Western Washington University Athletics

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Western Washington University Softball team clinched its third consecutive GNAC Championships title recording a pair of wins Saturday over Simon Fraser University to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional Championships.

 

Coming out of the elimination bracket, the Vikings needed a pair of wins over the Red Leafs to become the first team in conference history to win back-to-back-to-back postseason tournament titles. And they did just that, coming from behind in both games, winning the opener 3-2 in extra innings (8 innings) and overcoming a 5-3 deficit to win 8-6 in the tournament final to raise the trophy.

 

WWU rode the right arm of pitcher Alanna Wirtala to the tournament title, with the freshman earning the win in both games Saturday and went 4-1 during the three-day tournament to earn GNAC Championships MVP honors. The GNAC Freshman of the Year pitched in relief in both games on championship Saturday, allowing just three runs over 12.0 innings, and finished the tournament with a 2.57 ERA (11 ER, 30.0 IP).

 

Junior center fielder Laila Carpenter, sophomore catcher EmmaJoy Wise and senior first baseman Olivia Matlock led the Vikings offensively with each recording four hits. Wise went 3-for-3 with two RBI in the opening game, Matlock provided the walk-off hit in the bottom of the 8th inning to force the deciding championship game and also had the game-winning RBI in the championship final with a two-run single in the top of the 4th inning.

 

WWU also won the tournament title in 2024 on its home Viking Field and repeated in 2025 in Nampa, Idaho. Under head coach Sheryl Gilmore (248-236/.646) the Vikings will be making their third consecutive trip to the West Regional Championship and are the two-time defending regional champion appearing in the NCAA II World Series in in 2024 in Longwood, Florida and 2025 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

 

Western Washington 3, Simon Fraser 2 (May 09, 2026 at Ellensburg, WA)

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Simon Fraser.......... 200 000 00 -  2  4  1      (17-32)

Western Washington.... 101 000 01 -  3  7  0      (33-20)

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SFU: Bourque and Sugrive

WWU: Massena, Wirtala (3) and Wise

Win-Wirtala (26-11)  Loss-Bourque (12-15)  T-2:08

 

Western Washington 8, Simon Fraser 6 (May 09, 2026 at Ellensburg, WA)

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Western Washington.... 300 410 0 -  8 11  1      (34-20)

Simon Fraser.......... 320 001 0 -  6  9  4      (17-33)

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WWU: Massena, Wirtala (2) and Wise

SFU: Rust, Franklin (2), Bourque (6) and Sugrive

Win-Wirtala (27-11)  Loss-Franklin (3-9)  T-2:25  A-228

HR SFU - Sugrive (7)

 

The Vikings (34-20) earn an automatic bid to the NCAA West Regional Championships and will find out its seed and where they will play Monday morning during the NCAA Selection Show that airs at 7 am PT/10 am ET on NCAA.com. Regional play begins Thursday, May 14 at a West Region host site to be determined.

 

The 2026 GNAC Softball Championships was held at Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg. The four-team double-elimination tournament determined the recipient of the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Championships. WWU won the GNAC Tournament for the third consecutive season and leads the conference with five GNAC postseason titles.

 

 

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: No. 4 Simon Fraser 9, No. 2 Western Washington 4

Game 4: No. 1 Saint Martin's 9, No. 3 Northwest Nazarene 7 (NNU eliminated)

Game 5: No. 2 Western Washington 12, No. 1 Saint Martin's 4 (SMU eliminated)

 

Saturday, May 9

Game 6: No. 2 Western Washington 3, No. 4 Simon Fraser 2 (8 inn.)

Game 7: No. 2 Western Washington 8, No. 4 Simon Fraser 6 (WWU GNAC Champions)

WWU has advanced to play in nine of the 13 GNAC Championship tournaments, winning a league-best five titles in 2017, 2021 and back-to-back-to-back seasons in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The Vikings are 20-9 all-time in GNAC Championships play and have won nine of their last 10 games in the GNAC postseason. WWU is the first team in softball GNAC history to win three consecutive postseason tournament titles.

 

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

 

 

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 seven 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 133-45 (.747).