BURNABY, B.C. – The Western Washington University softball team split a doubleheader Sunday with Simon Fraser University north of the border at Beedie Field.

 

SFU came out on top in a 4-2 contest to start the day, but WWU clinched the 3-1 series victory with a come-from-behind 6-2 victory in the nightcap.

 

WWU improved to 23-16 overall with a current hot streak of 18 wins in the last 23 games dating back to the beginning of March. The Vikings are now in a three-way tie for first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 9-3 record in league games, sharing the top spot in the standings with Saint Martin's and Northwest Nazarene. SFU dropped to 15-17 overall and 6-10 in GNAC play.

 

The Vikings outhit Simon Fraser 21-12 on the day with senior Chantelle Shimabukuro leading the way going 5-for-7 day with a double, home run and two RBI. Shimabukuro recorded hits in both games to extend her hitting streak to 18 games and her on-base streak to 26 consecutive games. Senior Lauren Lowent 4-for-8 with a 2-run home run and senior Tatum Dow hit a go-ahead three-run home run to highlight the six-run 6th inning in the second game.

 

Freshman Joie Baker completed a 2-0 weekend in the circle earning the win in the second game scattering eight hits and two runs in the complete-game victory. Baker joined forces with senior Kira Doan to pitch all 27 innings in the series, with the duo holding the top hitting team in the West Region to nine runs and a .216 batting average.

 

"I'm so proud of the way our team stepped up against a strong Simon Fraser squad," said WWU fourth-year WWU head coach Sheryl Gilmore (83-60/.580). "We knew we were going to be a little short-handed going into the weekend and it was great to see everyone come together, show grit and take care of business with three team wins. Kira and Joie did a great job holding their offense at bay, our defense was clutch for us in big moments and we got a lot of runners on base. After a little rest, we are looking forward to getting back at it this week with a big home series at Viking Field against Central Washington."

The Vikings (23-16, 9-3 GNAC) return home after concluding a string of 15 consecutive road games next weekend hosting Central Washington University in a four-game series Friday and Saturday (April 15-16) at Viking Field. Fans are permitted at all WWU home games for the 2022 season with no admission fee and free parking in the C lots. A live webcast and statistical updates are also provided at wwuvikings.com/Live.

 

WWU concluded a string of 15 consecutive road games with a 12-3 record … WWU has won seven of its last eight GNAC games … Vikings are 18-5 over their last 23 games since the start of March (were 5-11 entering the month) … Rylie Wales hit .500 (7-for-14) and Chantelle Shimabukuro went 7-for-15 (.467) in the series at SFU … eight of nine runs scored by SFU came on home runs … Shimabukuro extended her hitting streak to 18 consecutive games (tied for 2nd in WWU history) and on-base streak to 26 straight games (tied for 2nd) … over her last 26 games during the on-base streak Shimabukuro is batting .538 (42-for-78, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, .795 SLG, .598 OBP) … Tatum Dow is batting .381 (51-for-134) this season (12 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBI) and has the top career batting average in program history at .381 (111-for-291) … Lauren Lo moved into 9th in WWU history with 163 career hits and tied for 9th with 91 runs scored … WWU has a 28-21 advantage over SFU in the 49 games since Simon Fraser joined the GNAC in 2011 … the Vikings lead the series vs. SFU 12-8 in the last 20 meetings since 2017 and are 24-9 since 2013.

 

 

WWU dropped the first game of Sunday's doubleheader at Simon Fraser 4-2 at Beedie Field.

 

The Vikings outhit SFU 9-4 but went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position to drop their first GNAC game in a month.

 

WWU senior starting pitcher Kira Doan was saddled with the loss (8-6) after tossing the full 6.0 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and a pair of two-run home runs.

 

After replacing Simon Fraser starter Shaneika Hollingworth with one out in the first inning, sophomore Anissa Zacharczuk pitched a scoreless 6.2 innings, scattering six hits to earn the win in the circle.

 

The Vikings were led at the plate by 2-for-4 performances from senior center fielder Lauren Lo and senior second baseman Chantelle Shimabukuro.

 

The doubleheader started with early fireworks off the bat of Lo, who hit a two-run home run to left-center field to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead in their first at-bat.

 

Simon Fraser's Chelsea Hotner struck back in the bottom of the 2nd with a two-run shot of her own to center field, tying the game 2-2.

 

Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Hanna Finkelstein blasted another two-run home run in the bottom of the 5th inning, proving to be the difference in the two-run game.

 

Western had a chance to add on early in the game loading the bases in the 2nd and 3rd innings, but were not able to extend the lead and had its six-game GNAC winning streak snapped.

 

 

 

The Vikings would earn the doubleheader split coming from behind in a 6-2 victory in the nightcap. 

 

WWU trailed 2-0 through the first five innings, but rallied for a six-run 6th inning to take the series 3-1.

 

The Vikings outhit SFU 12-8 and were led by a 3-for-3, two-RBI performance from senior Chantelle Shimabukuro. Seniors Tatum Dow, Lauren Lo and Rylie Wales each tallied two hits in the game, with Dow also driving in three runs.

 

Freshman Joie Baker picked up the win (8-7) in a complete-game performance where she held the West Region's top offense to just a pair of runs on eight hits.

 

The hosts struck first this time, taking a 1-0 lead on a 3rd-inning sac fly and extending it to 2-0 on their third home run of the day, a solo shot by junior Hannah Boulanger.

 

The Vikings rallied for the big inning in the top of the 6th to put the game away. Wales led off with a single up the middle and pinch-hitter Amaya Davis doubled to the left field gap to put a pair of runners in scoring position. The first run of the inning came in to score on a fielding error and Dow provided the first of two big hits with a three-run home run to center field. After a single by Lo, Shimabukuro delivered a two-run home run to extend the lead to 6-2.

 

The two home runs couldn't come at a better time for Western, who were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position in the game before the Dow homer.

 

Baker would get through the final two innings cleanly allowing just two hits to secure the 6-2 win.

 

 

Here is an updated look at the GNAC standings following play on Sunday with the Vikings maintaining the hold on first place in the conference in a three-way tie with Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin's:

 

 

WWU is 39 games into the 2022 season marking the most games since the 2019 season (22 in 2020, 37 in 2021) due to the pandemic. The Vikings have three regular-season GNAC series remaining, playing eight of the final 12 games at home. WWU will host CWU next weekend (April 15-16), travel to play Western Oregon in Monmouth (April 23-24) and close out the regular season at home vs. Saint Martin's (April 30-May 1). The top four teams in the GNAC standings following the regular season will advance to play in the GNAC Championships May 5-7 in Lacey on the Saint Martin's campus.