NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University softball team split its Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader on Friday at Northwest Nazarene, setting up Saturday full of playoff implications.

 

The Vikings were shutout for the first time this season in a 7-0 loss in the opening game of the doubleheader, but came back strong in the nightcap with a 8-2 victory to salvage the split. WWU broke a scoreless tie with five runs in the top of the 5^th inning, snapping a 16-inning scoreless streak at the plate.

 

WWU is now is now 26-17 overall and 15-11 in GNAC play. The Vikings are tied in the conference standings with NNU (26-21, 15-11), setting up a pair of crucial games on Saturday to secure a spot in the GNAC Championships that will be played May 2-4 in Portland, Oregon.

 

First pitch in Saturday's doubleheader at Bobby Halle Field is scheduled for 12 pm MT/11 am PT with both games streaming live on GNAC.tv.

 

 

Senior starting pitcher Shearyna Labasan scattered eight hits and two runs in a complete-game victory, leading the Vikings to an 8-2 victory in the second game of Friday's doubleheader.

 

The Vikings broke out the bats, snapping a string of 16 consecutive scoreless innings in a five-run 5^thinning that proved to be the difference in the 8-2 victory.

 

A single and an error put runners on the corners with no outs, when Labasan helped her own cause with a bunt single to score the first run of the game.

 

Right fielder Mackenzie Palmer added a run-scoring single and designated player Paityn Cyr came up with a big two-run double to left-center field.

 

The Vikings extended the lead to 6-0 in the top of the 6^th inning scoring a run on NNU's third error of the game.

 

The Nighthawks got on the board in the bottom of the 6^th inning on a two-out RBI single by right fielder Lauren Bassett, and added another run in their final at-bat.

 

Labasan (8-5) recorded the win in her 50^th career complete game. She struck out four batters and issued three walks.

 

Cyr went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Labasan also recorded a multi-hit game going 2-for-3 to snap out of a 1-for-27 streak at the plate.

 

The Vikings roughed up NNU ace Jordan Adams, with the sophomore recording the loss to fall to 13-7 on the season. Adams gave up seven hits and six runs in 5.1 innings, but was the victim of three errors leading to five unearned runs. 
 

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Vikings, while NNU had its five-game winning streak halted.

 

 

 

The Vikings were shut out for the first time this season, falling 7-0 in the first game of Friday's doubleheader.

 

NNU got off to a quick start with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 1^st inning, and never looked back to break the fourth-place tie with the Vikings. Second baseman Shelbie Martinez drove in both runs in the 1^st inning with a two-out single to center field.

 

WWU starter Makinlee Sellevold kept the game close blanking the Nighthawks over the next three innings, but NNU added two runs in the 5^th and three more in the 6^th to put the game out of reach. Senior Anna Williams hit a two-run triple in the 6^th inning.

 

The Vikings were limited to three hits to tie their season low. Senior first baseman Emily Benson led off the game with a double to right-center field for her 27^th extra-base hit of the season (2B-12, 3B-1, HR-14).

 

Sellevold (16-12) recorded the loss in the circle allowing 9 hits and 7 runs (6 ER) in 6.0 innings.

 

NNU starter Rylee Thomas improved to 8-8 on the season allowing 3 hits in the complete-game shutout. Williams was 2-for-3 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI to lead the Nighthawks at the plate.
 

 

The Vikings close out the regular-season schedule tomorrow with another doubleheader against Northwest Nazarene starting at noon MT/11 am PT. Both games will stream on GNAC.tv with a live webcast and statistical updates. 

 

Here is a look at the current GNAC standings heading into the final weekend of conference play:

 

 

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 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.