Western Washington University Athletics

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Washington University softball wrapped up the regular season schedule on Saturday, splitting its GNAC doubleheader at Western Oregon with a 4-1 loss in the opening game and 8-7 victory in the nightcap at WOU Softball Field.

 

The Vikings entered the weekend tied for the top spot in the GNAC standings but split the four-game series against the Wolves to finish in 2nd place with a 16-8 conference record and heads into the postseason with a 30-19 overall record. Saint Martin's swept its home series vs. Simon Fraser to clinch the GNAC regular season title.

 

The two-time defending GNAC Tournament champion Vikings will be the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Championships beginning Thursday in Ellensburg on the Central Washington University campus. WWU faces No. 3 seed Northwest Nazarene in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for noon at Frederick Field.

 

The Vikings and Wolves were tied 1-1 in the opening game heading into the 6th inning before Emma Cordero broke the game open with a three-run home run to lift WOU to the 4-1 victory.

 

WWU jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the nightcap behind a 5-run top of the 4th inning and held on for the 8-7 victory holding off WOU's late-inning rally.

 

Sophomore EmmaJoy Wise led the Vikings at the plate going 4-for-8 with two doubles and two RBI in the doubleheader and junior Maleah Andrews continued to reach base going 2-for-5 with three walks and four runs scored. Andrews also hit her 10th home run of the season giving her 21 longballs in her career to tie for 5th in program history. Freshman Alanna Wirtala earned her fourth save of the season in the nightcap and Evalyn Massena earned the victory to even her record at 6-6 on the season.

 

Western Oregon 4, Western Washington 1 (Game 1)

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Western Washington..... 100 000 0 -  1  4  1      (29-19, 15-8 GNAC)

Western Oregon......... 000 013 X -  4  6  1      (24-26, 10-13 GNAC)

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WWU: Wirtala and Wise

WOU: Barnett, Martin (6) and Bodak

Win-Martin (7-7)  Loss-Wirtala (23-10)  T-1:57

HR WOU - Mauer; Cordero

 

Western Washington 8, Western Oregon 7 (Game 2)

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Western Washington..... 100 502 0 -  8  9  1      (30-19, 16-8 GNAC)

Western Oregon......... 002 003 2 -  7 11  4      (24-27, 10-14 GNAC)

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WWU: Massena, Wirtala (7) and Chavez, Wise

WOU: Abbas, Stansbury (4), Fullmer (6) and Cordero, Voll, Bodak

Win-Massena (6-6)  Save-Wirtala (4)  Loss-Stansbury (3-3)  T-2:25  A-91

HR WWU – Andrews (10)

 

The Vikings (30-19, 16-8 GNAC) head into the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Championships that will be played May 7-9 at Frederick Field in Ellensburg. WWU faces No. 3 seed Northwest Nazarene in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday with first pitch scheduled for noon. More information on the 2026 GNAC Softball Championships can be viewed online at GNACSports.com. More information on the 2026 season can be found at WWUVikings.com/Team34.

 

The 2026 GNAC Softball Championships will be played May 7-9 at the CWU Softball Field on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. The four-team double-elimination tournament will determine the recipient of the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Championships.

 

Thursday, May 7

Game 1: Noon - No. 2 Seed Western Washington vs. No. 3 Seed Northwest Nazarene

Game 2: 2:30 p.m. - No. 1 Seed Saint Martin's vs. No. 4 Seed Simon Fraser

 

Friday, May 8

Game 3: 10 a.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

Game 4: 12:30 p.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (Elimination Game)

Game 5: 3 p.m. - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (Elimination Game)

 

Saturday, May 9

Game 6: Noon - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5

Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 30 minutes following game 6

 

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2026 season:

 

 

Here is a look at the final GNAC standings through the end of the regular season. The Vikings finished 2nd in the standings and will be the No. 2 seed for the GNAC Championships. 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, Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene competing for the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA Division II 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 129-44 (.746).