ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team opened postseason play making a statement with an 11-2 victory in a 5-inning run-rule-shortened contest in the first game of the 2026 GNAC Championships at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field.
The No. 2 seed Vikings extended their GNAC Tournament winning streak to seven consecutive games after winning each of the last two postseason conference tournaments going 3-0 each year. WWU improved to 31-19 overall and advance to the winner's bracket where they will play No. 4 seed Simon Fraser on Friday at 10 am in Ellensburg. SFU defeated No. 1 Saint Martin's 5-4 in Thursday's second game..
The Vikings and No. 3 seed Nighthawks exchanged first-inning runs and NNU took a 2-1 lead with an unearned run in the top of the 2nd inning. GNAC Pitcher of the Year Miah Lusk of NNU and Freshman of the Year Alanna Wirtala of WWU settled in with two scoreless frames.
WWU broke the game open it the bottom of the 4th inning capitalizing on three NNU errors. Laila Carpenter crossed the plate with the tying run on a groundout by Rachel Traxler. Senior shortstop Hailey Rath provided the big hit of the inning with a grand slam to left field for her GNAC-leading 14th home run of the season (36th of career).
The Vikings end the game in the bottom of the 5th with another five-run outburst. Freshman Nazli Chavez led off the inning with a solo home run to left-center field – her first collegiate homer – and junior Maleah Andrews ended the game with a grand slam to deep right field to bring the 8-run rule into effect.
Wirtala earned the complete-game victory improving to 24-10 on the season, allowing one earned run (2 runs total) in 5.0 innings. She limited the Nighthawks to three hits while racking up six strikeouts.
Andrews, the GNAC Player of the Year, went 2-for-4 with her 11th home run of the season and scored three runs. Chavez went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
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WWU 11, NNU 2 (May 7, 2026 at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field)
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Score by Innings
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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R
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H
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E
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LOB
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Record
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Northwest Nazarene
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1
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1
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0
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0
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0
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-
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2
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3
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3
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3
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34-18
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Western Washington
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1
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0
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0
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5
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5
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-
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11
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7
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1
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4
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31-19
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NNU – Lusk, Frias (5), McGee (5) and Espino
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WWU – Wirtala and Wise
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Win: Wirtala (24-10) Save: None Loss: Lusk (16-8)
WWU HR: Rath (14), Andrews (11), Chavez (1)
NNU HR: None
Time of Game: 1:40 Att: 188
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The Vikings (31-19) advances in the winner's bracket of the GNAC Championships and will play Simon Fraser on Friday at 10 am in Ellenburg. More information on the 2026 GNAC Softball Championships can be viewed online at GNACSports.com, including tournament results and the updated bracket.
GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
The 2026 GNAC Softball Championships is being played at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg. The four-team double-elimination tournament will determine the recipient of the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Championships. WWU is the two-time defending champion of the tournament and leads the conference with four GNAC postseason titles.
2026 GNAC Softball Championships
Host: Central Washington University | Ellensburg, WA | Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field
Thursday, May 7
Game 1: No. 2 Western Washington 11, No. 3 Northwest Nazarene 2 (5 inn.)
Game 2: No. 4 Simon Fraser 5, No. 1 Saint Martin's 4
Friday, May 8
Game 3: 10 am – No. 2 Western Washington vs. No. 4 Simon Fraser
Game 4: 12:30 pm – No. 3 Northwest Nazarene vs. No. 1 Saint Martin's (Elimination Game)
Game 5: 3 pm – 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
GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
WWU has advanced to play in nine of the 13 GNAC Championship tournaments, winning titles 2017, 2021 and back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025. The Vikings are 17-8 all-time in GNAC Championships play following Thursday's 11-2 win over NNU, extending their winning streak in the conference tournament to seven straight.
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2026 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall
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31-19
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GNAC
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16-8
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Non-Conference
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14-11
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Postseason
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1-0
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Streak
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W2
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Home
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12-6
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Away
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10-6
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Neutral
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9-7
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vs. Ranked Teams
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1-2
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1-Run Games
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8-5
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2-Run Games
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3-3
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Extra Innings
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3-0
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Shutouts
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2-2
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BY UNIFORM
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Light Blue Pinstripes
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5-5
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Navy/White
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9-3
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Black
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8-5
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Gray
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5-3
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White/Navy
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4-3
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Gray/Blue
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0-0
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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 130-44 (.747).
