CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – For the second consecutive season the Western Washington University softball team has claimed the West Region championship and travels cross country to play in the NCAA Division II Softball World Series.

 

The No. 9 nationally-ranked Vikings were announced as the No. 8 seed for the Elite Eight of D2 softball, with the double-elimination portion of bracket play set to start Thursday at Frost Stadium at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

A year after playing for the national title in the championship series in Longwood, Florida, WWU faces a rematch with No. 1 nationally-ranked UT Tyler in Thursday's opening game of the World Series. First pitch is scheduled for 11 am ET/8 am PT with the game streamed live online at NCAA.com.

 

WWU has reached the pinnacle of D2 softball by sweeping through the sub-regional at No. 1 seed Cal State East Bay and recorded a pair of wins on the road over Cal State San Marcos in the Super Regional round after going down 1-0 to punch its ticket to Chattanooga.

 

Heading into the World Series the Vikings are 45-11 overall, 8-1 in the postseason and have won 24 of their last 26 games. Over the last two seasons – both resulting in trips to the final round of the NCAA Championships – the Vikings have combined to go 97-23 for a .808 winning percentage. WWU won the GNAC regular-season title with a 21-3 league record and recorded it second consecutive GNAC Tournament title.

 

The No. 8 seed Vikings are joined at the World Series by No. 1 UT Tyler (57-5), No. 2 Tampa (45-10), No. 3 Central Oklahoma (51-9), No. 4 North Georgia (48-14), No. 5 Saginaw Valley State (48-13), No. 6 Pace (46-11) and No. 7 Shippensburg (36-20).

 

The Vikings advanced to the World Series with a balanced team effort that has a strong offense, dominating pitching and lockdown defense. Among NCAA II team leaders across the country, WWU ranks 18th in batting average (.333), 17th in scoring (6.34 runs/game), 9th in ERA (1.98), 13th in WHIP (1.12) and 15th in fielding percentage (.973).

 

Sophomore third baseman Maleah Andrews leads the offense as the West Region Player of the Year batting .482 (82-for-170) with 61 runs scored, 20 doubles, 41 RBI, 12-for-13 stolen bases, .688 slugging percentage and a .590 on-base percentage. She heads into the World Series having reached base safely via hit, walk or hit-by-pitch in 53 consecutive games. Senior catcher/designated player Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez leads the team with nine home runs and 58 RBI and WWU all-time hits and games played leader Kanilehua Pitoy is batting .371 (65-for-175). Three-time All-GNAC selection Hailey Rath is batting .346 (64-for-183) with 23 extra-base hits (2B-15, 3B-3, HR-5) and has started all 169 possible games at shortstop in her career.

 

The Vikings pitching staff features a three-headed monster with a trio of pitchers all pitching at least 116.0 innings. The innings balance has sophomore Kaiana Kong (117.2 IP), sophomore Alli Kimball (116.0 IP) and senior Joie Baker (117.0 IP) providing the bulk of the work for the 1.98 team ERA. Kong is 13-0 on the season with seven saves and a 1.43 ERA. All three earned All-GNAC honors, with Kong selected as the conference Pitcher of the Year.

 

WWU is led by seventh-hear head coach Sheryl Gilmore, who has a 212-114 (.650) record at the helm of the program. She was selected as the GNAC co-Coach of the year in 2025 after earning the award outright in 2024.

 

All games during the 2025 NCAA Division II Softball National Championship will be streamed live and FREE online by visiting NCAA.com/liveschedule. Once visiting that link fans will be able to choose from all NCAA events that will stream that day…just find the Viking logo and click to watch the game live online. A direct link will also be available by bookmarking wwuvikings.com/SB_Watch.

 

Here is a look at the re-seeded NCAA Championship Bracket with the final eight teams set to play for the national title in Chattanooga, Tennessee. More info is available online at NCAA.com:

Here are links on how to follow the 2025 NCAA Division II Softball Championships World Series in Tennessee:

 

• World Series Website
• Live Stats
• Webcast via NCAA.com
• Tickets
• NCAA Bracket
• Digital Gameday Program
• NCAA Softball

 

The Vikings (45-11) advance to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Finals as one of eight teams in the nation to play in the College World Series at Frost Stadium at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Western opens play in the double-elimination portion of the bracket on Thursday, May 22 facing defending national champion UT Tyler at 11 am ET/8 am PT. 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:

 

 

The Vikings claimed their second consecutive West Regional title, going on the road to defeat Cal State San Marcos in the Best of Three series held last weekend in Southern California. WWU becomes the first team to win consecutive West Region titles since Cal Poly Humboldt (Humboldt State) in 2016 and 2017. Here is a look at the Super Regional scoreboard from San Marcos to claim one of eight spots in the D2 College Softball World Series held May 22-28 at Frost Stadium at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee:

 

• Thursday, May 15 (Game 1): No. 3 Cal State San Marcos 9, No. 4 Western Washington 1
• Friday, May 16 (Game 2): No. 4 Western Washington 4, No. 3 Cal State San Marcos 1
• Friday, May 16 (Game 3): No. 4 Western Washington 3, No. 3 Cal State San Marcos 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. The Vikings are 16-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament play:

 

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

Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 9-1 (Super Regional)

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 4-1 (Super Regional)

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 3-2 (Super Regional)

 

The awards for the Western Washington University softball team keep rolling during the historic 2025 season. WWU had six players earn All-West Region honors, with Maleah Andrews voted the West Region Player of the Year by the D2CCA:

 

• Maleah Andrews, 3B (NFCA – 1st Team, D2CCA – 1st Team, D2CCA – Player of the Year)
• Kaiana Kong, P (NFCA – 1st Team, D2CCA – 1st Team)
• Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez, C (NFCA – 1st Team, D2CCA – 1st Team)
• Kanilehua Pitoy, 2B (NFCA – 1st Team, D2CCA – 2nd Team)
• Hailey Rath, SS (NFCA – 2nd Team)
• Alli Kimball, P (D2CCA – 2nd Team)

 

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.