BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team opens the 2020 season this weekend with five games in the Concordia Kickoff Classic in Irvine, California.

 

The Vikings are part of a 10-team field that will participate in the tournament hosted by Concordia University Irvine. The tournament will be played at Great Park with games held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Southern California.

 

WWU is coming off a 27-18 season in 2019 and enter the 2020 season with high expectations after being selected to finish 2^nd in the 2020 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. WWU returns 16 letterwinners and eight players that made at least 20 starts from last year's squad. 

 

Western's tournament opponents during the season-opening weekend features five games against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) teams, including Cal State San Marcos, No. 20 Chico State, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Stanislaus State and Cal State East Bay.

 

Here is a look at WWU's tournament schedule with links on how to follow each game via live stats:

 

 

The Vikings will remain on the road next week with five more non-conference games at the Dixie State Courtyard Classic from Feb. 6-8. The first home games will be on Friday, February 14 with a doubleheader against the University of British Columbia and the first conference games features a doubleheader vs. Simon Fraser at Viking Field on February 29.

 

"We have a great opportunity in front of us to put all the hard work together and we are excited to get our journey started as a team. We are looking forward to utilizing these 10 games on the road together to continue to bond as a group and build our team chemistry. We have a lot new faces, which means new opportunities and we are excited to see who steps up against some great competition. The girls are up for the challenge. We're going to embrace every day and we are looking forward to finding different ways to be successful." – WWU head coach Sheryl Gilmore.

 

WWU enters its 28th season in program history, having gone 12-15 in all-time season openers since the inaugural season in 1993. The Vikings are 6-3 in their last nine season openers dating back to 2011.

SB🥎 | TOMORROW. YES!!

🆚 » Concordia Kick-off Classic
📅 » Fri-Sun
🕖 » See Schedule
📍 » Irvine, CA
🏟 » Great Park
📊 » https://t.co/wrHNf7gNIO#GoViks x #WeAreVikings pic.twitter.com/B1QvJJzgDT
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) January 30, 2020
 

For only the second time in the last 10 seasons, the Vikings are not opening the season at the Desert Stinger Softball Classic hosted by Montana State Billings in Las Vegas. WWU opened the 2017 season in Hawai'I and played in eight Desert Stingers from 2011-19. This marks the inaugural year for the Concordia Kickoff Classic hosted by Concordia University Irvine at Great Park.

 

Ticket prices for the Concordia Kickoff Classic are $10 for a one-day pass and $25 for a three-day tournament pass. Seniors 65 and over and youths 6-12 can purchase a tournament pass for $20. Children under 5 are free. The complete tournament schedule with ticket and parking information can be found online at CUIEagles.com.

 

Here is a complete look at the 2020 GNAC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll:

 

 

Tied for 4th in the GNAC with a 16-12 conference record under first-year head coach Sheryl Gilmore…opened the first half of conference play with an 11-3 record, but went 5-9 over the final 14 games…missed qualifying for the GNAC Championships via tiebreaker…27 wins were tied for 10th-most in the 27-year history of the program…had five players selected to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference team, highlighted by Player of the Year Emily Benson and first-teamer Makinlee Sellevold…set a program record with nine selections to the GNAC All-Academic team and had seven student-athletes earn NFCA Scholar Athlete awards…named the GNAC Team of the Week for March 25-31 after going 7-1 during the week, including at 5-0 record at the Tournament of Champions to become the first GNAC team to record an undefeated record in the 18-year history of the event that features nearly all the West Region teams in NCAA Division II…team finished with a single-season record 39 home runs, bettering the previous record of 37 HR set in 2015, 2016 and 2017…also recorded the 7th-highest team batting average (.307), 2nd-best slugging percentage (.465) and 5th-best on-base percentage (.372) in program history…248 runs scored (5.51 per game) ranks 6th in the single-season record books…senior class featured four-year starters Benson (2015-17, 19), Sellevold (2015-17, 19), Cylie Richards (2015-19) and Shearyna Labasan (2016-19)…Sellevold threw the ninth no-hitter in program history on March 2 vs. Montana State Billings (6.0 IP, 1 BB, 9 K)…Benson became the first Viking to hit for the cycle March 2 vs. MSUB (4-for-4)…Sellevold ended her career as WWU's all-time leader with 59 pitching wins (59-35), smashing the old mark of 48.

 

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 enters the 28^th season in program history, with the Vikings posting a winning record in 17 seasons. WWU won the 1998 NAIA National Championship to record the school's first ever team national title and has made four trips to the NCAA Division II Regional Championships, last in 2017. Over the last six seasons (since 2014), the Vikings are 162-122 (.555) and won the 2017 GNAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA II West Regional in Monterey, California. Head coach Sheryl Gilmore completed her first season at the helm of the program in 2019, leading WWU to 27 wins, tied for the 10^th-most in program history.