TURLOCK, Calif. – The No. 14 nationally-ranked Western Washington University softball team opened their spring break road trip with a 7-0 shutout victory over Academy of Art Friday afternoon to open play in the Tournament of Champions at Pedretti Park.

Freshman pitcher Alli Kimball improved to 6-2 on the season with a complete-game, three-hit shutout to leads the Vikings to their 18th victory of the season in just 22 games. WWU also improved to 10-0 in California this season and 16-2 in non-conference play.

Kimball was masterful once again needing only 79 pitches to record her first career shutout while lowering her season ERA to 1.73 in 11 appearances (9 starts).

After not receiving any run support in her last two starts, the Vikings scored seven runs on seven hits to put away the Urban Knights with the shutout victory. Junior right fielder McKenna Crum plated the only runs Western would need with a two-out, two-run triple to left field in the top of the 2nd inning.

Western would add on one more run in the 5th inning, three in the 6th and one in the 7th. Junior Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez had a two-run single in the three-run sixth inning. Senior catcher Emily Paulson reached base in all four of her plate appearances going 2-for-2 with a run scored and two walks.

In addition to the strong pitching and hitting performance, WWU's defense played error-free for the third consecutive game, with the team committing only two errors in the last seven games. 

The Vikings hitters made the Academy of Art pitchers work, with Kayla Vaughan (158 pitches in 5.2 innings) and Kamielle Powell (24 pitches in 1.1 innings) combining for 182 pitches in the 7-inning contest. WWU batters combine to foul off 53 total pitches in the game.

Vaughan (3-7) was saddled with the loss allowing five hits and six runs (5 ER) in 5.2 innings, bur racked up 12 strikeouts while walking six batters.

The Vikings (18-4, 2-2 GNAC) continue play in the 21st annual Tournament of Champions with four more games over the weekend, completing play Friday with a 7 pm game vs. Cal State San Bernardino at Warrior Field. The three-day tournament is hosted by Stanislaus State University with more information available at WarriorAthletics.com. The complete 2024 WWU Softball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com.

WWU has played in every Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State University since the first tournament in 2002. During the 21-year history of the TOC the Vikings have combined to go 67-56 as the only GNAC team to post a winning record in the tournament. WWU went 3-2 at the TOC last season and was perfect at 5-0 during the 2019 edition of the tournament. Vikings have posted a .500 or better record at the TOC in 13 of the 20 trips to Turlock, including seven of the last eight dating back to the 2014 season.

WWU improved to 8-2 all-time vs. Academy of art, which includes a string of four wins in the last five games of the series. The Vikings and Urban Knights have met in Turlock at the Tournament of Champions in eight of the 10 all-time meetings.

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