SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Western Washington University softball team continued its torrid start to the 2024 season recording a walk-off 6-5 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay Friday to cap the second day of the North Bay Challenge.

The Vikings had to drive an hour between games on Friday at the North Bay Challenge after defeating Sonoma State 6-4 in the morning and fell behind 5-0 early in the 3 pm start against the Otters.

But when you are playing the way the Vikings have started this season, nothing is impossible. WWU scored a run in the 4th inning on a solo home run by junior catcher Emma Andrewjeski and plated five runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to record the 6-5 comeback victory, capped by a 2-run walk-off homer by junior second baseman Kanilehua Pitoy. 

Sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath started the 7th-inning rally with a sacrifice fly to deep left field and senior first baseman Ashley Jacobson pulled the Vikings to within one run with a two-out, 2-run home run to left field. Junior Riley Anderson drew a two-out walk, setting the stage for Pitoy who drove a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for the walk-off homer.

The Otters jumped out to the five-run lead on a three-run home run by catcher Ally Alcayaga in the top of the 1st inning and added two more runs in the 3rd inning to chase freshman starter Alli Kimball (3-0) from the game. Freshman reliever Kaiana Kong did not allow CSUMB to score over the final 4.1 innings to keep the Vikings in the game and recorded her third win in the last two days.

Pitoy's walk-off heroics capped a 4-for-4 game also recording three singles to go with her third career home run in 102 games as a Viking.

The Vikings (7-0) close out play in the North Bay Challenge Saturday with a pair of games at Penguin Field in San Rafael, taking on Chico State (0-1) at 10 am and Cal State Monterey Bay (2-3) for the third time this season at 12:30 pm. WWU's home opener at Viking Field is scheduled for next Saturday (Feb. 17) with a doubleheader against the University of British Columbia starting at 11 am. The complete 2024 WWU Softball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com.

SB🥎 | THIS JUST HAPPENED!!!

Down 5-1 heading into the bottom of the 7th inning, @WWU_Softball scores five runs with a walk-off 2-run HR by Kanilehua Pitoy giving the Viks a 6-5 win to improve to 7-0 on the season! pic.twitter.com/LBXOH737BC
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) February 10, 2024
  

The Vikings improved to 2-0 vs. Cal State Monterey Bay this season, also winning 7-3 last Saturday at the CUI Kickoff Classic. WWU is now 7-8 all-time vs. the Otters with a current 4-game winning streak and has won five of the last six meetings against Monterey Bay dating back to the 2017 NCAA II West Regional Championships.

WWU has had an early-season power surge belting nine home runs in the first seven games of the season, led by three homers each by Emma Andrewjeski and Riley Anderson. The nine home runs nearly equal the 10 total home runs hit by the Vikings in 49 games just one season ago in 2023.

The 7-0 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 7-game winning streak is also tied for 8th-longest in program history.

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2024 season: