HAYWARD, Calif. – The Western Washington University softball team was dealt a tough loss in a winner's bracket game at the NCAA West Regional, falling to Biola University 7-6 Friday morning at Pioneer Softball Field.
WWU moves on to the elimination bracket where they will face No. 2 seed Cal State East Bay at 3:50 pm. The game will stream live and free via the NCAA Champs Pass.
After defeating regional host and No. 2 seed Cal State East Bay to open the regional Thursday, the Vikings held a 5-0 lead through five innings and had not allowed a hit against Biola.
Sophomore catcher EmmaJoy Wise hit a 2-run, 2-out home run deep over the bleachers in left field in the top of the 1st inning and senior shortstop Hailey Rath drilled a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 5th inning to extend the lead to 5-0.
The Eagles got their first hit to open the 6th inning off freshman starter Alanna Wirtala, with three of the first four batters of the inning reaching via hit. Kendall Naka drilled a 3-run double down the left field line and Lillianna Ga followed with a game-tying 2-run home run just out of the reach of center fielder Laila Carpenter over the center field fence.
WWU rallied in the top of the 7th inning to plate the go-ahead run. Freshman right fielder Payton Chacon looped a 2-out single down the left field line and Carpenter doubled off the fence in right-center field to score Chacon.
Biola loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 7th inning and Wirtala nearly got out of the jam getting a pair of flyouts. Mikala Huske slapped a ball into short left field that was nearly caught on a diving effort by Rachel Traxler, with the tying and go-ahead runs crossing the plate. The play went under umpire review as a third out was challenged to have been recorded prior to the winning run crossing the plate, but the call was upheld capping the Biola comeback victory.
Wise went 2-for-4 with her 11th home run of the season and Rath hit her team-leading 15th home run while setting the GNAC record with her 200th career RBI.
Wirtala did not allow a hit through her first 5.0 innings needing just 52 pitches, but allowed nine hits over the final 1.2 innings of work to fall to 28-12 on the season.
PacWest Pitcher of the Year DJ Symons (20-15) earned the win in relief allowing four runs and four hits in 5.1 innings.
WWU had its four-game winning streak snapped and string of three consecutive wins at Pioneer Field snapped. The Vikings will face No. 2 seed Cal State East Bay in a game scheduled to start close to 4 pm. CSUEB defeated No. 3 seed Concordia Irvine 8-7 in comeback fashion after trailing 7-3 to keep their season alive. The Vikings and Pioneers will meet in an elimination game, with the winner advancing to play Biola on Saturday.
Gallery: (5-15-2026) SB | Biola 7, WWU 6
The Vikings (35-21) fall to the elimination bracket where they will face No. 2 seed Cal State East Bay at 3:50 pm. The winner of the WWU-CSUEB game advances to play Biola on Saturday, needing two wins to win the sub-regional. The complete 2026 schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/Team34 with links to season statistics, photo galleries and program history.
WEST REGIONAL EAST BAY BRACKET
WWU is playing in the Hayward pod of the 2026 NCAA II West Regional Championship, with four teams competing for a spot in the super regional at Pioneer Softball Field on the Cal State East Bay campus. This marks the Vikings second consecutive trip to Cal State East Bay in regional play, knocking off the No. 1 seed Pioneers on the way to a Super Regional victory at Cal State San Marcos. Here is a look at the Hayward bracket with game times listed. The other side of the West Region bracket will be played on the campus of No. 1 seed Cal State San Marcos. The winner of each sub-regional advances to the West Super Regional played May 21-22 (best of 3), with the winner advancing to the NCAA II Championship Finals May 28-June 3 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
2026 NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Host: Cal State East Bay | Hayward, CA | Pioneer Softball Field
Thursday, May 14:
Game 1 –No. 7 Western Washington 3, No. 2 Cal State East Bay 2
Game 2 – No. 6 Biola 5, No. 3 Concordia Irvine 4
Friday, May 15:
Game 3 – No. 6 Biola 7, No. 7 Western Washington 6
Game 4 – No. 2 Cal State East Bay 8, No. 3 Concordia Irvine 7 (CUI eliminated)
Game 5 – No. 7 Western Washington vs. No. 2 Cal State East Bay (elimination game)
Saturday, May 16:
Game 6 – No. 6 Biola vs. Winner Game 5, 12:00 pm
Game 7 – No. 6 Biola vs. Loser Game 6, 2:30 pm (if necessary)
WWU is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships and third consecutive with back-to-back appearances in the D2 World Series in 2024 (Longwood, FL) and 2025 (Chattanooga, TN). Entering the 2024 postseason with one NCAA Tournament victory, the Vikings went 10-5 during the run to the national championship series last year and reached the semifinal round (Final Four) in 2025. 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 19-19 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, with 18 of the 19 wins over the last three seasons. WWU is two-time defending West Regional Champion:
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)
Lost to UT Tyler, 6-5 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN
Defeated North Georgia, 3-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN
Defeated Central Oklahoma, 3-2 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN
Lost to UT Tyler, 2-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN
2026 (Hayward, CA):
Defeated Cal State East Bay, 3-2
Lost to Biola, 7-6
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2026 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
|
|
Overall
|
35-21
|
|
GNAC
|
16-8
|
|
Non-Conference
|
14-11
|
|
Postseason
|
5-2
|
|
Streak
|
L1
|
|
Home
|
12-6
|
|
Away
|
11-6
|
|
Neutral
|
12-9
|
|
vs. Ranked Teams
|
2-2
|
|
1-Run Games
|
10-6
|
|
2-Run Games
|
4-3
|
|
Extra Innings
|
3-0
|
|
Shutouts
|
2-2
|
|
BY UNIFORM
|
|
Light Blue Pinstripes
|
6-7
|
|
Navy/White
|
11-3
|
|
Black
|
9-5
|
|
Gray
|
5-3
|
|
White/Navy
|
4-3
|
|
Gray/Blue
|
0-0
|
The WWU softball is in its 34th season in 2026 while coming off a historic 47-13 season in 2025. The Vikings claimed their third consecutive GNAC tournament title in 2026 after finishing second during the regular season. WWU has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II World Series and made eight all-time appearances in the NCAA West Regional Championships. WWU won its second consecutive West Regional title in 2025 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 23 times during the 34-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 134-46 (.744).
