BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team closed out the regular season with a doubleheader split against Central Washington on Sunday at Viking Field.

 

WWU celebrated its four seniors – Anna Kasner, Erica Hardy, Mackenzie Palmer, Hannah Matthews– throughout the day and with a special postgame ceremony.

 

Senior Day was highlighted by Kasner becoming the all-time strikeout leader in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history, tallying five strikeouts in the second game of the doubleheader to pass Adrian Herman of Northwest Nazarene, who racked up 511 strikeouts between 2003-06. Kasner now has 513 strikeouts in her four-year WWU career.

 

CWU defeated Western 4-1 in the opening game, before the Vikings bounced back with a 5-1 victory in the second game to earn the weekend split. The Vikings won five of the eight games against the Wildcats this season, and the in-state rivals will meet again Thursday in the opening game of the GNAC Softball Championships in Monmouth, Oregon. First pitch is scheduled for 11:30 am at WOU Softball Field with the Vikings the No. 3 seed and Wildcats the No. 2 seed in the four-team tournament.

 

Junior center fielder Lauren Lo led the Vikings at the plate in the doubleheader combining to go 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles and junior left fielder Rylie Wales was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI.

 

 

The Wildcats took an early 2-0 lead on a 2-run single by shortstop Sydney Brown in the top of the 2^ndinning.

 

WWU pulled to within one run with a single tally in the 3^rd inning on a two-out RBI single by Brooke Fesenbek to right field.

 

Locked in a one-run game, CWU added two important insurance runs in the top of the 4^th inning on an error by WWU first baseman Dakota Brooks.

 

Junior Kira Doan (8-7) recorded the loss allowing four hits and four runs (2 ER) in 4.2 innings. Freshman Kaelynn Simmons finished the game with 2.1 scoreless innings.

 

WWU junior center fielder Lauren Lo went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles for her 11^th multiple-hit game of the season.

 

CWU starter Samantha Stanfield earned the win allowing one run in 6.0 innings and Lexie Strasser recorded the save with a scoreless 7^th inning.

 

 

 

The Vikings secured the doubleheader and series split with a 5-1 victory in the second game.

 

Western got on the board in the 2^nd inning on a run-scoring double by left fielder Rylie Wales and added three insurance runs in the bottom of the 3^rd. Sophomore designated player Tori McDowell hit a two-run triple that eluded CWU down the right field line.

 

Senior Anna Kasner was in control throughout her 16^th start of the season, holding the Wildcats to one run and five hits to earn her 10^th victory of the season. Kasner recorded three strikeouts in the first two innings, but did not record her record-breaking 512^th career strikeout until she got CWU catcher Alyssa Benthagen swinging to lead off the top of the 7^th inning. In typical Kasner fashion, she ended the game with a strikeout to earn the win.

 

Wales went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and three RBI and junior center fielder Lauren Lo went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. McDowell was 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBI.

 

CWU starter Isabel Womack (3-5) recorded the loss allowing five hits and four runs in 2.2 innings. First baseman Alycia Bannan went 2-for-3 to lead the Wildcats at the plate. 

 

 

Here is a look at the final regular-season Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings following play on Sunday. The top four teams in the standings play next week (May 6-8) at the GNAC Championships at WOU Softball Field in Monmouth, Oregon. WWU finished in 3^rd place in the conference and will be making its fourth GNAC Championships appearance in the seven-year history of the event. 

 

 

The Vikings (20-12, 11-9 GNAC) will face Central Washington in the first game of the 2021 GNAC Championships that open play Thursday in Monmouth, Oregon. First pitch between the Vikings and Wildcats is set for 11:30 am. WWU is 5-4 all-time in its three previous GNAC Championships appearances, including winning the 2017 tournament with a 3-0 record during its last postseason appearance.

 

GNAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Monmouth, OR (Hosted by Western Oregon University)

 

Thursday, May 6:

No. 3 Western Washington vs. No. 2 Central Washington, 11:30 a.m.

No. 4 Saint Martin's vs. No. 1 Northwest Nazarene, 2:30 p.m.

 

Friday, May 7

Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 9:30 a.m.

Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:30 p.m.(Loser Out)

Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 3:30 p.m. (Loser Out)

 

Saturday, May 8:

Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, Noon

Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 2:30 p.m.

 

Anna Kasner recorded five strikeouts in Sunday's second game, and 16 overall strikeouts on the weekend, to become the GNAC's all-time strikeout leader with 513 in her career. Kasner has recorded 16 career games with 10-or-more strikeouts, including four this season:

 

 

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 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.