NAMPA, Idaho – The Western Washington University Softball team advanced to Championship Saturday with a come-from-behind 10-6 win over Saint Martin's Friday morning in a winner's bracket game at the GNAC Championships.

 

WWU improved to 39-10 overall with its 12th consecutive victory, earning a victory in 18 of the last 19 games dating back to March 28. The Vikings will play for the GNAC title Saturday at 11 am MT/10 am PT against Simon Fraser, needing one victory to earn a second consecutive conference tournament title.

 

The No. 1 seed and No. 9 nationally ranked Vikings were on the ropes early with the Saints scoring five runs in the top of the 1st inning. But the Vikings provided an immediate answer with five runs of their own in the bottom of the 1st inning off All-GNAC pitcher Chloe Leverington and tacked on four more runs in the 2nd inning to swing the momentum in their direction. In total the Vikings scored 10 unanswered runs after allowing the five 1st-inning runs to the Saints.

 

After the Saints chased WWU starting pitcher Joie Baker from the game in the 1st inning, Western's response featured six consecutive batters reaching base with two outs to tie the game 5-5. Sophomore center fielder Laila Carpenter plated a run with a single up the middle and senior right fielder McKenna Crum provided the big hit with a two-run triple to center field to tie the game.

 

"It was a crazy first inning, but we got gritty and fought back," said WWU head coach Sheryl Gilmore. "We knew our team was going to respond, because they have been doing that all year long. To see that response in the bottom of the first was pretty cool and it set the tone for the rest of the game. Saint Martin's has a great offense, and they find ways to produce runs, so we knew we would have to get more than what we just got in the first inning. We tried to just pour it on as best we could."

 

After a 1-2-3 inning by relief pitcher Kaiana Kong, the Vikings went ahead with four runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Senior designated player Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez scored a pair with a single to left field and junior first baseman Olivia Matlock drilled a two-run home run against her former team to extend the lead to 9-5.

 

Kong improved to 10-0 on the season (with 7 saves) allowing one run on seven hits in 6.1 relief innings, totaling eight strikeouts.

 

Senior second baseman Kanilehua Pitoy (2-for-4, R), junior shortstop Hailey Rath (2-for-4, R), Andrewjeski-Ramirez (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI), Carpenter (2-for-4, R, RBI) and Crum (2-for-4, R, 3B, 2 RBI) all recorded multi-hit games to lead the Vikings 14-hit attack. Western has scored double-digit runs in five of the 12 games during the current winning streak.

 

Having reached Championship Saturday for the third consecutive season, the Vikings will face No. 3 seed Simon Fraser, with first pitch on Saturday scheduled at 11 am MT/10 am PT. WWU is seeking to become the first back-to-back champion in the 12-year history of the tournament, needing one victory to claim the title.

 

 

The Vikings (39-10) advance to the winner's bracket where they will play at 11 am MT/10 am PT needing one win to win the GNAC Championships title for the second consecutive season. WWU will play No. 3 seed Simon Fraser, who won twice Friday to advance to the championship round. 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. WWU is the defending GNAC Tournament champion after hosting the event for the first time at Viking Field in 2024.

 

 

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 10, No. 2 Saint Martin's 6

Game 4: No. 3 Simon Fraser 9, No. 4 Montana State Billings 0 – 5 inn. (MSUB eliminated)

Game 5: No. 3 Simon Fraser 7, No. 2 Saint Martin's 6 (SFU eliminated)

 

Saturday, May 4

Game 6: No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 3 Simon Fraser, 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 15-8 all-time in GNAC Championships play following Friday's 10-6 win over Saint Martin's.

 

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

 

 

WWU extended its winning streak to 12 consecutive games with Friday's 10-6 victory over Saint Martin's, tying for the 4th-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.