NAMPA, Idaho – The No. 9 nationally ranked and No. 1 seed Western Washington University softball team opened the postseason Thursday with a dominating 8-2 victory over No. 4 seed Montana State Billings at the GNAC Championships.

 

The GNAC regular-season champion Vikings improved to 38-10 overall with their 11th consecutive victory (won 17 of last 18 games), advancing to play No. 2 seed Saint Martin's in a winner's bracket game Friday morning at 10 am MT/9 am PT at Halle Softball Field on the Northwest Nazarene University campus. SMU defeated No. 3 Simon Fraser 2-1 in Thursday's opening game of the double-elimination tournament.

 

Junior shortstop Hailey Rath led the Vikings nine-hit attack going 2-for-3 with a double, triple, sacrifice fly and three RBI. Senior right fielder McKenna Crum added a multi-hit effort going 2-for-3. Seven different Vikings recorded a hit in the victory.

 

Sophomore starting pitcher Alli Kimball earned the win improving to 15-3 on the season scattering two hits (both solo home runs) in 5.0 innings. Sophomore GNAC Pitcher of the Year Kaiana Kong sealed the win with 2.0 scoreless innings.

 

The Vikings got off to a quick start plating a pair of runs in their opening at-bat. Maleah Andrews drew a leadoff walk to extend her on-base streak to 45 consecutive games, stole second base and scored on a triple to the left-center field gap by Hailey Rath. A throwing error on Rath's extra-base hit allowed her to score on the play to put WWU up 2-0 in the bottom of the 1st inning.

 

MSUB got a run back in the top of the 2nd inning on a solo home run by first baseman Jazlyn Kalehuawehe, her 10th longball of the season. Catcher Kaylin Galvin also hit a solo home run in the top of the 4th inning.

 

Leading 2-1, the Vikings added three runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning to extend their lead to 5-1. Kanilehua Pitoy battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a bases loaded walk, Rath lifted a sacrifice fly to right field and catcher Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez singled home a run in the three-run inning.

 

WWU added three insurance runs in the bottom of the 4th inning with Rath driving home a run with a double to the right field gap, Olivia Matlock drilling a triple off the left field foul pole and a RBI groundout by Nyree Johnson.

 

MSUB (16-27) was limited to four hits with Kalehuawehe going 2-for-3. Starting pitcher Emily Watters took the loss allowing five runs off four hits in 1.2 innings.

 

 

The Vikings (38-10) advance to the winners bracket where they will play No. 2 seed Saint Marti's at 10 am MT/9 am PT Friday morning. 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.

The four-team, double-elimination tournament is being held at Halle Field on the campus of Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Here is a look at the tournament results with the winner of the double-elimination tournament will receive the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships West Regional.

 

 

Thursday, May 1

Game 1: No. 2 Saint Martin's 2, No. 3 Simon Fraser 1

Game 2: No. 1 Western Washington 8, No. 4 Montana State Billings 2

 

Friday, May 2

Game 3: No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 2 Saint Martin's, 10 am MT/9 am PT

Game 4: No. 3 Simon Fraser vs. No. 4 Montana State Billings, 12:30 pm MT/11:30 am PT (Elimination Game)

Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 3:00 pm MT/2:00 pm PT (Elimination Game)

 

Saturday, May 4

Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 11 am MT/10 am PT

Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 30 minutes following game 6

WWU has advanced to play in eight of the 12 GNAC Championship tournaments, winning titles 2017, 2021 and 2024. The Vikings are 14-8 all-time in GNAC Championships play following Thursday's 8-2 win over MSUB.

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2025 season:

 

 

WWU extended its winning streak to 11 consecutive games with Thursday's 8-2 win over MSUB, tying for the 6th-longest winning streak 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:

 

 

The WWU softball program is in its 33rd season in 2025 while coming off a historic 52-12 season in 2024. The Vikings won the 2025 GNAC regular-season title with a 21-3 league record after claiming their third GNAC Tournament title by winning the 2024 postseason tournament at Viking Field. WWU advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the sixth time in program history in 2024, 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.