IRVINE, Calif. – The cold Northwest weather in January doesn't seem to have affected the red-hot Western Washington University softball team.
The Vikings recorded a pair of wins over California schools on Saturday, defeating Stanislaus State 9-1 in five innings and Cal State Monterey Bay 7-3, to improve to 3-0 on the season outscoring the opposition 16-4 Saturday in games at the CUI Kickoff Classic.
WWU wraps up its season-opening tournament Sunday facing tournament host and No. 14 Concordia Irvine in a 10:30 am game at Great Park.
The Viking bats have had a great start recording double-digits in hits in all three games and are batting .368 (32-for-87) as a team with 22 runs scored. WWU has also committed only two errors on defense and recorded a 2.58 staff ERA (7 ER, 19.0 IP).
The Vikings opened the day improving to 2-0 on the season with a run-rule-shortened 9-1 victory over Stanislaus State.
WWU pounded out 11 hits and used a five-run 2nd inning to build a lead it would never relinquish.
Freshman Alli Kimball improved to 2-0 in as many games scattering five hits and one unearned run, recording one strikeout without allowing a walk.
Sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath went 3-for-3 with three RBI at the plate extending her hitting streak to 11 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Junior leadoff hitter McKenna Crum (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 SB) and senior first baseman Ashley Jacobson (2-for-2, R, RBI, SF) also recorded multi-hit games.
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WWU 9, STAN 1 (Feb. 3, 2024 at Irvine, CA) - Run Rule Shortened
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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
|
|
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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5
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1
|
2
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1
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x
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x
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-
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9
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11
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1
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7
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2-0
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Stanislaus State
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0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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x
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x
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-
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1
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5
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4
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5
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0-3
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WWU – Kimball and Paulson
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STAN – Frutoz, Martello (3) and Ramirez
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Win: Kimball (2-0) Save: None Loss: Frutoz (0-2)
WWU HR: None STAN HR: None
Time of Game: 1:44 Att: 118
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GAME 2 – WWU 7, Cal State Monterey Bay 3 Box Score
Cal State Monterey Bay scored a run in the first inning, but junior starting pitcher Joie Baker settled in after that to record the win allowing three runs in the complete-game effort.
Trailing 1-0, WWU scored a pair of runs in the top of the 5th inning. Senior Ashley Jacobson led off the inning with a no-doubt homer to left-center field and freshman Maleah Andrews plated the go-ahead run on a groundout to put the Vikings up 2-1.
In the top of the 6th inning the Vikings tacked on four more runs with junior Riley Anderson blasting a three-run homer to right-center field to extend the lead to 5-1.
Leadoff hitter McKenna Crum went 3-for-5, Jacobson was 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and Kanilehua Pitoy went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
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WWU 7, CSUMB 3 (Feb. 3, 2024 at Irvine, 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
|
7
|
|
R
|
H
|
E
|
LOB
|
Record
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Western Washington
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0
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0
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0
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0
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2
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4
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1
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-
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7
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11
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0
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10
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3-0
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Cal St. Monterey Bay
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1
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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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2
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-
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3
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10
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1
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10
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2-1
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WWU – Baker and Andrewjeski
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CSUMB – Willis, Alcantara, Madrigal, Voth and Alcayaga
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Win: Baker (1-0) Save: None Loss: Madrigal (1-1)
WWU HR: Anderson (1), Jacobson (1) CSUMB HR: None
Time of Game: 2:10 Att: 112
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The Vikings wrap up play at the CUI Kickoff Classic Sunday taking on host No. 14 Concordia Irvine (3-1) in a 10:30 am game at Great Park in Irvine, California. Live links to follow the game will be available at WWUVikings.com.
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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3-0
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GNAC
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0-0
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Non-Conference
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3-0
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Streak
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W3
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Home
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0-0
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Away
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0-0
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Neutral
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3-0
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vs. Ranked Teams
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0-0
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1-Run Games
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1-0
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2-Run Games
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0-0
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Extra Innings
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0-0
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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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2-0
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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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0-0
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White/Navy
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0-0
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Gray/Blue
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0-0
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