LACEY, Wash. – The No. 9 nationally ranked Western Washington University softball team split its GNAC opening doubleheader Friday against Saint Martin's University.
WWU dropped the first game 4-1 and rebounded with an 8-0 shutout victory in the nightcap via the run rule to improve to 13-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
Sophomore third baseman Maleah Andrews continued her tear at the plate going 6-for-8 with four doubles in the two games, including a school-record-tying three doubles in the second game. Andrews is batting .500 (32-for-64) with nine doubles and 17 RBI in 19 games this season.
WWU and Saint Martin's wraps up play in the opening weekend of Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon. Visit WWUVikings.com/Live for links to follow the games live from Lacey.
Saint Martin's got all the runs they would need on one swing of the bat when Heather Ebner hit a two-out grand slam clearing the fence in left field.
WWU got on the board first with a run in the opening inning on an Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez two-out single to score Maleah Andrews.
Senior starting pitcher Joie Baker took the loss allowing three hits and four runs in 3.0 innings. Sophomore relief pitcher Kaiana Kong faced one over the minimum in 3.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Saint Martin's starting pitcher Chloe Leverington earned the complete-game victory scattering eight hits and allowing one run in 7.0 innings.
Andrews went 3-for-4 with a run scored as the lone Viking to record more than one hit.
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SMU 4, WWU 1 (March 7, 2025 at Saints Field) – Game 1
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Score by Innings
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1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
|
R
|
H
|
E
|
LOB
|
Record
|
|
Western Washington
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
1
|
8
|
1
|
7
|
12-6, 0-1
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
x
|
-
|
4
|
3
|
1
|
5
|
9-4, 1-0
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WWU – Baker, Kong (4) and Andrewjeski-Ramirez
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SMU – Leverington and Detrinidad
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Win: Leverington (7-2) Save: None Loss: Baker (5-4)
WWU HR: None SMU HR: Hebner (3)
Time of Game: 2:00
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The Vikings powered past the Saints 8-0 in the nightcap to split the doubleheader with a run-rule-shortened contest.
Maleah Andrews went 3-for-4 with one RBI and tied the WWU single-game record with three doubles.
WWU put the game away with a seven-run 2nd inning, with the first three runs coming in to score on a fielding error by SMU second baseman Ava Heston.
The Vikings 15-hit attack was fueled by the three-hit game from Andrews and multi-hit contributions by Olivia Matlock (2-for-3, R, RBI) and Nyree Johnson (2-for-3, R, RBI). Lexi Barcomb scored a pair of runs.
Starting pitcher Alli Kimball (4-2) earned the win with the 5.0-inning complete-game shutout striking out four and walking one.
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WWU 8, SMU 0 (March 7, 2025 at Saints Field) – Game 2
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Score by Innings
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
|
R
|
H
|
E
|
LOB
|
Record
|
|
Western Washington
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
x
|
x
|
-
|
8
|
15
|
0
|
7
|
13-6, 1-1
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
x
|
x
|
-
|
0
|
5
|
2
|
6
|
9-5, 1-1
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WWU – Kimball and Andrewjeski-Ramirez
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SMU – Peterson, Johnson (2), Norfleet (2) and Detrinidad
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Win: Kimball (4-2) Save: None Loss: Peterson (5-4)
WWU HR: None SMU HR: None
Time of Game: 2:00 Att: 103
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The Vikings (13-6, 1-1 GNAC) closes out its four-game series at Saint Martin's to open GNAC play Saturday with first pitch of the doubleheader scheduled for noon at Saints Field. Links to follow the live stats and webcast for both games are available at wwuvikings.com/Live. The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/Team33.
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2025 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall
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13-6
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GNAC
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1-1
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Non-Conference
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12-5
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Streak
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W1
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Home
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1-1
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Away
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8-1
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Neutral
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4-4
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vs. Ranked Teams
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1-0
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1-Run Games
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0-2
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2-Run Games
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1-0
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Extra Innings
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0-0
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Shutouts
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5-2
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BY UNIFORM
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|
Light Blue Pinstripes
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5-1
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Navy
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5-1
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Navy/White
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0-2
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Gray
|
2-1
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|
White/Navy
|
1-1
|
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Gray/Blue
|
0-0
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