saint Martin's on Sunday (March 17). Both doubleheaders begin at noon. WWU will also play at Simon Fraser on Monday (March 25) for a full weekend of six games in three days.

 

Makinlee Sellevold threw the 25th no-hitter in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history and the fifth by the Vikings during the GNAC era to lead the Vikings to an 8-0 victory to in the second game of the March 2 doubleheader vs. Montana State Billings. Sellevold allowed only three baserunners while striking out 9 batters, with MSUB reaching base only by a walk, hit-by-pitch and error. It was the first no-no by a Viking since Sarah McEnroe threw a 5-inning perfect game on April 10, 2009 vs. Northwest Nazarene. For the season, Sellevold is 8-5 with a 2.37 ERA (24 ER, 71.0 IP) and leads the GNAC in strikeouts (71), innings pitched (71.0), wins (8), appearances (13) and games started (12).

 

Senior first baseman Emily Benson hit for the cycle in WWU's final game vs. Montana State Billings, going 4-for-4 and reached base in all five of her plate appearances in the 18-9 victory. Benson doubled in the 1^st inning, singled and tripled in the 3^rd inning and hit a 2-run home run in the 6^th inning for the second GNAC cycle over the last six seasons. For the season, Benson is batting .442 (19-for-43) with 13 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 18 RBI. She leads all GNAC players in RBI, tied for 2^ndin home runs and 4^th in batting average.

 

Junior designated player Paityn Cyr has a current 14-game hitting streak, tied for the 4^th-longest in program history. Cyr is batting .378 (17-for-45) with 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 3 home runs during the streak. She has also reached base safely in all 15 games this season. The 14-game streak trails only 18-game hitting streaks by Jen Brandolini (1998) and Michelle Wrigley (2010-11), a 16-game streak by Emily Benson in 2016 and is tied with a 14-game streak by Benson in 2017. Cyr is batting .362 (17-for-47) overall in 15 games with 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 12 RBI.

 

Through the first 15 games of the season the Vikings are batting .305 (125-for-410) with 96 runs scored and 39 extra-base hits (2B-27, 3B-3, HR-10). Rank 2^nd in the GNAC with 27 doubles and 6.40 runs scored per game. The team is batting .367 with runners in scoring position (51-for-139) to rank 2^nd in the conference behind Simon Fraser (.368). Also batting .308 (41-for-133) with two outs, including a 16-for-36 (.444) performance last weekend vs. MSUB. WWU was last in the GNAC last season batting .234 (86-for-368) with runners in scoring position. Emily Benson leads the team with 7 multi-hit games and 5 multi-RBI contests. Jackie Lucido has recorded a hit in 12 of 14 games and is batting .340 (16-for-47) for the season.

 

The Vikings are 3^rd in the GNAC with a .951 fielding percentage, making 21 errors in 426 total chances. WWU has made only 4 errors over its last 7 games since the start of the Cavalier Classic. 

 

WWU senior two-way player Shearyna Labasan has yet to appear for the Vikings this season, missing the first 11 games due to a knee injury. WWU's all-time leading hitter and frontline pitcher had successful knee surgery and is expected back in the lineup and in the circle in the coming weeks.

 

Senior Makinlee Sellevold is 8-5 with a 2.37 ERA (24 ER, 71.0 IP) in 13 games/12 starts this season. The right-hander went 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA (1 ER, 18.0 IP) in three starts last weekend vs. MSUB, including a scoreless innings streak of 22.0. With her first win in the MSUB series, Sellevold set the all-time WWU wins record with No. 49 in her career, and continued to become the sixth pitcher in GNAC history to reach 50 career wins (currently 51-28). She passed Jackie Quint (2004-07) and Amanda Grant (2000-03) on the WWU all-time wins list, with each having 48 in their career.

 

 

Senior first baseman Emily Benson is quickly rising in both the WWU and GNAC all-time record book in several offensive categories. Benson is already WWU's all-time home run leader with 35 homers, which is tied for 5^th-most in GNAC history (4^th is 37 and the all-time record is 45). She is also 2^nd in program history with 130 RBI (record is 145), 16^th-most in GNAC history.

 

 

 

The home-and-home series between WWU and Simon Fraser was slated to take place on March 23 and 24. SFU had to shuffle their games vs. Northwest Nazarene, causing the home-and-home series vs. WWU to be split up. The Vikings will now travel to Burnaby for a doubleheader on March 25 (2 & 4 pm) and then host the Clan April 9 in Bellingham (2 & 4 pm). All scheduled updates and the most up-to-date information on  WWU Softball can be found online at WWUVikings.com/SB.

 

The Vikings were voted to finish 4^th in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in the annual preseason coaches poll. WWU received 32 points, with Northwest Nazarene picked first (61) narrowly edging Central Washington (59) for the top spot in the preseason poll. Western Oregon is listed No. 3 with 41 points ahead of the Vikings and Simon Fraser is No. 5 with 29 points. The top four teams in the conference standings following the 28-game GNAC schedule will advance to the GNAC Championships May 2-4 in Billings, Montana.

 

The 2019 roster features four seniors, five juniors, eight sophomores and four freshman. WWU returns 12 starters (min. 20 games), including four players from 2017 that did not play last season, and 15 total letterwinners. WWU went 15-32 overall (9-19 GNAC) in 2018, but is just one season removed from winning the 2017 GNAC Championships and earning the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.

 

Sheryl Gilmore was hired as the fifth head coach during the 26-year history of the WWU Softball program, beginning her new position on Sept. 1, 2018. Gilmore returns to her alma mater after a successful four-year tenure as the head softball coach at Edmonds Community College, leading the Tritons to a 106-60 (.639) record, including a 66-42 (.611) mark against Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) North Division opponents. She guided Edmonds to the NWAC playoffs in three of her four seasons at the helm of the program (2016-18), including the North Region title in 2018 and a 3rd-place finish at the NWAC Tournament. Gilmore is a graduate of WWU, holding an bachelor of science degree in kinesiology and master of science in human movement and performance.

 

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.