MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Washington University senior pitcher Anna Kasner had another dominating performance in the circle to lead the Vikings to a 1-0 victory over Saint Martin's University Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.

 

Kasner recorded a 12-strikeout, 1-hit shutout to advance the No. 2 seed Vikings (21-12) to the winner's bracket of the four-team, double elimination postseason tournament. WWU will play No. 1 seed Northwest Nazarene Friday morning at 9:30 am at WOU Softball Field. NNU was a 2-1 walk-off winner over No. 4 seed Western Oregon in the second game Thursday.

 

"It was great to jump out with a win. Our pitching and defense definitely got it done today and Anna was absolutely lights out," said WWU head coach Sheryl Gilmore. "The team brought the energy to back her up. We hit the ball well, but are looking forward to executing better with runners in scoring position tomorrow."

 

Kasner improved to 11-3 on the season with her third start of 2021 allowing 1-or-fewer hits in a complete-game effort. She previously threw a perfect game vs. Saint Martin's on March 12. She also recorded her sixth shutout of the season and 20^th of her career.

 

In Thursday's start, the WWU and GNAC all-time strikeout leader allowed a leadoff single to SMU center fielder Emery Norwood in the top of the 1^st inning, and then held the Saints hitless the rest of the way. She retired 21 of the final 22 hitters she faced, with a one-out walk in the 6^th inning her only blemish. She retired 16 consecutive batters from the 1^st-through-6^th innings, and struck out four of the final five batters she faced.

 

Offensively, the Vikings put at least one runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings, but could not push a run across the plate leaving six runners on base.

 

Sophomore third baseman Brooke Fesenbek provided the Vikings with the only run they would need with a run-scoring bunt single in the bottom of the 5^th inning.

 

Senior right fielder Mackenzie Palmer went 3-for-3 with a double and junior left fielder Rylie Wales recorded her team-leading 10^th double of the season.

 

Saints second-year freshman Abby Runyon (11-8) took the loss allowing one run and four hits in 4.0+ innings of work. Reliever Tia Ridings surrendered a pair of hits in her 2.0 innings of relief work. 

 

 

Anna Kasner improved to 4-0 all-time in GNAC Championships play, recording 35 strikeouts in 26.2 innings pitched over four appearances (3 starts) in the conference tournament. As a freshman in 2017, she earned GNAC Tournament MVP honors going 3-0, 0.00 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 3 G/2 GS. She has not allowed an earned run (1 unearned run) in her career in the GNAC Championships (16.0 consecutive scoreless innings).

 

WWU improved to 6-4 all-time in GNAC Championships play, making its fourth tournament appearance. The Vikings have now won four straight GNAC Tournament games after winning the 2017 tournament with a perfect 3-0 record during its last postseason appearance. The Vikings also qualified for the conference tournament in 2014 and 2015, including playing in the championship game in 2015.

 

The Vikings improved to 6-3 over Saint Martin's this season and continues to lead the all-time series 96-42, with a 3-1 record vs. the Saints in GNAC Championships play.

 

The Vikings (21-12) will face No. 1 seed Northwest Nazarene (29-10) Friday morning at 9:30 am in a winner's bracket game of the 2021 GNAC Softball Championships. Webcast and live stats links are provided at WWUVikings.com/Live. All games will be played at WOU Softball Field on the Western Oregon University campus.

 

GNAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Monmouth, OR (Hosted by Western Oregon University)

 

Thursday, May 6:

No. 2 Western Washington 1, No. 3 Saint Martin's 0

No. 1 Northwest Nazarene 2, No. 4 Western Oregon 1

 

Friday, May 7

No. 2 Western Washington vs. No. 1 Northwest Nazarene, 9:30 am

No. 3 Saint Martin's vs. No. 4 Western Oregon, 12:30 pm (Loser Out)

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

 

Saturday, May 8:

Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, Noon

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

 

Anna Kasner recorded 12 strikeouts in the 1-hit shutout over Saint Martin's for her 17^th career double-digit strikeout performance. The 12 K's were her second-most in a game this season, trailing only 15 in the season-opening start vs. Puget Sound (2/26). Kasner now has 525 career strikeouts, most in WWU and GNAC history, and 15^th-most among active NCAA II pitchers.

 

 

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.