NAMPA, Idaho – The No. 11 Western Washington University softball team put the finishing touches on a four-game road sweep over Northwest Nazarene University Saturday with a pair of shutouts over the Nighthawks.

 

WWU improved to 26-9 overall and grew its lead in the GNAC standings at 10-2 with shutout victories of 4-0 and 7-0 Saturday at Halle Field on the NNU campus. The Vikings became the first team to record a four-game GNAC sweep in Nampa since the end of the 2017 season when WWU also went 4-0 in a road series vs. NNU.

 

The Vikings have not lost a GNAC contest in nearly a month, winning their last nine conference games including a pair of sweeps over Western Oregon and Northwest Nazarene. WWU has won its last five games overall and is 24-5 over its last 29 games after starting the season 1-4.

 

Saturday's sweep was led by dominating pitching, timely hitting and nearly error-free play in the field.

 

The pitching trio of Alli Kimball (5.0 IP), Kaiana Kong (2.0 IP) and Joie Baker (7.0 IP) combined to hold NNU off the scoreboard in the two games. Baker clinched the series sweep with a 1-hit shutout in the nightcap with just a one-out double in the bottom of the 7th inning spoiling a potential no-hitter. 

 

Senior Kanilehua Pitoy (4-for-6, 2 R) and sophomore Paris Dellamaggiore (4-for-7, R) led the Vikings with four hits between the two games, with juniors Olivia Matlock and Hailey Rath going deep in the first game and senior McKenna Crum leaving the yard in the second game. The Vikings produced 19 hits in the doubleheader while limiting NNU to five hits.

 

WWU returns home next week hosting Montana State Billings in a four-game GNAC series Friday and Saturday with noon doubleheaders at Viking Field. Saturday will feature the inaugural Autism Awareness Game and the 1998 NAIA National Champions will be inducted into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame.

 

 

The Vikings opened the doubleheader with a  4-0 victory, with all four runs coming on home runs.

 

With sophomore starter Alli Kimball in control, the Vikings went ahead 1-0 in the top of the 4th inning on a solo home run by junior first baseman Olivia Matlock.

 

Junior shortstop Hailey Rath extended the lead to 4-0 with a two-out, three-run home run in the top of the 5th inning.

 

Kimball earned the win improving to 10-3 on the season scattering four hits in 6.0 scoreless innings. Sophomore Kaiana Kong closed out the victory with a perfect bottom of the 7th inning to seal the series victory.

 

Matlock went 2-for-3 with her fifth home run of the season to tie Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez for the team lead. Designated player Paris Dellamaggiore went 2-for-3.

 

 

 

Senior starting pitcher Joie Baker threw a 1-hit shutout, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the 7th innings to lead the Vikings to the 7-0 victory to clinch the four-game series sweep.

 

Baker allowed a one-out double in the bottom of the 7th to spoil the no-hit bid, but had an otherwise spectacular outing needing just 83 pitches to record her seventh career shutout to tie for 10th-most in program history.

 

The Vikings scored five runs in the top of the 1st inning to set the tone, all coming with two outs. Sophomore center fielder Laila Carpenter had a two-run single to right field and senior designated player Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez started the rally with a run-scoring single.

 

Western added two insurance runs in the top of the 5th inning with senior right fielder McKenna Crum hitting a two-run home run to right field for her second homer of the season.

 

Baker improved to 10-6 on the season while lowering her season ERA to 2.02.

 

Senior second baseman Kanilehua Pitoy went 3-for-4 and Crum was 3-for-4 with three RBI.

 

 

The Vikings (26-9, 10-2 GNAC) return home next week hosting Montana State Billings in a four-game GNAC series April 11-12 at Viking field with Friday and Saturday doubleheaders scheduled to start at noon. 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:

 

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through Saturday's games with the Vikings remaining in 1st place in the table with a 10-2 conference record. 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. All updated stats, standings and schedule from the conference are available online at GNACSports.com.