BURNABY, B.C. – The No. 12 nationally-ranked Western Washington University softball team continued its historic winning ways with a Friday doubleheader sweep over Simon Fraser University at Beedie Field.

 

The Vikings opened the conference four-game series with a 4-2 victory in the first game and despite being down to its final out, rallied for a 6-2 victory in the nightcap to extend the winning streak to 11 consecutive games. WWU improved to 28-4 overall and 8-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with the pair of wins.

 

The winning streak is tied for 5th-longest in program history and already the second double-digit winning streak of the season. 

 

Junior Joie Baker earned her 10th win of the season with 6.0 strong innings in the opener, followed by a 1-2-3 7th inning by freshman Kiana Kong to record her fourth save. Kong faced one over the minimum in the second game with 4.0 scoreless innings to earn the win and improve to 9-1 on the season.

 

Reigning GNAC Player of the Week Maleah Andrews led the Vikings at the plate going 4-for-7 with a double and home run. Hailey Rath and McKenna Crum each had three hits combined in the doubleheader and Lexi Barcomb had two hits and drove in the game-tying run in the second game that led to the five-run inning.

 

WWU and SFU complete the four-game GNAC series Saturday at Beedie Field with first pitch to the doubleheader scheduled for noon.

 

 

The Vikings opened the doubleheader with a 4-2 victory to extend their winning streak to 10 consecutive games. 

 

The Vikings jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning on a sacrifice fly by catcher Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez. Right fielder McKenna Crum reached on a throwing error by the SFU third baseman and moved to third base on a single by shortstop Hailey Rath. Andrewjeski-Ramirez gave the Vikings the early lead lifting a deep fly ball to left field to score Crum.

 

WWU added to its lead in the top of the 4th inning taking a 3-0 lead on a two-run double off the fence in right-center field by Crum to score Lexie Barcomb and Maleah Andrews. Barcomb reached on a two-out error and Andrews extended the inning with a double to center field.

 

SFU climbed back into the game with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the 4th inning, with Abby McGlynn plating a run with a double and Janique Balcaen adding a sacrifice fly.

 

Junior second baseman Kanilehua Pitoy drove in pinch-runner Taylor Khorrami with an important insurance run in the top of the 7th inning.

 

Freshman Kaiana Kong set the SFU lineup down in order in the bottom of the 7th inning with a pair of strikeouts to record her fourth save of the season.

 

Starting pitcher Joie Baker recorded her 10th win of the season (10-1) limiting the Red Leafs to three hits and two unearned runs in 6.0 innings. Baker struck out seven and walked one batter in her 86-pitch outing.

 

SFU starter Julia Hansen (2-8) was saddled with the loss allowing nine hits and four runs (1 ER) in the complete-game effort.

 

 

 

The Vikings completed the doubleheader sweep with more late-inning dramatics scoring six runs in the 6th and 7th innings to record a 6-2 victory.

 

Trailing 2-0 through the first five innings, Maleah Andrews cut the deficit in half with a leadoff home run in the top of the 6th inning.

 

The Vikings batted around in the top of the 7th inning scoring five runs to take their first lead of the game. Freshman pinch-hitter Laila Carpenter reached base on a one-out single and moved to second on a groundout. Down to the final out with a 3-2 count, junior left fielder Lexi Barcomb singled off the pitcher with the ball scooting past the SFU shortstop to score Carpenter with the game-tying run.

 

A walk to Andrews and infield single by junior right fielder McKenna Crum loaded the bases for sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath. With the score tied 2-2, Rath fouled off several pitches before lining a ball up the middle to score a pair of runs. A fielding error on the play plated another run to put the Vikings ahead 5-2. Junior Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez followed with a single to extend the lead to 6-2.

 

Freshman Kaiana Kong set the Red Leafs down in order in the bottom of the 7th inning, ending the contest on a strikeout to record the win to improve to 9-1 on the season. Kong allowed one hit and faced one over the minimum in 4.0 scoreless innings.

 

SFU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in its first at-bat, but senior center fielder Taylor Khorrami robbed a grand slam with a spectacular catch over the center field fence.

 

The top of the Vikings lineup combined to go 7-for-12 with Andrews, Crum and Rath each recording multi-hit games. 

 

Monica Borque (4-9) allowed only one run through her first 6.0 innings, but was touched for five runs in the top of the 7th to record the loss. Left fielder Abby McGlynn went 2-for-3 and hit her second home run of the season.

 

SFU dropped to 6-26 overall and 1-13 in GNAC play. 

 

 

The Vikings (28-4, 8-2 GNAC) wrap up the four-game GNAC series at Simon Fraser Saturday (April 6) with a doubleheader schedule for a noon first pitch at Beedie Field. WWU remains on the road next weekend with a four-game set at Montana State Billings. The complete 2024 WWU Softball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com.

 

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

 

 

Here is an up-to-date look at the GNAC Softball standings following Friday's games with the Vikings alone in 2nd place in the standings at 8-2 in league play. The top four teams in the conference standings at the conclusion of the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Championships May 2-4 in Bellingham at Vikings Field. All updated stats, standings and schedule from the conference are available online at GNACSports.com.

 

 

WWU is 26-4 on the season having played extremely well in close games going 10-2 in 1-run games and 4-1 in games decided by two runs. The Vikings are also 6-1 in extra-inning contests.

 

When hitting a home run the Vikings are perfect at 18-0 this season.

 

The Vikings have a current 11-game winning streak to mark the team's second double-digit winning streak this season. Western opened the season with a school-record 13 consecutive wins for the best undefeated start in program and GNAC history.

 

The 13-0 start to the season entered the record books as the best undefeated start in the 32-year history of the program, and also the best winning streak by a GNAC program to start a season. WWU passed the 12-0 perfect start by the 2011 team that finished 36-16 to earn a spot in the NCAA II West Regional Championships. The 13-game winning streak also matched the program record set in 2001 and the current 11-game winning streak currently tied for 5th-best in program history.