BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior first baseman Emily Benson hit a walk-off home run to give the Vikings a 1-0 victory over Western Oregon in the second game of Friday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader at Viking Field, earning a split of the games between two of the top teams in the conference.

 

Benson (West Richland, WA/Kamiakin) lined a 3-1 pitch over the fence in right-center field for the game-winner, the 45^th home run in her illustrious career to tie the all-time GNAC record she now shares with Jessica Hallmark of Western Oregon (2008-11). 

 

Western Oregon used a big 9-run 5^th inning in the first game of the doubleheader to defeat the Vikings 10-1 in 5 innings.

 

WWU is now 25-14 overall and is now tied for second place in the conference with a 14-8 record. The Vikings will host Concordia, who swept its doubleheader at Simon Fraser on Friday, in a battle of the two teams that are tied for second place in the standings.

 

The doubleheader on Saturday is scheduled to start at noon at Viking Field, with the Senior Day ceremony scheduled to start at 11:50 am. WWU seniors Emily Benson, Makinlee Sellevold, Shearyna Labasan and Cylie Richards will be playing their final home games at Viking Field. Both games will stream online and feature live statistical updates at GNAC.tv.

 

 

First baseman Emily Benson blasted a walk-off home run on a 3-1 pitch over the fence in right-center field to give the Vikings a 1-0 victory and a split in Friday's doubleheader.

 

WWU and WOU were locked in a scoreless tie before Benson came to the plate to lead off the bottom of the 7^th inning, where she delivered her 45^th career home run to tie the all-time GNAC record. The home run provided the only score of the game in a pitcher's duel between WWU's Shearyna Labasan and WOU's Maddie Mayer. 

 

Labasan wiggled out of a few jams, stranding the bases loaded in the 6^th and 7^th innings, to record the complete-game victory. The senior right-hander allowed only four hits, while also walking four batters, to improve to 7-4 on the season while recording her sixth career shutout.

 

Benson was 3-for-3 in the game, adding her 10^th double to her 14^th home run of the season. The walk-off home run was her second of the season, also ending a game vs. MSU Denver with a pinch-hit homer Feb. 7 in St. George, Utah. 

 

Mayer, the defending GNAC Pitcher of the Week, tallied seven strikeouts without allowing a walk, but was saddled with the loss to fall to 7-4 on the season. The four hits were tied for second-fewest by the Wolves this season, a team that entered the day ranked 2^nd in the GNAC with a .335 batting average.

 

WOU's biggest scoring threat came in the top of the 6^th inning with a pair of runners in scoring position with zero outs, but Labasan escaped the inning without allowing a run. The Wolves again had a scoring opportunity in the 7^th inning putting a pair of runners in scoring position, but Labasan buckled down to strand the bases loaded.

 

 

 

Western Oregon held a tight 1-0 lead through the first four innings, then exploded for 9 runs on 8 hits in the top of the 5^th inning to defeat the Vikings 10-1 in a run-rule-shortened 5-inning game.

 

WOU scored the first run of the game with a two-out single by designated player Allyson Drury. Shortstop Sydney Bowers doubled to center field after two quick outs were recorded, Drury lined a soft single to left field to plate the go-ahead run.

 

With the score 1-0, the Wolves sent 15 batters to the plate in the top of the 5^th inning to extend the lead to 10-0. Drury opened the rally with a 2-run home run to center field and Bowers recorded a 2-run double. 

 

The Vikings plated a run in the bottom of the 5^th inning on a one-out single to left field by sophomore right fielder Mackenzie Palmer. WOU turned a game-ending double play to seal the 10-1 victory.

 

Senior Makinlee Sellevold was 2-for-2 at the plate with her 7^th double of the season, but recorded the loss in the circle to fall to 16-10 on the season. Sellevold allowed 10 run and 10 hits in 4.1 innings, with 5 of the 9 runs in the 5^th inning being unearned due to a pair of WWU errors. 

 

WOU starter Chandler Bishop improved to 3-4 on the season allowing 5 hits and one unearned run in the 5.0-inning complete game effort. Bowers was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI and Drury was 2-for-2 with 3 RBI. The bottom four hitters in the Wolves recorded 9 of the 11 hits, combining to go 9-for-11 with 5 runs scored and 7 RBI.

 

 

WWU (25-14, 14-8 GNAC) returns to action on Saturday with the final home games of the season, hosting Concordia in a doubleheader starting at noon at Viking Field. A special Senior Day ceremony will be held prior to the first game of the doubleheader honoring WWU's four seniors Emily Benson, Makinlee Sellevold, Shearyna Labasan and Cylie Richards.

 

Emily Benson hit her 14^th home run of the season and 45^th of her career, tying the all-time GNAC record. She has matched the 45 career home runs hit by Jessica Hallmark of Western Oregon (2008-11).

 

 

Here is an updated look at the standings in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference through games played on Friday. WWU is tied for 2^nd place at 14-8 in conference play, setting up a big doubleheader with Concordia (24-19, 14-8) tomorrow at Viking Field.

 

 

The Vikings have hit 35 home runs this season, 5^th-most in single-season program history:

                                                                                                   

 

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.