NAMPA, Idaho – Needing a pair of wins to clinch a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, the Western Washington University softball team split its doubleheader Saturday at Northwest Nazarene and will have to wait until Sunday to find out if they are postseason bound.

 

WWU held a 7-1 lead in the first game after their the top of the 4^th inning, but NNU stormed back to tie the game with six runs in the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th innings. The Vikings loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the 7^th inning, but couldn't push a run across. The Nighthawks ended the game with a run in the bottom of the 7^th inning to clinch a spot in the four-team GNAC Championships that will be played May 2-4 in Portland, Oregon. Western came back with a 4-0 win in the nightcap behind a shutout performance from senior pitcher Shearyna Labasan.

 

The Vikings are not mathematically eliminated from the postseason race, but Concordia will have to drop a pair of games tomorrow at home vs. Saint Martin's. In that scenario, the Vikings will be in a three-way tie for third place, and would advance to the GNAC Championships by holding the second-best head-to-head record amongst the three tied teams.

 

WWU ended the regular season with a 27-18 overall record and 16-12 in GNAC play. The 27 wins are tied for 10^th-most in the 27 seasons of program history.

 

WWU out-hit NNU 25-15 in the doubleheader, combining to go 25-for-64. With home runs in the first game by Jackie Lucido and Paityn Cyr, WWU set the single-season program record with 39 home runs.

 

Cyr and Lucido led the Vikings at the plate on Saturday, both going 4-for-7. Cyr recorded 6 RBI between the two games, including a career-high-tying 4 RBI in the first game.

 

Labasan was involved in both pitching decisions, going 1-1. Labasan allowed only one run in her 8.0 innings of work, including a complete-game shutout in the nightcap to improve to 9-6 on the season.

 

 

WWU dropped the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 8-7, with NNU recording the walk-off win on a fielder's choice with one out in the bottom of the 7^th inning.

 

The Vikings held a 7-1 lead through their half of the 4^th inning, but NNU stormed back to tie the game in the bottom of the 6^th inning.

 

WWU had a chance to pull ahead loading the bases with no outs in the top of the 7^th inning, but NNU relief pitcher Ashlee Schriever wiggled out of the jam setting up NNU's walk-off victory. 

 

NNU scored the game-winning run with a leadoff walk, sac bunt and single, followed by a fielder's choice where the Vikings attempted to throw the game-winning run out at home plate.

 

The Vikings built its big lead with a pair of three-run innings, in the 2^nd and 4^th innings. Junior center fielder Jackie Lucido got the 2^nd-inning rally started with a solo home run to left field and senior pitcher Makinlee Sellevold added a run-scoring single. 

 

Junior designated player Paityn Cyr connected on a three-run home run in the top of the 4^th inning to extend the lead to 7-1.

 

NNU chipped away at the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 4^th inning and added three more runs in the 5^th inning to cut the deficit to one run at 7-6. A two-out RBI double by senior left fielder Anna Williams tied the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the 7^th inning.

 

Sellevold allows 7 runs (4 ER) on 7 hits in 5.1 innings, before senior Shearyna Labasan move to the circle from third base. Labasan allowed one run in her 1.0 inning of work to record the loss.

 

Cyr was 2-for-4 with her sixth home run of the season, and tied her career high with 4 RBI. Lucido went 3-for-3 with a run scored and hit her fifth home run of the season.

 

Williams went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double to lead NNU at the plate.

 

 

 

The Vikings broke open a scoreless game scoring four runs in the top of the 4^th inning and went on to record the seventh shutout victory of the season in a 4-0 victory.

 

Senior Shearyna Labasan recorded the complete-game shutout, allowing just 6 hits (5 singles) to improve to 9-6 on the season. She also went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored.

 

WWU's four-run 4^th inning was fueled by leadoff singles by Labasan and left fielder Lauren Lo. A sacrifice bunt put runners on 2^nd and 3^rd with one out, but NNU recorded the second out on a strikeout. The Vikings came up clutch scoring all four runs with two outs, with senior third baseman Makinlee Sellevold and junior designated player Paityn Cyr both recording two-out, two-run singles. 

 

NNU had scoring opportunities in the 6^th and 7^th innings, but Labasan sealed the shutout with a game-ending 6-3 double play. 

 

The Vikings out-hit the Nighthawks 13-6, led by multi-hit games from Sellevold (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI), Cyr (2-for-3, 2 RBI), Labasan (2-for-4, 2B, R), Lo (2-for-4, R), junior second baseman Tamia Hirano (2-for-3, SH) and senior shortstop Cylie Richards (2-for-4).

 

NNU relief pitcher Maia McNicoll (2-5) was saddled with the loss allowing 10 hits and 4 runs (3 ER) in 5.1 innings.

 

 

Here is a look at the current GNAC standings heading into Sunday's final day of the 2019 regular season. WWU is currently tied for 4^th place in the standings, but will need Concordia to lose both of its games on Sunday in order to advance to the four-team GNAC Championships.

 

 

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.