BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team clinched the GNAC regular season title Friday with a pair of shutout victories over Simon Fraser University at Viking Field.
Entering the day with a magic number of one, WWU officially earned its second GNAC regular-season title with the 5-0 victory in the opener of the conference doubleheader on a sun-drenched day at Viking Field. Western added an exclamation point celebrating its first outright regular-season title since 2007 with an 8-0 victory in the nightcap to improve to 35-10 overall and 19-3 in GNAC play. The Vikings have also won GNAC postseason titles in 2017, 2021 and 2024.
The No. 10 nationally-ranked Vikings extended their winning streak to eight consecutive games and have won 14 of their last 15 games. Western entered the weekend listed No. 4 in the NCAA West Region rankings, putting them in a good spot to earn a second consecutive trip to the West Regional Championships. WWU will be the No. 1 seed in the four-team GNAC Championships that begin play next Thursday in Nampa, Idaho, with the Vikings the defending champions in the postseason tournament.
WWU out-scored Simon Fraser 13-0 in Friday's doubleheader, with Viking pitching combining to allow just 10 hits. Over the last eight games during the current winning streak the Vikings have allowed just six runs with four shutouts. Sophomore Kaiana Kong recorded a pair of saves in 5.0 scoreless innings Friday to bring her season total seven to rank among the national leaders. Starters Alli Kimball (4.0 IP) and Joie Baker (3.0 IP) both earned wins with scoreless outings.
Sophomore third baseman Maleah Andrews combined to go 3-for-6 with four runs scored, a double, home run and four RBI in the two games while extending her on-base streak to 42 consecutive games to build on her own school record. Sophomore shortstop Hailey Rath (4-for-7, 2B) and junior first baseman Olivia Matlock (3-for-5, 2 R) also had big days at the plate. Rath extended her hitting streak to eight games (longest current WWU streak)
Just a day after celebrating a birthday, sophomore center fielder Laila Carpenter hit a walk-off 3-run home run in the second game to bring the run rule into effect for her first collegiate longball.
In addition to dominating pitching and timely hitting, WWU's defense played error-free in both games. During the eight-game winning streak the Vikings defense has committed just two errors.
The Vikings wrap up the regular season Saturday with a doubleheader vs. Simon Fraser at Viking Field, with Senior Day scheduled to start at 12 pm prior to the first game. Saturday's games will cap Senior Weekend with McKenna Crum, Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez, Lexi Barcomb, Joie Baker and Kanilehua Pitoy playing their last regular-season games at Viking Field.
The Vikings shut out Simon Fraser 5-0 to officially clinch the GNAC title.
WWU scored a run in the opening inning and sent 10 batters to the plate scoring four runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to put the game away.
Second baseman Kanilehua Pitoy (2-for-3, SAC) and junior shortstop Hailey Rath (2-for-4) both recorded multi-hit games.
Sophomore starting pitcher Alli Kimball was dominating in the circle allowing three hits in 4.0 scoreless innings to pick up the win improving to 14-3 on the season and 38-7 in her career. Sophomore Kaiana Kong recorded her sixth save with 3.0 scoreless frames.
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WWU 5, SFU 0 (April 25, 2025 at Viking Field) – Game 1
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Score by Innings
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1
|
2
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3
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4
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5
|
6
|
7
|
|
R
|
H
|
E
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LOB
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Record
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Simon Fraser
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0
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0
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0
|
0
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0
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0
|
0
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-
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0
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6
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1
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5
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22-20, 13-8
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Western Washington
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1
|
0
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0
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0
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4
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0
|
x
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-
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5
|
8
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0
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8
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34-10, 18-3
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SFU – Bourque, Nazaroff (5) and Dobranski
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WWU – Kimball, Kong (5) and Andrewjeski-Ramirez
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Win: Kimball (14-3) Save: Kong (6) Loss: Bourque (11-5)
WWU HR: None SFU HR: None
Time of Game: 1:52
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WWU completed the doubleheader sweep with an 8-0 victory in 5 innings in the nightcap.
Sophomore center fielder Laila Carpenter sent the Vikings to the run-rule victory with a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 5th inning.
Sophomore third baseman Maleah Andrews extended her streak of reaching base successfully to 42 consecutive games going 2-for-3 with a double, home run and four RBI.
