BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team was defeated 4-2 in both games of its Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader vs. Concordia on Saturday at Viking Field.

 

The Vikings and Cavaliers came into the games tied for 2^nd in the GNAC standings, but with the Cavaliers prevailing in the pair of 2-run games, WWU is now tied for 4^th in the league while Concordia extended its winning streak to five consecutive games.

 

WWU is now 25-16 overall and 14-10 heading into the final weekend of conference play setting up a big four-game series at Northwest Nazarene next Friday and Saturday. WWU and NNU are tied for 4^thin the GNAC standings, fighting for one of the four playoff spots in the conference championships that will be played May 2-4 in Billings, Montana.

 

After finishing the first half of conference play with an 11-3 record, WWU is 3-7 over its last 10 GNAC games.

 

The Vikings were out-hit 14-11 in the doubleheader and went against the season trend of being successful with runners in scoring position, going 3-for-16 with RISP. WWU also left 15 runners on base, including 10 in the second game. 

 

Junior designated player Paityn Cyr (3-for-4, HR) and senior first baseman Emily Benson (3-for-7, 2B) led the Vikings at the plate with three hits combined in the doubleheader. Benson moved into the all-time top 20 in GNAC history with 206 hits.

 

Prior to the doubleheader, WWU's four seniors – Makinlee Sellevold, Cylie Richards, Shearyna Labasan and Emily Benson – were honored in a pregame ceremony while playing the final home games of their illustrious careers.

 

 

The Vikings dropped the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 4-2, being limited to three hits in the loss.

 

Both of WWU's runs came on home runs, with solo homers by shortstop Cylie Richards (4^th inning) and designated player Paityn Cyr (7^th inning). All three of the Vikings hits went for extra bases, with senior first baseman Emily Benson adding her 11^th double of the season. 

 

The game started as a pitcher's duel between WWU senior Makinlee Sellevold and Concordia junior Sally Bowles, with only two baserunners reaching base in the first three innings.

 

Sellevold allowed only one baserunner on a walk through the first three innings, but the Cavaliers got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the 4^th inning. Designated player Mckenzie led off with a double to the base of the left field fence, and pinch-runner Abby Dalton came in to score in a sacrifice fly by left fielder Hannah Self. First baseman Marissa Stockton followed with a solo home run to left-center field, her 6^th longball of the season.

 

After being held hitless through the first three innings, Richards belted a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the 4^th inning to cut the deficit to one run at 2-1. It was Richards 5^th home run of the season and 9^th of her career.

 

The Cavaliers added a pair of insurance runs in the 6^th inning, tabbing four consecutive two-out hits to extend the lead to 4-1. Self drove in the run in 6^th inning with a double that caromed off the glove of WWU third baseman Shearyna Labasan to score Karley Yoshioka from second base. Catcher Mariah Peterson also plated a run with a single through the left side of the infield.

 

Western brought the potential tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 6^th inning after a double byBenson and a hit-by-pitch, but Bowles got Jackie Lucido to pop out to end the inning.

 

Cyr led off the bottom of the 7^th inning with a solo home run to right field, and the Vikings again brought the tying run to the plate, but fell short of the comeback.

 

Bowels (10-8) recorded her 10^th victory of the season allowing 3 hits in the complete-game effort.

 

Sellevold (16-11) was saddled with the loss allowing 6 hits and 4 runs.

 

 

 

WWU dropped the second game of Saturday's doubleheader 4-2, leaving 10 runners on base and going 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

 

The Vikings jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 2^nd inning, but couldn't push across any more runs as the Cavaliers battled from behind to score four unanswered runs. 

 

A bunt single by junior center fielder Jackie Lucido pushed across the first run and a perfectly-executed double-steal gave the Vikings the early 2-0 lead.

 

Concordia jumped ahead with a three-run top of the 4^th inning. The Cavaliers loaded the bases with no outs, and then tied the game on a hit-by-pitch and walk. The go-ahead and eventual game-winning run was plated on a sacrifice fly by second baseman Karley Yoshioka.

 

CU added an insurance run in the top of the 7^th inning with a two-out home run by left fielder Hannah Self.

 

The Vikings had scoring opportunities in the final three innings, leaving the bases loaded in the 5^thinning, stranding a pair of runners in the 6^th and then nearly tied the game in their final at-bat. With runners in first and third, Lucido drilled a ball to the right field gap that was chased down on a nice running catch by Concordia's Paityn Willoughby for the final out of the game.

 

WWU out-hit Concordia 11-5 in the game, with junior Paityn Cyr (2-for-2, 2B), Lucido (2-for-4, 2B) and Emily Benson (2-for-4) leading the way. Benson recorded her team-leading 18^th multi-hit game of the season.

 

Senior starting pitcher Shearyna Labasan was saddled with the complete-game loss, allowing 5 hits and 4 runs. She struck out 5 and walked 2 to fall to 7-5 on the season.

 

Concordia starter Mckenzie Smith improved to 13-7 on the season, scattering 11 hits while allowing 2 runs in the complete-game effort.

 

 

WWU (25-16, 14-10 GNAC) closes out the regular season with a four-game series at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. Doubleheaders will be played Friday and Saturday on the NNU campus, with the games playing a key factor in the postseason playoff race. WWU and NNU are currently tied for 4^th place in the conference standings, fighting for the final spot in the GNAC Championships.

 

Here is an updated look at the standings in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference through games played on Saturday. WWU is tied for 4^th place at 14-10 in conference play, setting up a key four-game series with Northwest Nazarene next weekend.

 

 

The Vikings have hit 37 home runs this season to tie the all-time single-season record program history…have hit 37 home runs in four of the last five seasons:

                                                                                                   

 

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.