ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team entered today's Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader vs. Central Washington winners of 18 of its last 23 games, but dropped both games to the first-place Wildcats on Sunday at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field in Ellensburg.

 

WWU lost the first game 6-2, allowing six unanswered runs, and then dropped the nightcap 6-3 to fall to 23-12 overall and remain in 2^nd place in the conference standings at 12-6. 

 

The Vikings were held to 12 hits on the day after entering the game with 10-or-more hits in four consecutive and 11 of their last 14 games. One of the leading hitting teams in the conference with runners in scoring position, WWU was 5-for-20 on Sunday (.250) and 5-for-31 (.161) with runners on base. Western also left 16 runners on base between the two games.

 

Sophomore left fielder Lauren Lo combined to go 3-for-6 with one RBI and Paityn Cyr (2-for-5, R, 2 BB), Cylie Richards (2-for-6, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB) and Makinlee Sellevold (2-for-7, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB) also tabbed multiple hits in the doubleheader.

 

Central Washington improved to 22-12 overall and remain in first place in the GNAC with a 13-3 conference record. The Wildcats swept the four-game season series vs. the Vikings, also winning both games in Bellingham. 

 

The Vikings return home to host Simon Fraser on Tuesday with a doubleheader starting at 2 pm at Viking Field. WWU's next six games will be at Viking Field, hosting Western Oregon and Concordia April 19-20, and then wraps up the 2019 regular season with a four-game series at Northwest Nazarene April 26-27. All remaining games, home and road, will stream online and feature live statistical updates at GNAC.tv.

 

 

Central Washington scored six unanswered runs to defeat the Vikings 6-2 in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader.

 

The Vikings got off to a quick start building a 2-0 lead before recording an out in the top of the 1^stinning. Senior third baseman Shearyna Labasan drew an eight-pitch leadoff walk on a 3-2 count, moved into scoring position on a passed ball, and then scored on a home run to center field by senior pitcher Makinlee Sellevold. 

 

CWU cut the deficit in half scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the 1^st inning on a single by Maddy Zerr a fielding error by WWU left fielder Lauren Lo. 

 

The Wildcats forged ahead with three unearned runs in the bottom of the 3^rd inning to take a 4-2 lead. CWU capitalized on a strikeout and passed ball allowing Savannah Egbert to reach base, and tabbed three singles and a sacrifice fly to account for the three-run inning.

 

Western threatened in the top of the 4^th inning loading the bases on a pair of singles and an error, but sophomore right fielder Mackenzie Palmer was robbed of a run-scoring hit when CWU third baseman Gracee Dwyer made a nice play on a hard shot to her left for the third out of the inning.

 

CWU added to its lead with a two-run home run by Maddy Zerr in the bottom of the 5^th inning to extend the lead to 6-2.

 

CWU starter Lexie Strasser (9-8) earned the win allowing 4 hits and 2 runs in the complete-game effort. Following the home run in the first inning by Sellevold, Strasser scattered 3 hits over the final 6.0 innings without allowing a run. First baseman Maddy Zerr was 2-for-2 with a home run and 3 RBI to lead the Wildcats 9-hit attack.

 

 

 

The Vikings were unable to overcome a four-run first inning by Central Washington, dropping the second game of Sunday's doubleheader 6-3.

 

WWU got off to a quick start with a single tally in the first inning on a bases loaded walk by senior shortstop Cylie Richards. CWU starter Isabel Womack was able to wiggle out of the bases loaded jam with one out by not allowing any more runs to score.

 

The Wildcats then came out swinging in the bottom of the 1^st inning, with the first five batters of the game reaching base via hits off WWU senior starter Shearyna Labasan. CWU plated four runs in the inning to grab a 4-1 lead.

 

WWU pulled to within one run in the top of the 3^rd inning on a run-scoring double by Richards and a two-out single by sophomore left fielder Lauren Lo. 

 

With the score 4-3, CWU regained a three-run lead with two more runs in the bottom of the 3^rd inning to push its lead to 6-3.

 

The Vikings threatened in the top of the 5^th inning putting a pair of runners in scoring position with no outs, but could not push a run across to keep the margin a three-run deficit. CWU relief pitcher Samantha Stanfield retired six of the final batters she faced in the 6^th and 7^th innings to record her eighth win of the season.

 

WWU left 10 runners on base and were 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Richards was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI and Lo went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

 

CWU left fielder Kayla Smith went 3-for-3 with a run and 2 RBI to lead the Wildcats 10-hit attack.

 

 

WWU (23-12, 12-6 GNAC) return home to host Simon Fraser in a conference doubleheader on Tuesday starting at 2 pm at Viking Field. The game is a makeup of the contest that was originally scheduled for March 24, but was moved to accommodate a SFU schedule change with their series vs. Northwest Nazarene.

 

Here is an updated look at the standings in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference through games played on Sunday. WWU is in 2^nd place at 12-6 in conference play 18 games into the 28-game conference schedule.

 

 

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.