Senior starting pitcher Joie Baker earned the win with 3.0 scoreless innings in the 5-inning game and sophomore Kaiana Kong recorded another save with 2.0 shutout frames with four strikeouts.
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WWU 8, SFU 0 (April 25, 2025 at Viking Field) – Game 2
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Score by Innings
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1
|
2
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3
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4
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5
|
6
|
7
|
|
R
|
H
|
E
|
LOB
|
Record
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|
Simon Fraser
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0
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0
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0
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0
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0
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x
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x
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-
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0
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4
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1
|
6
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22-21, 13-9
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Western Washington
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1
|
2
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0
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2
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3
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x
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x
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-
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8
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11
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0
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4
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35-10, 19-3
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SFU – Ruppel, Johnson (4) and Dobranski
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WWU – Baker, Kong (4) and Dellamaggiore
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Win: Baker (13-7) Save: Kong (7) Loss: Ruppel (4-7)
WWU HR: Andrews (3), Carpenter (1) SFU HR: None
Time of Game: 1:26 Att: 171
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The Vikings (35-10, 19-3 GNAC) wrap up the regular season Saturday with a doubleheader vs. Simon Fraser starting at noon at Viking Field. Links to follow the live stats and webcast 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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35-10
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GNAC
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19-3
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Non-Conference
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16-7
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Streak
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W8
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Home
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10-2
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Away
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21-4
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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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2-4
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2-Run Games
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2-1
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Extra Innings
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0-0
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Shutouts
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12-4
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BY UNIFORM
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Light Blue Pinstripes
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11-3
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Navy
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5-1
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Navy/White
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8-3
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Gray
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4-2
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White/Navy
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4-1
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Gray/Blue
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0-0
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Autism Awareness
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2-0
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Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through Friday's games with the Vikings remaining in first place in the table with a 19-3 conference record. WWU clinched the GNAC regular-season title with Friday's wins. The top four teams in the conference standings at the conclusion of the regular season will qualify for the GNAC Championships held May 1-3 in Nampa, Idaho, with WWU already locking up one of the spots. All updated stats, standings and schedule from the conference are available online at GNACSports.com.
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GNAC Softball
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CONF
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PCT.
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OVERALL
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PCT.
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HOME
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AWAY
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NEUTRAL
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STREAK
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L10
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1.
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Western Washington *+
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19-3
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.864
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34-10
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.773
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10-2
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20-4
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4-4
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W8
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9-1
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2.
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Saint Martin's *
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12-7
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.632
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27-12
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.692
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6-3
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10-6
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11-3
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L2
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6-3
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3.
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Simon Fraser *
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13-9
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.591
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22-21
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.512
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9-5
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9-10
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4-6
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L2
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6-4
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4.
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Northwest Nazarene
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11-11
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.500
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23-21
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.523
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7-7
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12-10
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4-4
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L1
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5-5
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5.
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Montana State Billings
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9-11
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.450
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14-26
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.350
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9-4
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3-20
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2-2
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W1
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4-5
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6.
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Western Oregon
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6-13
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.316
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13-33
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.283
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7-11
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1-16
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5-6
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W1
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1-8
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7.
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Central Washington
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4-20
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.167
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6-32
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.158
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1-11
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4-12
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1-9
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L10
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0-10
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+ Clinched GNAC regular-season title, * earned spot in GNAC Championships
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This Week's GNAC Schedule & Results
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Friday, April 25:
at Western Washington 5, Simon Fraser 0 (Game 1)
at Western Washington 8, Simon Fraser 0 (Game 2) – 5 inn.
at Northwest Nazarene 10, Montana State Billings 5 (Game 1)
Montana State Billings 4, at Northwest Nazarene 1 (Game 2)
Saturday, April 26:
Simon Fraser at Western Washington, 12:00 pm (Game 1)
Simon Fraser at Western Washington, 2:30 pm (Game 2)
Montana State Billings at Northwest Nazarene, 12:00 pm MT (Game 1)
Montana State Billings at Northwest Nazarene (Game 2)
Western Oregon at Saint Martin's, 1:00 pm (Game 1)
Western Oregon at Saint Martin's, 3:00 pm (Game 2)
Sunday, April 27:
Western Oregon at Saint Martin's, 12:00 pm (Game 1)
Western Oregon at Saint Martin's, 2:00 pm (Game 2)
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