BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The No. 10 Western Washington University softball team continued its winning ways recording a Senior Day sweep over Simon Fraser Saturday afternoon at Viking Field.
The Vikings earned wins over SFU by scores of 3-2 in the opening game in walk-off fashion and concluded the four-game sweep with an 8-1 victory in the nightcap.
The GNAC Champions concluded the regular season with an overall record of 37-10 and won the conference title in commanding fashion with a 21-3 record. WWU enters the postseason with a 10-game winning streak and has won 16 of its last 17 games. The Vikings will be the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships that opens play Thursday in Nampa, Idaho.
The Vikings won the first game on a walk-off single by freshman Nyree Johnson in the bottom of the 7th inning and closed out the regular season with pitchers Kaiana Kong and Alli Kimball combining on a 1-hitter in the nightcap. Kong recorded the win in both games of the doubleheader to improve to 9-0 on the season. Kimball earned her second save of the season (in as many weeks) and is 10-0, 1.59 ERA in 12 appearances (10 starts) in GNAC play.
Western's five seniors – Kanilehua Pitoy, Joie Baker, McKenna Crum, Lexi Barcomb, Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez – were celebrated prior and throughout the game playing their final regular season games at Viking Field.
Pitoy went 4-for-7 with two runs scored, double, triple and two RBI in the doubleheader, reaching the 200-hit milestone for her career to rank No. 2 in program history. Baker notched her 300th career strikeout while making a final 5.0-inning start in the opener allowing two unearned runs.
Johnson combined to go 3-for-4 with two RBI on Saturday and sophomore Maleah Andrews went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three walks extending her reached base safely streak to 44 consecutive games.
The Vikings wrapped up the regular season with Senior Day at Vikings Field, celebrating the five seniors prior to the game with McKenna Crum, Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez, Lexi Barcomb, Joie Baker and Kanilehua Pitoy playing their last regular-season games at Viking Field.
The Vikings jumped ahead 2-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning with Kanilehua Pitoy driving in the first run with a triple to the right field gap and a run-scoring groundout by Hailey Rath.
SFU tied the game with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the 6th inning.
Western earned the walk-off win on a one-out pinch-hit single up the middle by freshman Nyree Johnson to score Laila Carpenter.
Pitoy went 2-for-3 with a run scored and RBI to lead the Vikings six-hit attack.
Senior starting pitcher Joie Baker allowed one unearned run in 5.0 innings, recording four strikeouts becoming the eight pitcher in program history to reach the 300-strikeout milestone in a career. Sophomore Kaiana Kong earned the win allowing one unearned run in 2.0 innings.
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WWU 3, SFU 2 (April 26, 2025 at Viking 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
|
|
Simon Fraser
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0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
-
|
2
|
3
|
0
|
4
|
22-22, 13-10
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|
Western Washington
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0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
-
|
3
|
6
|
1
|
5
|
36-10, 20-3
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SFU – Ruppel and Henley
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WWU – Baker, Kong (6) and Dellamaggiore
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Win: Kong (8-0) Save: None Loss: Ruppel (4-8)
WWU HR: None SFU HR: None
Time of Game: 1:44
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The Vikings broke open a scoreless game with three runs in the bottom of the 4th inning and put the game away with four more runs in the 6th inning to earn the 8-1 victory to close out the regular season.
WWU gained the lead on run-scoring singles by Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez, Olivia Matlock and Nyree Johnson to go ahead 3-0.
SFU got a run back in the top of the 5th inning on a solo home run by Kristen Davyduke.
The Vikings added another run in the 5th inning and put the game away in the 6th inning with an RBI single by Hailey Rath and a run-scoring double by Kanilehua Pitoy for her 200th career hit.
Sophomore starting pitcher Kaiana Kong earned the win with 4.0 scoreless innings to improve to 9-0 on the season and sophomore Alli Kimball recorded the save allowing one hit in 3.0 innings with three strikeouts.
