BELLEVUE, Wash. – Playing for the first time in nearly a full year, the Western Washington University softball team debuted with a doubleheader sweep over the University of Puget Sound Friday on the campus of Bellevue College.

The Vikings defeated the Loggers by scores of 7-3 in the first game and 10-2 in a run-rule-shortened 5-inning nightcap.

Senior starting pitcher Anna Kasner dazzled in the circle in the opening contest, earning a complete-game victory by scattering 5 hits and allowing 3 runs in 7.0 innings. The right-hander tied her career high with 15 strikeouts and became the 11^th pitcher in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history to cross the 400-strikeout mark for a career. Kasner now has 413 career strikeouts to go along with a 31-19, 2.51 ERA pitching record. The two-way player also helped her own cause going 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI.

Sophomore utility player Carissa McDowell (Bellingham, WA/Sehome/Bellevue College) combined to go 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI in the doubleheader and junior outfielder Rylie Wales (Snohomish, WA) went 2-for-4, scored four runs and had a pair of doubles.

Junior outfielder Lauren Lo (Issaquah, WA/Skyline) was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in the first game and junior second baseman Chantelle Shimabukuro (Aiea, HI/Edmonds College) had a bases clearing double in the second game. 

Overall the Vikings were 17-for-50 (.340) at the plate in their season debut while scoring 17 runs. The defense was flawless playing error-free with 41 total chances.

SB🥎 | A few 📸 of #Team29 in action today as @WWU_Softball swept its non-conference doubleheader with UPS. pic.twitter.com/D3FqKdFdHW
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 27, 2021
 

The Vikings make a quick turnaround, hosting Pacific Lutheran University Saturday in a non-conference doubleheader at Viking Field beginning at noon. Both games of the doubleheader will stream via VikingsTV on YouTube, with a direct link available for your computers and devices at WWUVikings.com/SB_Watch.

Following Great Northwest Athletic Conference protocols, all WWU games the remainder of the 2020-21 season across all sports will be closed to fans. Only team and game management personnel will be allowed at Viking Field and will be closely monitored with social distancing and face coverings required.

All home games hosted by WWU will feature a live webcast with sports information student assistant Ben Bagley calling the action live from Viking Field. The games will stream exclusively via VikingsTV on YouTube.

The Vikings took the field Friday for the first time in 351 days, with the last game being played over 11 months ago on March 12, 2020, a GNAC doubleheader at Central Washington. WWU finished the abbreviated 22-game 2020 season with a 10-12 record, but had won four of its last six games before the season was halted.

The BC Softball Field was no stranger to several WWU players and coaches. Shortstop Tatum Dow, third baseman Megan Marino and twins Tori and Carissa McDowell all starred for Bellevue College in recent years. Assistant coach Leah Francis spent 15 seasons as the head coach at BC, recording a 542-152 record for a .781 winning percentage. Current WWU head coach Sheryl Gilmore also coached several times on the BC Softball Field when she was head coach at Edmonds College from 2015-18.

WWU is now 13-16 all-time in season openers since the inaugural season in 1993. The Vikings are 7-4 in their last 11 season openers dating back to 2011.

SB🥎| RECORD BOOKS

History was made tonight with @anna_kazz 15 strikeouts (which tied her career high). She became just the third pitcher in Western history and 11th in @GNACsports history to pass 400 strikeouts for a career. WE SEE YOU ANNA! #GNACSB #Team29 @WWU_Softball pic.twitter.com/GouXILf5H6
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 27, 2021
 

Starting pitcher (and two-way player) Anna Kasner enters her senior season with a chance to make history, as she has recorded 413 career strikeouts, 65 short of the program career record set by Jackie Quint (2004-07). Kasner is also within striking distance of the all-time GNAC record for strikeouts (511). She is the WWU leader averaging 8.95 strikeouts per 7.0 innings (2^nd in GNAC history) and her 14 shutouts are 3^rd-most in Western history (tied for 6^th in GNAC history). Here is a look at the WWU and GNAC all-time strikeout leaderboard:

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 its 29^th season in 2021, with the Vikings posting a winning record 17 times. WWU won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season 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 172-134 and won the 2017 GNAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA II West Regional in Monterey, California. Head coach Sheryl Gilmore is in her third season at the helm of the program in 2020 after leading WWU to 27 wins, tied for the 10^th-most in program history, in her first campaign in 2019.