IRVINE, Calif. – The Western Washington University softball team had its season come to a close Wednesday, enduring a pair of losses at the NCAA Division II Championships West Regional at Eagles Field.

The No. 4 seed Vikings dropped its first game of the day 3-0 against No. 5 Hawai'i Hilo, and were eliminated in a 9-5 slugfest against in-state rival No. 6 Central Washington. WWU completed the 2021 season with a 23-14 overall record, advancing to the NCAA postseason for the fifth time in program history and second time in the last four seasons. 

WWU entered the West Regional riding a four-game winning streak after winning the GNAC Tournament, but were on the short end of both its games Wednesday on the campus of Concordia University Irvine to conclude the 2021 season.

The Vikings had the upper hand in the season series vs. the Wildcats going 5-3, but CWU recorded 14 hits against one of the top pitching staffs in the West Region for the most hits allowed by WWU opponent this season. It marked just the fourth time in 37 games this season Western allowed double-digits in hits. The slugfest vs. the Wildcats included a combined 27 hits and 14 runs scored.

Western got off to a great start jumping out to a 3-0 lead on a three-run home run by junior left fielder Rylie Wales with one out in the top of the 2^nd inning. Back-to-back one-out singles by designated player Tori McDowell and pitcher Anna Kasner set the table for Wales, who drilled a 3-2 pitch to left-center field.

The Wildcats answered with a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the 2^nd inning when designated player Sasha Mitchell beat out an infield single to score a pair of runs. 

The Vikings tacked on a run in the top of the 3^rd on a two-out double by McDowell, but the Wildcats answered once again when right fielder Theresa Moyle hit a two-run home run to left-center to knot the game at 4-4. Left fielder Alycia Bannan added a run-scoring single that scooted through the left side to score the go-ahead run and Central tacked on another run for a 6-4 lead. CWU scored three insurance runs in the bottom of the 4^th inning to extend its lead to 9-4.

McDowell finished the game 3-for-4 with a double and Wales was also 3-for-4 with three RBI. Sophomore third baseman Brooke Fesenbek added a multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI.

Senior starting pitcher Anna Kasner (13-5) was saddled with the loss allowing seven hits and five runs in 2.0+ innings of work. After throwing 5.0 scoreless relief innings in the opening game vs. UHH, junior Kira Doan was touched for seven hits and four runs in 4.0 innings.

Relief pitcher Lexie Strasser (2-3) earned the win for the Wildcats allowing one run on five hits in 3.2 innings and Samantha Stanfield closed out the victory allowing one run in 2.0 innings of work. The CWU bullpen combined to allow just two runs in 5.2 innings.

Moyle went 2-for-4 with three RBI and first baseman Maddy Zerr was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. The 2-3-4-5 hitters for CWU combined to go 9-for-16 with six RBI.

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 is in its 29^th season in 2021, with the Vikings posting a winning record 18 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 now made five trips to the NCAA Division II Regional Championships. Over the last six seasons (since 2014), the Vikings are 195-146 and have won two of the last four GNAC Tournament titles (2017 & 2019). 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 and a 60-44 overall record (.577).