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WWU 8, SFU 1 (April 26, 2025 at Viking Field) – Game 2
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|
Score by Innings
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
|
R
|
H
|
E
|
LOB
|
Record
|
|
Simon Fraser
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0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
-
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
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22-23, 13-11
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|
Western Washington
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0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
x
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-
|
8
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12
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0
|
4
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37-10, 21-3
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SFU – Johnson, Nazaroff (5) and Henley
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WWU – Kong, Kimball (5) and Andrewjeski-Ramirez
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Win: Kong (9-0) Save: Kimball (2) Loss: Johnson (3-9)
WWU HR: None SFU HR: Davyduke (13)
Time of Game: 1:47 Att: 181
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The Vikings (37-10, 21-3 GNAC) head into the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships that opens play next week (May 1-3) in Nampa, Idaho. The official schedule has not been released yet with two games yet to be played, but the Vikings are likely to face No. 4 seed Montana State Billings in the opening game. More information on the GNAC Softball Championships can be found online at GNACSports.com. 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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37-10
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GNAC
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21-3
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Non-Conference
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16-7
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Streak
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W10
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Home
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12-2
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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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3-4
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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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13-3
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Navy
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5-1
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Navy/White
|
8-3
|
|
Gray
|
5-2
|
|
White/Navy
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4-1
|
|
Gray/Blue
|
0-0
|
|
Autism Awareness
|
2-0
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Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through Saturday's games with the Vikings winning the GNAC regular-season title with a 21-3 record in conference games. WWU will be the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championships that opens play Thursday in Nampa, Idaho. 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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21-3
|
.875
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37-10
|
.787
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12-2
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21-4
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4-4
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W10
|
10-0
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|
2.
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Saint Martin's *
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14-7
|
.667
|
29-12
|
.707
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8-3
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10-6
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11-3
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W2
|
7-3
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3.
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Simon Fraser *
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13-11
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.542
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22-23
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.489
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9-5
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9-12
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4-6
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L4
|
5-5
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4.
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Montana State Billings *
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11-11
|
.500
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16-26
|
.381
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9-4
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5-20
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2-2
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W3
|
5-4
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5.
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Northwest Nazarene
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11-13
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.458
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23-23
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.500
|
7-9
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12-10
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4-4
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L3
|
5-5
|
|
6.
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Western Oregon
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6-15
|
.286
|
13-35
|
.271
|
7-11
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1-18
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5-6
|
L2
|
1-8
|
|
7.
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Central Washington
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4-20
|
.167
|
6-32
|
.158
|
1-11
|
4-12
|
1-9
|
L10
|
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:
at Western Washington 3, Simon Fraser 2 (Game 1)
at Western Washington 8, Simon Fraser 1 (Game 2)
Montana State Billings 3, at Northwest Nazarene (Game 1)
Montana State Billings 2, at Northwest Nazarene 0 (Game 2)
at Saint Martin's 5, Western Oregon 1 (Game 1)
at Saint Martin's 12, Western Oregon 4 (Game 2) – 6 inn.
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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WWU extended its winning streak to 10 consecutive games with Saturday's pair of wins, entering the WWU records books as tied for 8th-longest in program history. It is the second double-digit winning streak this season. The Vikings set the club record twice last season with winning streaks of 13 games (in February) and 17 games (in March/April). Here is a look at the longest winning streaks in the 33 years of WWU Softball:
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LONGEST WWU WINNING STREAKS
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Rk
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Streak
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Dates
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|
1.
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17
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March 22-April 13, 202
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2.
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13
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February 2-23, 2024
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|
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13
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Mach 28-April 18, 2001
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4.
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12
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February 11-March 9, 2011
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|
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12
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April 23-May 11, 2017
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6.
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11
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April 14-25, 1998
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|
|
11
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April 22-May 2, 2007
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8.
|
10
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April 12, 2025-current
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|
|
10
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February 14-21, 2025
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|
|
10
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April 20-May 4, 1996
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|
|
10
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April 8-18, 1999
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|
12.
|
7
|
April 27-May 9, 2024
|
|
|
7
|
April 18-May 2, 1997
|
|
|
7
|
April 18-25, 2002
|
|
|
7
|
February 23-March 9, 2019
|
|
|
7
|
March 22-April 1, 2022
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The WWU softball program is in its 33rd season in 2025 while coming off a historic 52-12 season in 2024. The Vikings claimed their third GNAC title by winning the 2024 postseason tournament at Viking Field and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the sixth time in program history. Playing on its home field in the NCAA postseason for the first time, WWU won its first West Regional title defeating Cal State San Marcos in the sub-regional and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Super Regional. The historic season ended playing in the national championship series as part of the NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival in Longwood, Florida. WWU has posted a winning record 21 times during the 32-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title.
