BURNABY, BC – The Western Washington University softball team was dealt a pair of tough road losses against Simon Fraser University on a cold and snowy Sunday at Beedie Field to complete the opening weekend of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

 

After splitting a doubleheader vs. SFU in Friday, the Vikings recorded a pair of last at-bat setbacks, falling 4-2 in game one and 7-5 in walk-off fashion on the second game. The Clan scored pair of runs in the bottom of the 6^th inning in the 4-2 win and plated five runs in the bottom of the 7^th inning, capped by a walk-off 2-run home run, in the nightcap.

 

WWU out-hit SFU 20-17 in the doubleheader, but combined to leave 23 runners on base between the two games.

 

The pair of losses drops the Vikings to 6-10 overall and 1-3 in GNAC play. All four games during the tightly-contested home-and-home doubleheader vs. Simon Fraser feature last at-bat wins, including each team recording a walk-off victory.  

 

Junior outfielder Rylie Wales led the Vikings at the plate going 4-for-7, while junior left fielder Lauren Lo, junior first baseman Dakota Brooks and junior second baseman Chantelle Shimabukuro each recorded three hits during the doubleheader. Lo recorded a hit in both games to extend her hitting streak to a career-high-tying 10 consecutive games.

 

WWU returns to action next weekend hosting Northwest Nazarene in doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday at Vikings Field.

 

 

The Vikings dropped the first game of the doubleheader 4-2, stranding 11 runners on base with a pair of SFU home runs the difference in the game.

 

WWU got on the board first with a pair of runs in the top of the 2^nd inning, benefiting from a pair of errors by starting pitcher Anissa Zacharczuk.

 

SFU answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 2^nd inning to tie the game 2-2, with shortstop Hannah Boulanger hitting a solo home run and third baseman Alex Ogg tabbing a run-scoring double. 

 

The game remained scoreless until the 6^th inning, with WWU stranding the bases loaded in the 3^rdinning and leaving a pair of runners on base in the 4^th inning.

 

SFU catcher Amanda Janes hit a 2-run home run to straightaway center field in the bottom of the 6^thinning to account for the game-winning runs.

 

WWU freshman pitcher Kaelynn Simmons (0-3) was dealt the tough-luck loss, recording her best collegiate outing scattering 9 hits while striking out 4.

 

Junior first baseman Dakota Brooks continued her hot streak at the plate going 3-for-4 and junior right fielder Rylie Wales was 2-for-4. Junior left fielder Lauren Lo went 1-for-3 to extend her hitting streak to nine consecutive games.

 

Zacharczuk improved to 7-0 on the season allowing just a pair of unearned runs in the complete-game effort. Ogg was 2-for-4 with a double out of the leadoff spot and Boulanger was 2-for-3 with her third home run of the season.

 

 

 

Hanna Finkelstein hit a game-tying 2-run home run and Amanda Janes hit a walk-off 2-run home run to lift Simon Fraser to a 7-5 victory in the second game of Sunday's GNAC doubleheader.

 

WWU held a 2-0 lead before SFU scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the 6^th inning. The inning featured a 25-minute delay when temperatures dipped to the mid 30s with heavy snow flurries. 

 

The Vikings retook the lead scoring three runs in the top of the 7^th inning, with junior shortstop Tatum Dow providing a 2-run single to right field. 

 

SFU rallied for five hits in the bottom of the 7^th inning, plating a run on a sacrifice fly and hitting a pair of 2-run home runs. Finkelstein's homer to tie the game 5-5 just cleared the fence in left field and Janes' shot to right-center field was a no-doubter to send the Clan to the victory.

 

WWU junior second baseman Chantelle Shimabukuro went 3-for-4 out of the leadoff spot and junior right fielder Rylie Wales was 2-for-3. All 11 of the Vikings hits were singles in the game.

 

Junior starting pitcher Anna Kasner (5-4) suffered the loss allowing 8 hits and 7 runs (6 ER) in the complete-game effort. She struck out 8 batters and issued 5 walks.

 

SFU's Anissa Zacharczuk picked her second win of the day to improve to 8-0 on the season, pitching the top of the 7^th inning for the Clan. Finkelstein started for SFU allowing 4 hits and 2 runs in 4.0 innings. Third baseman Alex Ogg was 3-for-4 with a double to lead SFU at the plate.

 

 

The Vikings (6-10, 1-3 GNAC) returns to Viking Field to host Northwest Nazarene in a pair of GNAC doubleheaders next week on Friday and Saturday. Games on Friday begin at 1 pm with the doubleheader on Saturday scheduled for a noon start.

 

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 is in her second season at the helm of the program in 2019, leading WWU to 27 wins, tied for the 10^th-most in program history, in her first campaign in 2019.