BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University junior starting pitchers Anna Kasner and Kira Doan were nearly unhittable in Saturday's doubleheader sweep over Northwest Nazarene University at Viking Field.

The pair of Viking hurlers each tossed 1-hit shutouts as the Vikings defeated the Nighthawks by scores of 4-0 and 6-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep.

WWU evented its conference record at 4-4 and are now 9-11 overall. NNU drops to 8-8 overall and 1-3 in GNAC play.

Junior shortstop Tatum Dow went 3-for-6 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI in the doubleheader and sophomore Brooke Fesenbek was 2-for-5 with 2 RBI. 

Overall the Vikings out-scored NNU 10-0 and out-hit the Nighthawks 10-2 in the pair of games on Saturday.

Junior starting pitcher Anna Kasner recorded a one-hit shutout to lead the Vikings to a 4-0 victory in the opening game of the doubleheader.

The Vikings broke open a pitcher's duel with three runs in the bottom of the 5h inning, all coming with two outs. NNU pitcher Sidney Booth retired the first 13 batters she faced before Tatum Dow drew a one-out walk in the 5^th inning. Left fielder Lauren Lo doubled down the right field line to break up the no-hitter and sophomore Brooke Fesenbek lined a single up the middle to score a pair of runs. Pinch-hitter Macy Tarbox followed with a run-scoring double to right-center field to plate pinch-runner Ciara Ortiz. 

Kasner did not allow a hit until the top of the 4^th inning and finished with 10 strikeouts for her 12^thcareer double-digit strikeout performance. Kasner is now 7-4 on the season with a 1.82 ERA (20 ER, 77.0 IP) with 96 strikeouts.

Junior starting pitcher Kira Doan threw a 1-hit shutout, allowing only a 6^th-inning single, to lead the Vikings to a 6-0 win in the second game completing the doubleheader sweep.

WWU jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the 1^st inning with junior right fielder Rylie Wales plating the first run with a sacrifice fly and Tatum Dow following with a run-scoring double to center field.

The Vikings would extend the lead to 3-0 in the 3^rd inning on a Dow RBI single and put the game out of reach with a 3-run 4^th inning.

Dow finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI. The junior shortstop completed the four-game series vs. NNU batting .667 (8-for-12) with 2 doubles, a home run and 6 RBI.

The Vikings (9-11, 4-4 GNAC) returns to the road next week with GNAC doubleheaders on Saturday (March 14) vs. Saint Martin's in Lacey and on Sunday (March 15) vs. Central Washington in Ellensburg. Both doubleheaders will be streamed live online with direct links at WWUVikings.com/Live.

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.