LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. – The Western Washington University softball team dropped a pair of games Friday to open play in the D2 West Coast Challenge.
WWU dropped the first game 11-4 to Cal Poly Humboldt and were no-hit in the second game against No. 17 Cal State East Bay 17-1.
Senior shortstop Hailey Rath hit her third home run of the young season in the opener against Cal Poly Humboldt, the 25th longball of her career moving two away from the No. 2 spot in program history.
WWU is 4-4 on the season heading into games Saturday against Colorado Mesa and San Francisco State during the second day of the D2 West Coast Challenge.
Cal Poly Humboldt 11, Western Washington 4 (Feb 06, 2026 at Lake Elsinore, CA)
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Cal Poly Humboldt...... 203 210 3 - 11 7 1 (3-2)
Western Washington..... 200 100 1 - 4 6 1 (4-3)
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Cal Poly Humboldt - Fournier and Muraoka
Western Washington – Wirtala ; Ferguson (4) and Chavez
Win-Fournier (1-2) Loss-Wirtala (3-2) T-2:22 A-45
HR CPH - Shanks 2; Gifford
HR WWU - Rath (3)
Cal St. East Bay 17, Western Washington 1 (Feb 06, 2026 at Lake Elsinore, CA)
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Cal St. East Bay...... 323 27 - 17 15 2 (5-1)
Western Washington.... 000 01 - 1 0 4 (4-4)
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Cal St. East Bay - Quintero and Farias
Western Washington - Matlock; Wirtala (2); Massena (4) and Pewitt
Win-Quintero (4-0) Loss-Matlock (1-1) T-1:55 A-100
HR CSUEB - Gomez; Farias
The Vikings (4-4) are back in action with two games Saturday (Colorado Mesa and San Francisco State) and one game Sunday (Cal State Dominguez Hills). The complete tournament schedule can be viewed at CSUSMCougars.com.
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2026 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
4-4
|
|
GNAC
|
0-0
|
|
Non-Conference
|
4-4
|
|
Streak
|
L2
|
|
Home
|
0-0
|
|
Away
|
0-1
|
|
Neutral
|
4-3
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
0-1
|
|
1-Run Games
|
1-1
|
|
2-Run Games
|
0-0
|
|
Extra Innings
|
1-0
|
|
Shutouts
|
1-0
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
Light Blue Pinstripes
|
0-4
|
|
Blue/White
|
2-0
|
|
Black
|
1-0
|
|
Gray
|
0-0
|
|
White/Navy
|
1-0
|
|
Gray/Blue
|
0-0
|
The WWU softball program enters its 34th season in 2026 while coming off a historic 47-13 season in 2025. The Vikings claimed their fourth GNAC title by winning the 2025 postseason tournament and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the seventh time in program history. Playing in the NCAA postseason for the seventh time, WWU won its second consecutive West Regional title defeating Cal State East Bay in the sub-regional and Cal State San Marcos in the Super Regional. The historic season ended playing in the D2 World Series in Chattanooga, Tennessee, reaching the semifinal round (Final Four). WWU has posted a winning record 22 times during the 33-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. Over the last three seasons the program has combined to go 103-29 (.780).