BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team recorded a doubleheader sweep over first-place Saint Martin's on Saturday at Viking Field, clinching a spot in the postseason and pulling into a tie atop the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
WWU won the opening game on a sunny Saturday at Viking Field 5-4 in 9 innings and completed the doubleheader sweep with an 7-3 victory in the nightcap to improve to 27-16 overall and 13-5 in GNAC play. With the victories, the Vikings clinched one of the four spots to play in the postseason GNAC Championships that will be held May 7-9 in Ellensburg.
The Vikings head into Sunday's Senior Day winners of five of their last six games. Western is 5-0 against Saint Martin's this season after winning all three non-conference games earlier in the season.
Saturday's doubleheader sweep was highlighted by two web games by junior center fielder Laila Carpenter, who also hit a 2-run home run in the opening game, and sophomore catcher EmmaJoy Wise going 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles. Freshman pitcher Alanna Wirtala earned the win in the first game pitching all 9.0 innings and closed out the 7-4 victory in the second game. Sophomore pitcher Evalyn Massena was strong in her second game start throwing 6.0 strong innings to earn the victory.
WWU and SMU close out the four-game series Sunday with a doubleheader starting at noon at Viking Field. A special Senior Day ceremony celebrating Hailey Rath and Olivia Matlock will begin at 11:45 am prior to the start of the first game.
Game 1 – WWU 5, SMU 4 (9 inn.):
The Vikings earned the win in the opening game in walk-off fashion when pinch-runner Hadley Oylear scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning with the bases loaded.
WWU opened the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd inning scoring a run on a wild pitch and another run crossing the plate following a single by Hailey Rath and a throwing error.
After the Saints leveled the score 2-2, junior center fielder Laila Carpenter went deep to center field for her third home run of the season.
The Saints score single runs in the top of the 5th and 7th innings to tie the score 4-4. Starting pitcher Alanna Wirtala worked a pair of scoreless extra frames prior to the Vikings pushing across the winning run.
Designated player Emily McCutcheon walked to lead off the bottom of the 9th inning and second baseman Haylee Kim singled to put the winning run in scoring position. After a sac bunt from Carpenter and walk to pinch-hitter Maddie Pewitt, Oylear scored the winning run advancing on a wild pitch from Saints pitcher Amanda Peterson.
Catcher and leadoff hitter EmmaJoy Wise went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and Carpenter went 3-for-4. Rath went 1-for-2 with three intentional walks.
Western Washington 5, Saint Martin's 4 (Game 1)
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Saint Martin's........ 000 210 100 - 4 9 1 (28-15, 13-4 GNAC)
Western Washington.... 002 200 001 - 5 12 1 (26-16, 12-5 GNAC)
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SMU: Johnson, Norfleet (4); Peterson (6) and Detrinidad, Royle
WWU: Wirtala and Wise
Win-Wirtala (21-9) Loss-Peterson (3-5) T-2:31
HR WWU - Carpenter (3)
Game 2 – WWU 7, SMU 3:
The Vikings earned the series sweep with a 7-3 victory in the nightcap, with starting pitcher Evalyn Massena earning the win with 6.0 solid innings.
Massena did not allow a hit until the top of the 5th inning and kept the Saints scoreless through the first 5.0 innings.
WWU scored single runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings and opened the game up with a 4-run bottom of the 4th inning. Senior first baseman Olivia Matlock plated a pair of runs with a two-out single and designated player Emily McCutcheon added a run-scoring single.
The Saints scored three runs in the top of the 6th inning and brought the potential tying run to the plate in the top of the 7th inning before reliever Alanna Wirtala got Heather Ebner to ground out to end the game.
Third baseman Maleah Andrews (2-for-4, 2 R), McCutcheon (2-for-4, RBI) and right fielder Payton Chacon (2-for-3, R, RBI) all recorded multi-hit games.
Western Washington 7, Saint Martin's 3 (Game 2)
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Saint Martin's........ 000 003 0 - 3 5 2 (28-16, 13-5 GNAC)
Western Washington.... 011 410 X - 7 11 3 (27-16, 13-5 GNAC)
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SMU: Vaughan, Leitz (4), Peterson (4) and Royle, Prosch
WWU: Massena, Ferguson (7); Wirtala (7) and Wise
Win-Massena (5-4) Loss-Vaughan (11-4) T-2:10 A-156
The Vikings (27-16, 13-5 GNAC) close out the series vs. Saint Martin's on Sunday with Senior Day for Hailey Rath and Olivia Matlock. The Senior Day ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:45 am, followed by first pitch to Game 1 of the doubleheader at noon. More information on the 2026 season can be found at WWUVikings.com/Team34.
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2026 season:
|
RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
27-16
|
|
GNAC
|
13-5
|
|
Non-Conference
|
14-11
|
|
Streak
|
W1
|
|
Home
|
11-5
|
|
Away
|
8-4
|
|
Neutral
|
8-7
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
1-2
|
|
1-Run Games
|
7-4
|
|
2-Run Games
|
3-3
|
|
Extra Innings
|
3-0
|
|
Shutouts
|
2-1
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
Light Blue Pinstripes
|
5-5
|
|
Navy/White
|
8-2
|
|
Black
|
7-4
|
|
Gray
|
4-2
|
|
White/Navy
|
3-3
|
|
Gray/Blue
|
0-0
|
Here is a look at the current GNAC standings through Saturday's games in conference play, with the Vikings tied for first place with six regular-season games remaining. The top four teams in the standings at the end of the regular season advance to play in the GNAC Championships held May 7-9 in Ellensburg, with WWU, Saint Martin's and Simon Fraser already locking up three of the four spots.
|
|
School
|
GNAC
|
CONF %
|
Overall
|
OVERALL %
|
Home
|
Away
|
Neutral
|
Streak
|
L10
|
|
1.
|
Western Washington *
|
13-5
|
.722
|
27-16
|
.628
|
11-5
|
8-4
|
8-7
|
W2
|
7-3
|
|
|
Saint Martin's *
|
13-5
|
.722
|
28-16
|
.636
|
6-5
|
7-3
|
15-8
|
L2
|
6-4
|
|
3.
|
Simon Fraser *
|
13-7
|
.650
|
15-27
|
.357
|
8-4
|
6-12
|
1-11
|
W1
|
5-5
|
|
4.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
11-9
|
.550
|
31-16
|
.660
|
14-2
|
9-9
|
8-5
|
W5
|
7-3
|
|
5.
|
Western Oregon
|
8-12
|
.400
|
22-25
|
.468
|
10-6
|
7-9
|
5-10
|
L5
|
1-9
|
|
6.
|
Central Washington
|
7-13
|
.350
|
13-29
|
.310
|
10-10
|
1-10
|
2-9
|
W4
|
6-4
|
|
7.
|
Montana State Billings
|
5-19
|
.208
|
7-42
|
.143
|
4-8
|
1-24
|
2-10
|
L5
|
3-7
|
|
* clinched spot in GNAC Championships
|
The WWU softball is in 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 126-41 (.754).
