NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University softball team earned a doubleheader split on the road at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday to complete the four-game series at Halle Softball Field.

WWU dropped the opening game to the Nighthawks 9-5, but rebounded for a 3-2 in in the nightcap to salvage a win in the series. The final game was halted in the top of the 6^thinning due to darkness. NNU won three of four games in the series featuring two of the top teams in the GNAC standings, gaining hold of first place at 8-4 in league play and 25-9 overall.

The Vikings head into their final weekend of the 2021 regular season with a 9-7 league mark and are 18-10 overall. WWU has played the most conference games in the GNAC this season as several teams have had cancellations. WWU is currently in 3^rd place in the conference standings, with the top four teams advancing to the GNAC Championships May 6-8 in Monmouth, Oregon.

The regular season is scheduled to wrap up next weekend with the Vikings hosting Central Washington in a four-game series in Bellingham. Doubleheaders with a noon first pitch are slated for Saturday and Sunday, with Senior Day honoring Anna Kasner, Erica Hardy, Hannah Matthews and Mackenzie Palmer.

The Nighthawks took an early 7-0 lead after the first two innings and never looked back in a 9-5 win in the first game of the doubleheader to secure the series win.

Maia McNicoll got the scoring started with a run-scoring single and Tori Hensley followed with a 2-run double to stake NNU to the 3-0 lead in the 1^st inning.

Sydney Booth and McNicoll hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the 2^nd inning, with Booth hitting a 3-run home run. McNicoll homered for the third consecutive game in the series giving her a GNAC-leading 11 longballs on the season. Chantelle Shimabukuro (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Kira Doan (2-for-3, 3 R, 2B), Brooke Fesenbek (2-for-4, RBI) and Mackenzie Palmer (2-for-4, RBI) each recorded multi-hit games. Lauren Lo hit her second home run of the season. 

McNicoll went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI to lead

WWU dropped its fourth consecutive game to fall to 17-10 overall and 8-7 in GNAC play. 

The Vikings defeated Northwest Nazarene 3-2 in a game shortened to 5 innings due to darkness.

WWU scored a pair of runs in the top of the 1^st inning to grab the early lead, with Brooke Fesenbek plating the first run with a single to center field and Lauren Lo adding a run on a sacrifice fly.

NNU tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 2^nd inning on a solo home run by Madison Strickler and a run-scoring double by Madison Felter.

The game remained scoreless until the 5^th inning when WWU junior shortstop Tatum Dow hit a leadoff home run to left-center field for her fifth homer of the season.

WWU added a pair of would-be insurance runs in the top of the 6^th inning on a RBI double by Chantelle Shimabukuro and a run-scoring single by Dow, but those runs (or stats) did not count as the game was halted due to darkness.

Junior Kira Doan recorded the win in the circle allowing one run in 3.2 innings of relief to improve to 7-6 on the season.

After having her 12-game hitting streak snapped in Saturday's opener, Dow bounced back going 2-for-2 with a run scored and RBI. 

Here is a look at the 2021 GNAC Softball records following play Saturday, with the Vikings currently in 3^rd place in the standings following the split vs. NNU. WWU is now 9-7 in league and 18-10 overall. The top four teams in the standings following the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Tournament.

The Vikings (18-10, 9-7 GNAC) complete the regular season next weekend hosting Central Washington University (13-10, 5-3 GNAC) in a four-game GNAC series at Viking Field. Doubleheaders will be played Saturday and Sunday, both featuring a noon first pitch. 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.

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.