NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University softball team played first-place Northwest Nazarene University tight in a conference doubleheader Friday at Halle Field, but dropped both games by identical 3-2 scores.
WWU dropped to 17-18 overall and 6-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, but remain in fourth place in the league standings.
The Vikings totaled 14 hits over the course of both games, equaling NNU, but combined to go 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position, 3-for-18 with two outs and left 13 runners on base.
Pitchers Mareena Ramirez and Joie Baker were solid in the circle each turning on great starts, but were saddled with tough-luck defeats on a chilly and rainy afternoon in Idaho.
Sophomore third baseman Amaya Davis led the Vikings at the plate going 4-for-6 with a double and Lexi Barcomb was 3-for-5 with a double and RBI.
WWU (17-18, 6-8 GNAC) and NNU close out the four-game GNAC series Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon MT/11 am PT. Both games of Saturday's doubleheader will feature a live webcast and statistical updates with links at wwuvikings.com/Live.
The Vikings battled back to tie the game 2-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the 7th inning, but NNU recorded a walk-off win on a bases loaded walk for a 3-2 victory.
NNU went ahead 1-0 on a solo home run by left fielder Maia McNicoll in the 3rd inning and doubled its lead on a McNicoll run-scoring double in the bottom of the 6th inning.
Singles by Amaya Davis and Emily Paulson helped fuel the game-tying inning, with Lexi Barcomb driving in the first run on a single to left field. Western tied the game with a two-out throwing error by the NNU third baseman.
The Nighthawks pushed the winning run across in the bottom half of the 7th inning. WWU got two quick outs and looked to push the game to extra innings, but NNU three walks and a single to end the game with the 3-2 win. Starting pitcher Sidney Booth drew the bases loaded walk to end the game off WWU relief pitcher Joie Baker.
WWU starting pitcher Mareena Ramirez was saddled with a tough loss to fall to 12-5 on the season. Ramirez wiggled out of several jams in her start, allowing eight hits and three runs in 6.2 innings. The right-hander walked a season-high eight batters and struck out seven.
Davis went 2-for-3 for her seventh multi-hit game of the season and Hailey Rath hit her team-leading 11th double and also drew an intentional walk.
Booth (12-6) earned the win for the Nighthawks allowing one unearned run in the complete-game effort, recording six strikeouts and walking a pair. McNicoll was 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead NNU at the plate.
|
NNU 3, WWU 2 (April 7, 2023 at Bellingham, WA) – Game 1
|
|
Score by Innings
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
-
|
R
|
H
|
E
|
LOB
|
Record
|
|
Western Washington
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
-
|
2
|
5
|
1
|
7
|
17-17, 6-7
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
-
|
3
|
9
|
1
|
16
|
20-13, 8-1
|
|
WWU – Ramirez, Baker (7) and Paulson, Christensen (7)
|
|
NNU – Booth and Felter
|
|
Win: Booth (12-6) Save: None Loss: Ramirez (12-5)
WWU HR: None NNU HR: McNicoll (9)
Time of Game: 2:25
|
The Vikings built a quick 2-0 lead scoring a pair of runs in their opening at-bat of the second game, with Kanilehua Pitoy providing a run-scoring single and Amaya Davis an RBI double.
But the Vikings couldn't play add-on to their lead and dropped the second game by an identical score of 3-2 to endure the doubleheader sweep.
The Nighthawks scored single runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings, with the eventual winning run crossing the plate on a two-out single to left field by left fielder Clarissa Moreno.
WWU put the potential game-tying run in scoring position in the top of the 7th inning, but Hailey Rath grounded out to second base to end the game.
Sophomore starter Joie Baker was solid while enduring the loss allowing five hits and three runs in the complete-game effort.
NNU starter Tori Hensley improved to 9-5 scattering nine hits and allowing the two first-inning runs in the complete game performance.
WWU out-hit NNU 9-5, led by multi-hit efforts from Davis and Lexi Barcomb.
NNU was led by the 2-for-4 game by Moreno.
|
NNU 3, WWU 2 (April 7, 2023 at Bellingham, WA) – Game 2
|
|
Score by Innings
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
-
|
R
|
H
|
E
|
LOB
|
Record
|
|
Western Washington
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
2
|
9
|
1
|
6
|
17-18, 6-8
|
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
x
|
-
|
3
|
5
|
0
|
6
|
21-13, 9-1
|
|
WWU – Baker and Paulson
|
|
NNU – Hensley and Adams
|
|
Win: Hensley (9-5) Save: None Loss: Baker (2-3)
WWU HR: None NNU HR: None
Time of Game: 2:40 Att: 58
|
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023 season:
|
RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
17-18
|
|
GNAC
|
6-8
|
|
Non-Conference
|
11-10
|
|
Streak
|
L3
|
|
Home
|
6-3
|
|
Viking Field
|
5-3
|
|
Away
|
4-11
|
|
Neutral
|
7-4
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
1-2
|
|
1-Run Games
|
7-8
|
|
2-Run Games
|
2-3
|
|
Extra Innings
|
3-2
|
|
Shutouts
|
4-5
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
Black
|
7-4
|
|
Blue/White
|
4-4
|
|
Navy
|
3-3
|
|
Gray
|
2-6
|
|
White/Navy
|
1-1
|
Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games played on Friday. The top four teams in the standings at the completion of the regular season advance to play in the GNAC Championships May 4-6 in Burnaby, B.C.
|
GNAC SOFTBALL
|
CONF
|
PCT
|
OVERALL
|
PCT
|
HOME
|
AWAY
|
NEUTRAL
|
STREAK
|
|
1.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
9-1
|
.900
|
21-13
|
.618
|
12-3
|
7-2
|
3-8
|
Won 2
|
|
2.
|
Western Oregon
|
9-3
|
.750
|
20-18
|
.526
|
8-0
|
4-12
|
8-6
|
Won 4
|
|
3.
|
Saint Martin's
|
5-3
|
.625
|
18-10
|
.643
|
8-2
|
2-6
|
8-2
|
Won 1
|
|
4.
|
Western Washington
|
6-8
|
.429
|
17-18
|
.486
|
6-3
|
4-11
|
7-4
|
Lost 3
|
|
5.
|
Montana State Billings
|
5-7
|
.417
|
13-21
|
.382
|
3-1
|
4-14
|
6-6
|
Lost 2
|
|
6.
|
Central Washington
|
4-6
|
.400
|
16-18
|
.471
|
8-2
|
4-10
|
4-6
|
Lost 4
|
|
7.
|
Simon Fraser
|
2-12
|
.143
|
8-29
|
.216
|
1-5
|
1-14
|
6-10
|
Lost 1
|
|
Friday's GNAC Softball Results
|
|
at Western Oregon 4, Central Washington 3 (Game 1)
at Western Oregon 8, Central Washington 7 – 10 inn. (Game 2)
at Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Washington 2 (Game 1)
at Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Washington 2 (Game 2)
at Simon Fraser 5, Saint Martin's 4 (Game 1)
Saint Martin's 8, at Simon Fraser 3 (Game 2)
|
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 31st season in 2023. WWU advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the fifth time in program history in 2021 after winning the GNAC Tournament. WWU has posted a winning record 19 times during the 30-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title. During the nine-season span from 2014-2022, the Vikings have combined to go 224-172 and won a pair of GNAC Tournament titles (2017 & 2021).
