HAYWARD, Calif. – Senior Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez homered in her third consecutive game, delivering a game-winning grand slam, lifting the Western Washington University softball team to a 6-2 victory over Cal State East Bay Saturday to advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA II West Regional Championships.

 

The No. 4 seed Vikings defeated the No. 1 seed and host Pioneers for the second consecutive day to sweep the Hayward pod of the West Regional advancing to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Championships.

 

WWU improved to 43-10 with its 16th consecutive victory (22nd win in last 23 games) advancing to play No. 3 seed Cal State San Marcos in the Super Regional. Western remains in the road playing the best-of-three super regional Thursday and Friday in San Marcos, California, with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

After beating No. 5 seed CUI 8-0 on Thursday and East Bay 2-1 in extra-innings Friday, the Vikings entered Championship Saturday needing one victory to advance to the Super Regional round. Playing as the home team Saturday winning the coin flip, the Vikings found themselves in an early deficit when the Pioneers went ahead 2-0 in the 1st inning on a 2-run home run by designated player Alexa Zumstein.

 

The Vikings tied things up in the bottom of the 3rd inning when catcher Paris Dellamaggiore lofted ball to right field with the bases loaded that East Bay outfielder Amelia Morales attempted a sliding catch that was ruled an error to score two runs to tie the game 2-2.

 

With starting pitcher Kaiana Kong in cruise control, the Vikings forged ahead in the bottom of the 4th inning. Senior right fielder continued her postseason tear leading off with an infield single – after a disputed foul ball – and moved into scoring position on a groundout. With two outs Kanilehua Pitoy drew a full-count walk and Hailey Rath was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Andrewjeski-Ramirez worked a 3-1 count and blasted another tape-measure home run to straightaway center field for her ninth home run of the season (25th in two seasons as a Viking) for the grand slam to put the Vikings up 6-2.

 

Kong, the GNAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team NFCA All-West Region selection, registered the complete game victory not allowing a run over the final six innings to improve to 12-0 on the season. Andrewjeski-Ramirez (2-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI) and Crum (2-for-3, R) both tabbed multi-hit games. Sophomore third baseman Maleah Andrews went 1-for-3 with a run scored extending her school record streak of reaching base safely to 50 consecutive games.

 

 

The Vikings (43-10) advance to the best-of-three West Super Regional in the round of 16 of the NCAA II Softball Championships. No. 4 seed WWU will remain on the road traveling to play No. 3 Cal State San Marcos (42-21) Friday-Saturday (May 15-16) at CSUSM Softball Field in San Marcos, California. Game times will be announced on Monday. Links to watch all the action will be made available at wwuvikings.com/Live. The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/Team33 with links to season statistics, photo galleries and program history.

 

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

 

 

WWU emerged as winner of the Hayward Pod regional going 3-0 with wins over CUI (8-0) and Cal State East Bay (2-1 & 6-2). The Vikings entered the regional as the No. 4 seed, taking down the No. 1 seed and host Pioneers twice to advance to the Super Regional against Cal State San Marcos. WWU advances to face the Cougars in the best-of-three Super Regional played Thursday-Friday in San Marcos, California, with the winner advancing to the NCAA II Championship Finals May 22-28 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

 

Thursday, May 8:

Game 1 – No. 1 Cal State East Bay 3, No. 8 Sonoma State 0

Game 2 – No. 4 Western Washington 8, No. 5 Concordia Irvine 0 (6 inn.)

 

Friday, May 9:

Game 3 – No. 4 Western Washington 2, No. 1 Cal State East Bay 1 (8 inn.)

Game 4 – No. 5 Concordia Irvine 6, No. 8 Sonoma State 4 (Sonoma State eliminated)

Game 5 – No. 1 Cal State East Bay 3, No. 5 Concordia Irvine 1 (CUI eliminated)

 

Saturday, May 10:

Game 6 – No. 4 Western Washington 6, No. 1 Cal State East Bay 2

 

WWU is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships and second consecutive after the historic run to the NCAA II World Series in 2024. Entering the 2024 postseason with one NCAA Tournament victory, the Vikings went 10-5 during the run to the national championship series. Prior to moving to the NCAA level in 1999, WWU won the NAIA World Series in 1998 for the first team national championship in WWU Athletics history. Here is a look at the Vikings game-by-game listing in the NCAA Championships with the regional host site listed next to the year:

 

2003 (Bakersfield, CA):

Lost to UC Davis, 4-2

Lost to Humboldt State, 7-1

 

2007 (Turlock, CA):

Lost to Stanislaus State, 2-0

Lost to Sonoma State, 3-1

 

2011 (Chico, CA):

Lost to Chico State, 3-1

Lost to Central Washington, 8-4

 

2017 (Seaside, CA):

Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 5-3

Lost to Dixie State, 5-0

Lost to Sonoma State, 6-4

 

2021 (Irvine, CA):

Lost to Hawai'i Hilo, 3-0

Lost to Central Washington, 9-5

 

2024 (Bellingham, WA):

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 1-0

Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 4-3

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 3-0

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 7-1

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 2-1

Defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 4-3 (Super Regional)

Lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-2 (Super Regional)

Defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 7-6 (West Region Champions) – 8 innings

Defeated Wilmington (DE), 2-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Lost to UT Tyler, 10-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Defeated Auburn Montgomery, 7-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Defeated UIndy, 2-1 (9 inn.) (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Defeated UIndy, 7-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Lost to UT Tyler, 3-0 (NCAA Championship Series) – Longwood, FL

Lost to UT Tyler, 10-1 (NCAA Championship Series) – Longwood, FL

 

2025 (Hayward, CA):

Defeated Concordia Irvine, 8-0

Defeated Cal State East Bay, 2-1

Defeated Cal State East Bay, 6-2

 

WWU extended its winning streak to 16 consecutive games Saturday's 6-2 victory over No. 1 seed Cal State East Bay, improving the 2nd-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 and have won back-to-back GNAC Tournament titles in 2024 and 2025. 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.