BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team made its home debut at Viking Field on Saturday and split a doubleheader vs. Pacific Lutheran University.

 

WWU was defeated by PLU 7-1 in the opening game, but bounced back for 8-0 shutout victory over the Lutes in the nightcap. The Vikings finished the opening weekend of the 2021 season with a 3-1 record, combining for a team batting average of .382 (42-for-110) with 26 runs scored.

 

In Saturday's doubleheader split vs. PLU, Western hammered out 25 hits, including a season-high 14 hits in the second game. 

 

Junior first baseman Dakota Brooks combined to go 5-for-7 with a double and two runs scored in the doubleheader and junior shortstop Tatum Dow was 5-for-8. Junior center fielder Lauren Lo added three hits, including a pair of doubles in the nightcap. 

 

Senior starting pitcher Anna Kasner threw a 2-hit shutout in the nightcap to improve to 2-0 on the season, and was also 3-for-4 at the plate. 

 

The Vikings and Lutes were locked in a pitcher's duel, with both teams playing stellar defense. The Lutes took the lead in the top of the 3^rd inning on a 2-run home run by right fielder Erin McGrath.

 

The game remained close until the final innings, when PLU added five insurance runs to close out the 7-1 victory.

 

Western third baseman Megan Marino continued her torrid start to the season going 2-for-3 and junior shortstop Tatum Dow was 3-for-4. Junior first baseman Dakota Brooks added a multi-hit game as the Vikings recorded 11 hits, but left 10 runners on base and were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. 

 

PLU senior pitcher Kennedy Robillard recorded the complete-game victory, scattering 11 hits and allowing only one run in 7.0 innings. McGrath was 2-for-4 with the 2-run home run and third baseman Nanea Kalama was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and drove in three runs.

 

Both teams did not commit a fielding error, with the Lute defense recording several diving plays in the field

 

 

 

Senior starting pitcher Anna Kasner was dominant again in the circle firing 6.0 shutout innings and helped her own cause going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored at the plate.

 

Kasner twirled a 2-hit shutout to improve to 2-0 on the season, adding 6 strikeouts to her career-high-tying 15 punchouts in Friday's season opener vs. UPS.

 

The Vikings put together an offensive barrage of 14 hits, led by a 3-for-3 performance by junior first baseman Dakota Brooks (2 R, 3 RBI) and a pair of doubles from junior center fielder Lauren Lo (2-for-3, R, RBI, BB). 

 

WWU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead and then added three insurance runs in the bottom of the 3^rd inning, with freshman designated player Macy Tarbox plating a pair of runs with a double to left field. 

 

The Vikings clinched the doubleheader split scoring four runs in the bottom of the 6^th inning to invoke the 8-run rule.

 

 

The Vikings head over the mountains to play in-state rival Central Washington next weekend with a pair of doubleheaders scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Ellensburg. All four games will not count towards the GNAC standings. You can follow the action online with a direct link available for your computers and devices at WWUVikings.com/SB_Watch.

 

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. Check WWUVikings.com/Live for links for webcast and live stats for all away games.

 

The Vikings took the field this weekend 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.

 

Starting pitcher (and two-way player) Anna Kasner enters her senior season with a chance to make history, as she has recorded 419 career strikeouts, 59 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 8.91 strikeouts per 7.0 innings (2^nd in GNAC history) and her 15 shutouts are 3^rd-most in Western history (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.