BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A two-run double off the bat of freshman third baseman Maleah Andrewssparked a three-run 4th inning by the Western Washington softball team on Friday morning at Viking Field, in an eventual 4-2 triumph over Northwest Nazarene to open the second day of the 2024 GNAC Softball Championships.

Andrews' big swing of the bat broke open a 0-0 game, and junior catcher Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirezfollowed with a two-out, RBI-single to cap the rally. The Nighthawks got two runs back in the bottom of the inning, but that's all they managed as WWU freshman closer Kaiana Kong picked up her seventh save of the season with a scoreless final three frames. 

"It was intense, and we just continued to throw what our strengths are as a pitching staff," said Andrewjeski-Ramirez. "We tried to attack early because we knew they have great hitters. We tried to be strong and come right at them, and put the ball where we know we can field it."

With the win, No. 14 WWU improved to 41-7 on the season and advanced to Saturday's championship game, scheduled for noon at Viking Field. The Vikings will face NNU again, needing one win to claim their third GNAC Tournament title.

"NNU is a phenomenal team and we have a lot of respect for them, and we were ready for anything," said WWU head coach Sheryl Gilmore, the 2024 GNAC Coach of the Year. "When we strike early, like we did yesterday, it allows our pitchers to settle in and Joie (Baker) and Kaiana (Kong) did a great job together."

Junior right-hander Joie Baker earned the win for the Vikings improving to 12-3 on the season, allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk across her 4.0 innings of work. Kong allowed just one walk and one hit in completing the save, retiring nine of the 11 hitters she faced. 

"Joie has worked so hard to come back from injury last year, and all of our pitchers work hard every day," said Gilmore. "They really have each other's backs, and they know they can set each other up for success. They can give teams different looks when they come in, and they really feed off that."

The Nighthawks used a combination of three arms in the game, with GNAC Pitcher of the Year Sidney Booth allowing three runs (one earned) with four strikeouts and five walks in three innings of work. First Team All-GNAC selection Gina Skinner allowed one run on three hits in two innings, and freshman Mia Traylor allowed one hit and one walk in two scoreless frames to keep the Nighthawks alive until the end. Booth dropped to 23-5 on the season, with three of the five losses coming against the Vikings.

Among the 18 combined runners left on base in the game, 10 of them were left in scoring position as each team had multiple scoring opportunities. Both pitching staffs did well in the face of trouble, with WWU going 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and NNU managing a line of just 1-for-7.

"I go into each at-bat trying not to do too much, and I know if I hit it hard enough it is going to result in something good," Andrewjeski-Ramirez said on her key RBI. "Especially today facing Sidney (Booth) and Gina (Skinner) I was just trying to see what they were going to throw. They are both really great pitchers, so I was just trying to put something in play."

GNAC Player of the Year Hailey Rath supplied WWU with an insurance run in the top of the 6th inning, lifting a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home McKenna Crum, who led off the inning with a single.

A one-out single off the bat of Ava Clark brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 7th inning, but Kong calmly pitched out of trouble with a pop up and a ground out to Andrews to end the game. of the fourth to get momentum back in the Nighthawks' favor.

Andrews was exceptional defensively for the second straight game, turning in four assists at third base. With no outs in the bottom of the fourth, Andrews raced towards home to handle a bunt and had the wherewithal to turn and fire a strike to Rath covering third base to cut down the lead runner. "She is such an awesome person and athlete, and she is so coachable," Gilmore said on Andrews, a First Team All-GNAC pick. "She wants to continue to learn and grow, and no moment is too big for her. We knew she was going to come up big, and she has been clutch for us defensively all year long."

Andrewjeski-Ramirez contributed in all areas of the game, catching NNU's team-leader in steals Mulligan after her leadoff single in the bottom of the 1st. At the plate the Viking newcomer reached base all four times she came up, drawing three walks to go along with her clutch base hit. "It has been great," Andrewjeski-Ramirez said on handling the Vikings' elite pitching staff, which holds a team ERA of 1.78 this spring.

"We have pitchers who can cover all corners of the plate. What helped a lot in this game was working towards our pitchers' strengths and continuing to give the batters different looks."

The Vikings (41-7) continue play in the GNAC Championships Saturday at Viking Field in Bellingham in the championship finals, needing one win to claim the postseason conference tournament title. The No. 2 seed Vikings will take on Northwest Nazarene at noon. A game seven will be played if necessary in the event of an NNU victory in the noon game. The complete 2024 WWU Softball schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com.

WWU is now 3-2 vs. NNU this season, after the teams split their four regular-season contests…Friday marked the fourth time that NNU and WWU met in the GNAC Softball Championships, with WWU moving to a narrow 3-2 advantage in the all-time postseason series…WWU is in search of its third GNAC Championships title, after winning the event in 2017 and 2021…WWU advanced to the championship game for the fifth time, and is 2-2 all-time in the title game…the Vikings 41 wins in 2024 are a program record…Taylor Khorrami extended her hitting streak to five consecutive games and has recorded a hit in 11 of the last 16 games…Maleah Andrews recorded her 18th multi-hit game and team-leading 14th double…Andrews also recorded a pair of walks to move into the top five in program single-season history with 30…Kaiana Kong extended her program single-season record with her seventh save.

Here is an updated look at the schedule and results from the 2024 GNAC Championships. Three games are scheduled for Friday at Viking Field in Bellingham. More info on the GNAC Championships can be found online at GNACSports.com and all games will stream live online at GNAC.tv.

The four-team, double-elimination tournament is being played at Viking Field in Bellingham. Here is a look at the tournament schedule with all games streamed live online at GNAC.tv. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will receive the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships West Regional.

Thursday, May 2

Game 1: 12:00 pm – No. 2 Western Washington 4, No. 3 Saint Martin's 1

Game 2: 2:30 pm – No. 1 Northwest Nazarene 1, No. 4 Central Washington 0

Friday, May 3

Game 3: 10:00 am – No. 2 Western Washington 4, No. 1 Northwest Nazarene 2

Game 4: 12:30 pm – No. 3 Saint Martin's 4, vs. No. 4 Central Washington 1 (CWU eliminated)

Game 5:  3:00 pm – No. 1 Northwest Nazarene 8, No. 3 Saint Martin's 0 (SMU eliminated)

Saturday, May 4

Game 6: 12:00 pm – No. 2 Western Washington vs. No. 1 Northwest Nazarene

Game 7: 2:30 pm – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)

WWU has advanced to play in seven of the 11 GNAC Championship tournaments, winning titles 2017 and 2021. The Vikings are 12-8 all-time in GNAC Championships play following Friday's win over Northwest Nazarene.

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

WWU has set the program record for wins in a season with 41 (and counting), passing the 36 wins achieved by the 2011 squad (36-16/.692). This is the 10th 30-victory season in program history.