SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Western Washington University softball team continued its historic start to the season recording two more victories Saturday at the North Bay Challenge to improve to 9-0 on the season.
WWU defeated Chico State 4-3 in extra innings to open the day at Penguin Field on the Dominican University campus, and closed out the perfect California road trip with a 6-1 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay.
The nine-game winning streak is eighth-longest in program history and the 9-0 start is the second-best undefeated start to a season trailing only a 12-0 run by the 2011 Vikings.
Sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath (4-for-8, R, 2 2B, RBI) and freshman third baseman Maleah Andrews (4-for-9, 4 R, 2B) were the hitting heroes for the Vikings, who have scored 54 runs and batting .309 as a team to open the season. Junior catcher Emma Andrewjeski went 3-for-9 Saturday with four RBI and belted her team-leading fourth home run of the season.
WWU has 10 home runs already this season, matching the team total from last season in 49 games.
Freshman Kiana Kong improved to 4-0 in the North Bay Challenge recording the win with 5.0 scoreless relief innings in the opening game and junior Joie Baker earned the win in the nightcap with a complete-game effort.
Western returns home to Bellingham and will host the University of British Columbia on Saturday, February 17 in the home opener at Viking Field. The non-conference doubleheader is scheduled for an 11 am start.
The Vikings took the opening game of the day defeating Chico State 4-3 in nine innings to improve to 8-0 on the season.
WWU took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the 3rd inning, but Chico State battled back to take a 3-2 lead with a single run in the 3rd and two more in the 4th. The Vikings tied the game in the top of the 5th inning on a run-scoring single down the left field line by senior catcher Emily Paulson.
The game remained tied until the Vikings scored a run with the international tie breaker in affect in the top of the 9th inning. Junior second baseman Kanilehua Pitoy drove in the eventual game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Maleah Andrews.
Freshman relief pitcher Kaiana Kong recorded the win for the fourth consecutive game allowing just two hits in 5.0 scoreless innings to improve to 4-0. The native of Ewa Beach, Hawai'i has not allowed a run over her last 12.2 innings.
Sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath led the Vikings at the plate going 3-for-5 with a double and had 10 assists in the field. Andrews extended her hitting streak to six consecutive games going 1-for-5 with two runs scored.
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WWU 4, CHICO 3 (Feb. 10, 2024 at San Rafael, CA) – 9 innings
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Score by Innings
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
|
8
|
9
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R
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H
|
E
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Record
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Western Washington
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0
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0
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2
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0
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1
|
0
|
0
|
0
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1
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4
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8
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1
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8-0
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Chico State
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0
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0
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1
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2
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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3
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7
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2
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0-2
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WWU – Kimball, Kong (5) and Paulson
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CHICO – Oldwin, Valdez (5) and Lewis
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Win: Kong (4-0) Save: None Loss: Valdez (0-2)
WWU HR: None CHICO HR: Lewis (1)
Time of Game: 2:55 Att: 43
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The Vikings closed out a perfect 9-0 California road trip with a 6-1 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay, already the third win over the Otters this season.
Western got off to a 6-0 lead with single tallies in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings and Emma Andrewjeski put the game out of reach with a three-run home run in the top of the 7th inning for her team-leading fourth homer of the season.
Sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath plated the go-ahead run in the 3rd inning on a double to left-center field.
Junior starting pitcher Joie Baker (2-0) logged the complete game and came one out away from a shutout going 7.0 strong innings allowing seven hits, one run and struck out one batter.
Freshman third baseman Maleah Andrews went 3-for-4 to extend her hitting streak to seven consecutive games and Andrewjeski finished with four RBI. WWU recorded 10 hits in a game for the fifth time in nine games this season.
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WWU 6, CSUMB 1 (Feb. 10, 2024 at San Rafael, CA)
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Score by Innings
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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R
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H
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E
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LOB
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Record
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Western Washington
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0
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0
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1
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1
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1
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0
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3
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-
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6
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10
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0
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7
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9-0
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Cal St. Monterey Bay
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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1
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-
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1
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7
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2
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8
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2-4
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WWU – Baker and Andrewjeski
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CSUMB – Alcantara, Madrigal (7) and Alcayaga
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Win: Baker (2-0) Save: None Loss: Alcantara (0-1)
WWU HR: Andrewjeski (4) CSUMB HR: None
Time of Game: 2:09 Att: 54
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The Vikings (9-0) return home next week for the home opener at Viking Field with a doubleheader on Saturday (Feb. 17) against the University of British Columbia starting at 11 am. The complete 2024 WWU Softball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com.
BEST STARTS & WINNING STREAKS
The 9-0 start is the second-best undefeated start to a season in the 32-year history of the program. The 2011 Vikings got off to a 12-0 start on the way to a 36-16 record and a trip to the NCAA II West Regional Championships. The current 9-game winning streak is 8th-longest in program history.
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LONGEST WWU WINNING STREAKS
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Rk
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Streak
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Dates
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1.
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13
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Mach 28-April 18, 2001
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2.
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12
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February 11-March 9, 2011
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12
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April 23-May 11, 2017
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4.
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11
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April 14-25, 1998
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11
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April 22-May 2, 2007
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6.
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10
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April 20-May 4, 1996
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10
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April 8-18, 1999
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8.
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9
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Feb, 2, 2024-Current
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9.
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7
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April 18-May 2, 1997
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|
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7
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April 18-25, 2002
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|
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7
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February 23-March 9, 2019
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|
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7
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March 22-April 1, 2022
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Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2024 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall
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9-0
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GNAC
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0-0
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Non-Conference
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9-0
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Streak
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W9
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Home
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0-0
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Away
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3-0
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Neutral
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6-0
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vs. Ranked Teams
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1-0
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1-Run Games
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4-0
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2-Run Games
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1-0
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Extra Innings
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2-0
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Shutouts
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0-0
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BY UNIFORM
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Black
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4-0
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Blue/White
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1-0
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Navy
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0-0
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Gray
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3-0
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White/Navy
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1-0
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Gray/Blue
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0-0
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