LACEY, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team split its Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader vs. Saint Martin's on Sunday in a pair of road games played at SMU Softball Field.

 

The Vikings run-ruled the Saints 8-0 behind the school-record 19^th career shutout from Anna Kasner and nearly completed a final-inning comeback in a 2-1 loss in the nightcap.

 

WWU remains atop the GNAC standings with an 8-4 league record and 17-7 overall. Saint Martin's earned its second consecutive weekend series split to improve to 13-14 overall and 4-8 in GNAC play. 

 

The series split for the Vikings snapped a string of four consecutive winning GNAC series, taking three-of-four games in each of the previous weekend sets vs. conference opponents. At 8-4 in conference play, the Vikings are slightly ahead of Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington (both 5-3) in the standings.

 

Junior shortstop Tatum Dow continued her torrid stretch at the plate going 4-for-7 with a double and three RBI on Sunday and finished the series batting .462 (6-for-13). She is riding a current 10-game hitting streak.

 

A day after setting the WWU career record for strikeouts, Kasner secured another program record firing a 2-hitter over 5.0 innings for her 19^th career shutout to move past Amanda Grant (18 shutouts, 2000-03). Kasner is now tied for 3^rd in GNAC history in career shutouts.

 

Here is a look at the 2021 GNAC Softball records following play Sunday, with the Vikings remaining in first place in the standings with an 8-4 league record. There are two weeks (8 games) remaining in the conference schedule prior to the GNAC Championships that will be held May 6-8 in Monmouth, Oregon. The top four teams in the standings following the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Tournament. Simon Fraser has opted out of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel challenges:

 

 

The Vikings (17-7, 8-4 GNAC) are scheduled to have a bye week next weekend and will return to action April 23-24 (Friday-Saturday) with a four-game conference series at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. WWU's regular-season finale and final home games will be May 1-2 (Saturday-Sunday) hosting in-state rival Central Washington for a four-game series. With no fans allowed due to GNAC and COVID protocols, fans can follow the action online with a direct link available for your computers and devices at WWUVikings.com/SB_Watch.

 

 

Senior Anna Kasner was efficient in her 5-inning shutout performance to break the WWU record for career shutouts and the Vikings used a big seven-run 5^th inning to defeat Saint Martin's 8-0 in a run-rule-shortened contest.

 

Leading 1-0 entering the top of the 5^th inning, the Vikings batted around to score the seven runs, which included six hits and three extra-base hits. WWU loaded the bases on a double, walk and infield single and Tatum Dow delivered a 2-run single down the left field line. 

 

Following a run-scoring double by center fielder Lauren Lo, first baseman Dakota Brooks put the game out of reach with a 3-run home run over the left field fence.

 

Kasner needed just 75 pitches to record her 19^th career shutout (5 this season) improving to 9-1 on the season. She scattered a pair of hits (both singles), did not walk a batter and recorded five strikeouts.

 

Dow finished 1-for-3 with 2 RBI extending her hitting streak to nine consecutive games and right fielder Mackenzie Palmer went 1-for-3 to extend her hitting streak to seven games. Eight different Vikings recorded a hit to account for the offensive output. 

 

SMU starter Savannah Owen (2-6) recorded the loss allowing five hits and five runs in 4.0 innings.

 

 

 

The Vikings out-hit Saint Martin's 6-4, but were held off the scoreboard until the final inning, and nearly completed the comeback.

 

WWU brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the 7^th inning, but Saints starter Abby Runyon held off the Vikings for the 2-1 complete-game victory. 

 

Junior shortstop Tatum Dow nearly tied the game in the top of the 7^th inning with a two-out, run-scoring double off the left field fence to cut WWU's deficit to 2-1. Sophomore designated player Brooke Fesenbek lined a ball down the right field line that was just foul and later fouled out to end the one-run game.

 

Runyon improved to 8-5 on the season scattering six hits and allowing one run for the complete-game victory. 

 

WWU freshman left-hander Hanako Hirai (0-1) made her first collegiate start and pitched well, allowing four hits and two runs in 3.1 innings, but was saddled with the loss. Junior Kira Doan held the Saints hitless over the final 2.2 innings to keep the game close.

 

The Vikings had a few early scoring opportunities, loading the bases in the 1^st inning and putting a pair of runners on in the 3^rd, but were unable to push across a run. WWU left eight runners on base in the game and combined to go 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-15 with runners on base.

 

Dow recorded her 11^th multi-hit game of the season going 3-for-4 to extend her hitting streak to 10 consecutive games. Fesenbek went 1-for-4 extending her hitting streak to a personal-best eight consecutive games.

 

 

Tatum Dow continued her torrid stretch at the plate, going 6-for-13 (.462) in the four-game weekend series at Saint Martin's and leads the team batting .500 (38-for-76) through the first 24 games of the season. Dow has a current 10-game hitting streak in which she has combined to go 18-for-33 (.545) with 6 runs scored, 3 doubles, 3 home runs and 12 RBI.

 

Anna Kasner set the WWU record with her 19^th career shutout and is tied for 7^th in single-season program history with five shutouts in 2021. Kasner is now tied for 3^rd in GNAC history with her 19 career shutouts:

 

 

Anna Kasner recorded 5 strikeouts in the opening game of the doubleheader, moving her closer to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record. Kasner now has 490 career strikeouts, 2^nd-most in the 20-year history of the GNAC.

 

 

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.