BURNABY, B.C. – The Western Washington University softball team gave it all they had looking to extend its postseason run but fell just short dropping a 3-2 contest to No. 1 seed Northwest Nazarene Saturday in the GNAC Championships Finals at Beedie Field.

WWU brought the potential game-winning run to the plate in the bottom of the 7th inning, but NNU held on for the one-run victory to win its second consecutive GNAC Tournament title.

The Vikings concluded the 2023 season with a 26-23 record, placing 3rd during the GNAC regular season with a 13-11 record, and reached the tournament finals. Western would have had to beat NNU twice Saturday to win the GNAC title.

NNU got off to a quick start with a run in the top of the 1st inning on a sacrifice fly by starting pitcher Sidney Booth. WWU starting pitcher Mareena Ramirez wiggled out of the jam and settled in not allowing a run until the top of the 6th inning.

The Vikings pulled even in the bottom of the 2nd inning on a run-scoring single by junior catcher Emily Paulson. WWU got a leadoff double from sophomore third baseman Amaya Davis and a single by Kanilehua Pitoy to set up Paulson's game-tying single to right field. Booth got out of the inning without further damage retiring the next three batters she faced.

Ramirez retired seven 10 consecutive batters from the 1st-through-4th innings, getting out of a bases loaded jam to keep the game knotted 1-1. 

Booth also found her groove retiring 13 straight Vikings after no-hitting Saint Martin's in five innings Friday, allowing for the Nighthawks to take the lead. With one out in the top of the 6th inning, pinch hitter Emma Bumatay hit a towering 2-run home run to put NNU up 3-1.

The Vikings rallied in the bottom of the 7th looking to push the game to extra-innings or earn the walk-off win to force a second game Saturday. Pitoy led off the inning with a double to center field and moved to third base on a wild pitch. After consecutive infield pop outs, sophomore left fielder Lexi Barcomb singled up the middle to drive in Pitoy to cut the deficit to one run at 3-2. First Team All-GNAC designated player Kinzey Williams popped out to end the game.

Ramirez (18-8) pitched well despite taking the loss in the circle, allowing six hits and three runs in the complete-game effort. She walked six batters, but pitched well with runners on base holding NNU to 1-for-7 with two outs and 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Ramirez finished with four strikeouts, giving the senior right-hander 174 on the season to rank 4th in WWU single-season history.

WWU out-hit NNU 7-6 in the game, led by a 2-for-3 performance from Pitoy and the run-scoring singles by Paulson and Barcomb. Freshman shortstop Hailey Rath went 1-for-3 and finished the tournament with a .727 batting average (8-for-11, 6 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 BB) to lead all players.

Booth improved to 18-8 on the season and went 2-0 in the tournament to win GNAC Championships MVP honors. The left-hander allowed seven hits and two runs, while striking out four and not issuing a walk. Appearing in all three games for NNU during the championships, Booth allowed just two earned runs (both Saturday vs. WWU) in 16.0 innings. Designated player Tori Hensley and center fielder Madison Felter were both 2-for-3 to lead NNU at the plate. Bumatay's home run was the second of her season.

After dropping the tournament opener 12-4 to No. 2 seed Saint Martin's on Thursday, the No. 3 seed Vikings won consecutive elimination games with a 6-3 win over No. 4 Western Oregon and a 15-6 win over Saint Martin's Friday evening. 

NNU won the season series over WWU 4-1, with three of the victories all by identical 3-2 final scores … Hailey Rath finished her first collegiate season batting .372 (58-for-156) and hit the 2nd-most doubles in a single season with 17 … set WWU freshman record with 26 extra-base hits (2B-17, 3B-2, HR-7), one short of the overall record of 27 by Emily Benson in 2019 (2B-12, 3B-1, HR-14) … Rath (.714/8-for-11), Isabel Cargill (.500/7-for-14) and Kanilehua Pitoy (.500/7-for-14) were among the top five hitters ranked by batting average in the GNAC Championships … overall WWU hit .347 (41-for-118) with 10 extra-base hits (2B-5, 3B-1, HR-4) in the four-game tournament … WWU out-hit NNU 7-6, marking the 11th loss this season when out-hitting an opponent … WWU finished the season 26-23 marking the ninth time in the last 10 full seasons to finish at .500 or better … head coach Sheryl Gilmore completed her fifth season leading the Vikings (115-91/.547). 

Northwest Nazarene won their second consecutive GNAC Championships title with the 3-2 victory over WWU. The Vikings would have had to win two games Saturday to take the GNAC Tournament title. The four-team, double-elimination tournament was played at Beedie Field on Burnaby Mountain in British Columbia. Here is a look at the tournament results, with NNU receiving the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships West Regional.

Thursday, May 4:

Game 1: No. 2 Saint Martin's 12, No. 3 Western Washington 4 (6 inn.)

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

Game 3: No. 3 Western Washington 6, No. 4 Western Oregon 3 (WOU eliminated)

Friday, May 5:

Game 4: No. 1 Northwest Nazarene 12, No. 2 Saint Martin's 0 (5 inn.)

Game 5: No. 3 Western Washington 15, No. 2 Saint Martin's 6 (SMU eliminated)

Saturday, May 7:

Game 6: No. 1 Northwest Nazarene 3, No. 3 Western Washington 2 (WWU eliminated)

WWU has advanced to play in six of the 10 GNAC Championship tournaments, winning titles in two of the last six seasons (2017 & 2021). The Vikings are 10-8 all-time in GNAC Championships play.

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2023 season:

The WWU softball program completed its 31st season in 2023 with a record of 26-23. 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 20 times during the 31-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 2014-2023, the Vikings have combined to go 250-195 and won a pair of GNAC Tournament titles in 2017 & 2021.