BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team continues its historic season this week hosting the NCAA Division II West Super Regional at Viking Field.

 

WWU went the tough route through the Bellingham portion of the West Region bracket over the weekend, going 4-1 with a pair of wins Saturday over Cal State San Marcos to advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships.

 

A total of 64 teams lined the bracket at the start of the championships and only 16 remain, with WWU hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills in a best-of-three series starting Tuesday at Viking Field with first pitch scheduled for noon. CSUDH went 3-0 in the Nampa Regional to advance to the Super Regional round for the second time in the last three years. 

 

The winner of the best-of-three series between the Vikings and Toros advance to the eight-team NCAA Division II Softball Championship Finals held May 19-25 in Longwood, Florida as part of the Spring Sports Festival in Orlando.

 

The Vikings are making their first appearance in the Super Regional round since joining the NCAA level in 1999. WWU enters this week with a 46-8 overall record, 10 more wins more than the previous school single-season record of 36 set in 2011.

 

WWU will be playing at home for the third consecutive postseason series after hosting and winning the GNAC Championships May 2-4 and a four-team West Regional last weekend, combining to go 7-1 so far in the postseason. The Super Regional format features one game on Tuesday with a start time of noon, followed by Game 2 on Wednesday at noon, with an if necessary Game 3 following.

 

All games will stream live online at wwuvikings.com/VikingsTV. Tickets for the games will be on sale one hour prior to the start of each game at the box office near Viking Field or online via wwuvikings.com/SB_Tickets.

 

The Vikings are led by one of the best pitching staffs in the nation with the team boating a 1.69 ERA and 1.04 WHIP to rank 8th in the nation. Freshman pitchers Alli Kimball (21-2, 1.15 ERA) and Kaiana Kong (13-1, 10 SV, 1.27 ERA) join junior Joie Baker (12-4, 2.29 ERA) to form one of the most potent pitching staffs in the nation.

 

The Vikings offense is led by First Team All-West Region and GNAC Player of the Year shortstop Hailey Rath (.366/67-for-183, 13 2B, 7 HR, 44 RBI), All-Region catcher Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez (16 HR, 49 RBI) and All-Region and All-GNAC freshman third baseman Maleah Andrews (.347/61-for-176, 16 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 33 BB). Senior center fielder Taylor Khorrami anchors a strong defensive outfield and has joined right fielder McKenna Crum as two of the top hitters in the lineup over the last month. 

 

WWU is led by sixth-hear head coach Sheryl Gilmore, who has a 161-99 (.619) record at the helm of the program.

SB🥎 | Super Regional action opens Tuesday at Viking Field with @WWU_Softball hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills in a best-of-three series with a trip to Florida and the national championships tournament on the line.

🔗 : https://t.co/ZyjwVYp9cX pic.twitter.com/sD5Hv3nCTr
— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) May 13, 2024
  

Here is a look at the West Super Regional Schedule with the best-of-three series played at Viking Field on the campus of Western Washington University in Bellingham:

 

Game 1: No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills, 12 pm

Game 2: No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills, 12 pm

Game 3: No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills, 2:30 pm (if necessary)

 

The Vikings (46-8) host Cal State Dominguez Hills (38-19) in a best-of-three Super Regional at Viking Field, beginning with Game 1 Tuesday at 12 pm. A details website with tournament information can be found online at wwuvikings.com/SB_SuperRegional.

 

WWU served as the host of one of the two sub-regional tournaments in Bellingham at Viking Field, just a week after hosting the GNAC Championships. This marks the first time WWU has hosted an NCAA Softball Championships event. Here is a look at scores from the Bellingham and Nampa brackets that made up the eight-team West Regional Championships, with WWU and Cal State Dominguez Hills advancing to the best-of-three Super Regional. 

 

 

Thursday, May 9:

Game 1 – No. 1 Western Washington 1, No. 8 Azusa Pacific 0

Game 2 – No. 4 Cal State San Marcos 9, No. 5 Cal State East Bay 1 (5 inn.)

Friday, May 10:

Game 3 – No. 4 Cal State San Marcos 4, No. 1 Western Washington 3

Game 4 – No. 8 Azusa Pacific 5, No. 5 Cal State East Bay 0 (CSUEB eliminated)

Game 5 – No. 1 Western Washington, No. 8 Azusa Pacific 0 (APU eliminated)

Saturday, May 11:

Game 6 – No. 1 Western Washington 7, No. 4 Cal State San Marcos 1

Game 7 – No. 1 Western Washington 2, No. 4 Cal State San Marcos 1 (CSUSM eliminated)

 

 

Thursday, May 9:

Game 1 – No. 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills 7, No. 3 Concordia Irvine 1

Game 2 – No. 2 Northwest Nazarene 3, No. 7 Saint Martin's 2

Friday, May 10:

Game 3 – No. 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills 2, No. 2 Northwest Nazarene 0

Game 4 – No. 7 Saint Martin's 8, No. 3 Concordia Irvine 2 (CUI eliminated)

Game 5 – No. 2 Northwest Nazarene 7, No. 7 Saint Martin's 3 (SMU eliminated)

Saturday, May 11:

Game 6 – No. 6 Cal State Dominguez Hills 3, No. 2 Northwest Nazarene 1 (NNU eliminated)

 

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

 

 

Here are links on how to follow the 64-team field in the 2024 NCAA Division II Softball Championships:

 

• Super Regional Website
• NCAA Tournament Scoreboard
• NCAA Bracket
• Digital Gameday Program
• NCAA Softball

 

WWU is making its sixth all-time appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships and first since 2021. The Vikings are 5-11 all-time in the NCAA Championships, going 3-1 so far during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Here is a look at the Vikings game-by-game listing in the NCAA Championships. Prior to moving to the NCAA level in 1999, WWU won the NAIA World Series for the first team title in WWU Athletics history:

 

2003 (Bakersfield, CA):

Lost to UC Davis, 4-2

Lost to Humboldt State, 7-1

 

2007 (Turlock, CA):

Lost to Stanislaus State, 2-0

Lost to Sonoma State, 3-1

 

2011 (Chico, CA):

Lost to Chico State, 3-1

Lost to Central Washington, 8-4

 

2017 (Seaside, CA):

Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 5-3

Lost to Dixie State, 5-0

Lost to Sonoma State, 6-4

 

2021 (Irvine, CA):

Lost to Hawai'i Hilo, 3-0

Lost to Central Washington, 9-5

 

2024 (Bellingham, WA):

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 1-0

Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 4-3

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 3-0

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 7-1

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 2-1

 

WWU has set the program record for wins in a season with 46 (and counting), passing the 36 wins achieved by the 2011 squad (36-16/.692). This is the 10th 30-victory season in program history.