BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team celebrated Senior Day for Hailey Rath and Olivia Matlock by securing a series victory over Saint Martin's University, splitting Sunday's doubleheader at Viking Field to take three of the four games in the GNAC series.

 

WWU dropped the first game 7-6 after nearly erasing a seven-run deficit and carried that offensive momentum into a 10-2 victory in 6 innings in the nightcap. The Vikings took both games on Saturday to open the series (5-4, 7-3) and head into the final week of the regular season tied for the GNAC lead with Saint Martin's at 14-6 in league play. Western has won six of its last eight games to move to 28-17 overall and will head into the final week of the regular season with a shot at repeating as GNAC Champions.

 

The Vikings took five of six games against the Saints during the 2026 regular season.

 

Sunday's series finale was highlighted by home runs from seniors Hailey Rath and Olivia Matlock, and a strong pitching performance in the second game by freshman Alanna Wirtala. Sophomore second baseman Haylee Kim combined to go 4-for-6 with a double and two runs scored and junior center fielder Laila Carpenter was 3-for-7 with a triple and three RBI.

 

Having already clinched a spot in the GNAC Championships, WWU completes the regular season with a four-game road series at Western Oregon. Saint Martin's plays at home against Simon Fraser with the GNAC regular-season title and tournament seeding decided next weekend.

 

Game 1 – SMU 7, WWU 6:

The Vikings went down 7-0, but rallied with a 6-run bottom of the 6th inning to climb to within one run.

 

While the comeback stalled with the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the 7th inning, WWU regained momentum heading into the second game of the doubleheader.

 

The comeback was sparked by a deep solo home run by Hailey Rath to open the 6th inning and a two-run homer by Emily McCutcheon to left field. Maleah Andrews added a two-run single and EmmaJoy Wise added a sacrifice fly. 

 

Haylee Kim went 3-for-4 and EmmaJoy Wise went 1-for-3 to extend her hitting streak to nine consecutive games.

 

Saint Martin's 7, Western Washington 6 (Game 1)

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Saint Martin's........ 100 132 0 -  7  8  1      (29-16, 14-5 GNAC)

Western Washington.... 000 006 0 -  6 11  3      (27-17, 13-6 GNAC)

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SMU: Johnson, Norfleet (5), Peterson (6), Vaughan (7) and Detrinidad; Royle

WWU: Massena, Wirtala (5) and Wise

Win-Johnson (11-5)  Save-Vaughan (1)  Loss-Massena (5-5)  T-2:00

HR WWU - Rath (13), McCutcheon (2)

Weather: Sunny, 56-degrees

 

Game 2 – WWU 10, SMU 2 (6 inn.):

The Vikings clinched the series victory winning the final game of the four-game series 10-2 in a run-rule-shortened 6 innings.

 

WWU led 4-2 in a tight game through the first five innings, but had another big 6th inning scoring six runs to earn the walk-off victory. Laila Carpenter capped the big inning with a two-run single to center field to bring the eight-run rule into effect.

 

The Vikings got on the scoreboard first on a RBI triple by Carpenter in the bottom of the 2nd inning and senior Olivia Matlock hit her third home run of the season to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 4th inning.

 

Matlock added a run-scoring single in the 5th inning while going 2-for-3 in the game. Freshman catcher Nazli Chavez went 2-for-4 and Carpenter was 3-for-4 with three RBI. EmmaJoy Wise was 1-for-3 with an RBI to extend her hitting streak to 10 consecutive games.

 

Freshman starting pitcher Alanna Wirtala earned her 22nd victory of the season scattering six hits and two runs in the 6.0-inning complete-game effort. Wirtala was efficient needing just 64 pitches in her 39th appearance of the season (22nd start). 

 

Western Washington 10, Saint Martin's 2 (Game 2)

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Saint Martin's........ 001 010  -  2  6  2      (29-17, 14-6 GNAC)

Western Washington.... 010 216  - 10 11  1      (28-17, 14-6 GNAC)

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SMU: Vaughan, Johnson (5), Norfleet (5) and Detrinidad

WWU: Wirtala and Chavez

Win-Wirtala (22-9)  Loss-Vaughan (11-5)  T-1:30  A-201

HR WWU - Matlock (3)

Weather: 60-degrees, Perfect

 

The Vikings (28-17, 14-6 GNAC) close out the regular season next weekend on the road with a four-game series at Western Oregon, beginning Friday May 1 with a doubleheader starting at 1 pm in Monmouth, Oregon. The GNAC Championships will be held the following week May 7-9 in Ellensburg. 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:

 

 

Here is a look at the current GNAC standings through Sunday's games in conference play, with the Vikings tied for first place with four 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.

 

 

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 127-42 (.751).