Monday, April 13, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Western Washington softball team won five games last week, including two against conference-leader Saint Martin’s, to earn Red Lion Hotels Team of the Week honors.

The Vikings moved to 24-16 overall and 13-7 in the GNAC with the five victories. WWU is tied with Montana State Billings for second place in the conference with only two weeks left of play. The team also closed the gap with Saint Martin’s for the conference lead, one win separating the two teams.

Western Washington held its opponents to a .239 batting average on the week while, as a team, hitting .339 and outscoring three conference foes by 16 runs.

Two Vikings were honored as the GNAC’s Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, for their performances. They were freshman pitcher Makinlee Sellevold, who won all four of her decisions, and junior outfielder/designated hitter Alexie Levin, who hit three home runs and drove in 11 runs.

With four home games scheduled for the weekend, the Vikings played their only road games of the week last Wednesday in a doubleheader against boarder rival Simon Fraser.

Levin recorded the team’s first two RBI’s of the series as she hit a sacrifice fly in the first and worked a bases-loaded walk in the third, taking a 2-1 advantage into the sixth. Levin also hit a solo home run and doubled to right-center in the top of the sixth inning as she finished the day with four RBI's. The Vikings would go onto win game one 9-3. Sellevold recorded the win after pitching five innings while allowing just one run, a solo home run, on four hits.

Game two was highlighted by pitchers as Sellevold threw three innings of one-hit ball and Shayna Adelstein pitched four strong relief innings for the win. Senior shortstop Alicia Fine was a part of the first three runs of the game as she drove in two with a sacrifice fly and a double before scoring on a single in the third inning. The Vikings added three more runs in the sixth, including Allie Crowe's first-career home run, finishing off the Clan 6-1.

Three days later, the Vikings returned home to host Western Oregon. With Sellevold on the mound for the third-straight game of the week, the freshman pitched four innings while allowing just one hit before faltering in the fifth, allowing five runs. The Vikings supported Sellevold with seven runs in the fifth and sixth. Levin hit a three-run home run and Fine recorded two RBI’s in the inning as WWU won 9-5. Kali Patterson was 3-for-3 for WWU, driving in two runs and scoring two. Western Washington would fall in the second game of the series 8-5.

In a battle of the two of the top teams in the GNAC, the Vikings hosted conference-leader Saint Martin’s in a doubleheader Sunday.

WWU scored first as Fine launched her second home run of the week in the first inning, but SMU responded with a four-run fourth inning. Down 2-4 in the sixth, Sellevold would ensure another win as she launched a three-run home run into the stands in left field, taking the first matchup 5-4. Sellevold pitched her second consecutive complete-game, throwing seven innings while striking out five.

In the nightcap, Levin recorded all four RBI’s for the Vikings as she hit a solo home run in the second and broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth with a three-run double. The Vikings would go on to win 4-1.

Sellevold's fourth win of the week improved her season record to 19-7. The 19 wins lead the GNAC. In her five appearances of the week, the freshman threw three complete games. She also posted a 2.41 ERA while striking out 12 batters.

Offensively, five of the Vikings eight home runs came off the bats of Levin and Fine. The pair also drove in 18 of the Vikings 36 recorded RBI’s, including 11 from Levin.

Folllowing a break this week, WWU will play its final two doubleheaders of the regular season, traveling to Central Washington on Apr. 24, and entertaining Simon Fraser on Apr. 25.