TURLOCK, Calif. – It was a two-win kind of day for the No. 14 nationally-ranked Western Washington University softball team.

After opening the Tournament of Champions early Friday with a 7-0 win over Academy of Art, the Vikings inched towards the 20-win mark with a 9-2 victory over Cal State San Bernardino Friday evening at Warrior Field in the campus of Stanislaus State University. The game was delayed for over a half-hour due to a lightning delay in the middle part of the game.

WWU improved to 19-4 on the season and remained perfect going 11-0 in the state of California this season with another balanced team victory.

Sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath led the Vikings 14-hit attack going 2-for-4 with a solo home run, three-run double and totaled four RBI in the victory. 

Junior starting pitcher Joie Baker allowed one run and three hits over 5.0 innings to improve to 7-1 on the season.

The top five hitters in the Vikings lineup all recorded multi-hit games combining to go 10-for-20 with seven RBI. In addition to Rath's team-leading 10th multi-hit game of the season, leadoff hitter Maleah Andrews went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. 

Cal State San Bernardino entered the game having won seven of its last 10 games, but dropped to 14-12 with the loss to the Vikings. Starting pitcher Natalie Carlos (3-4) received the loss allowing 14 hits in the complete-game effort. First baseman Bri Goris went 2-for-3 and hit her team-leading sixth home run of the season.

The Vikings (19-4, 2-2 GNAC) continue play at the 21st Tournament of Champions with two games Saturday taking on Cal Poly Humboldt (2 pm) and No. 19 Cal State San Marcos (7 pm) 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 68-56 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.

The Vikings improved to 13-9 all-time vs. the Yotes and have now won four of the last five meetings vs. Cal State San Bernardino.

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