Sunday, May 19, 2024
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

LONGWOOD, Fla. – Alli Kimball and Kaiana Kong combined for a stellar pitching performance, propelling Western Washington to a 2-1 win over Wilmington in the opening game of the 2024 NCAA Softball Championships on Sunday evening at Boombah-Soldier’s Creek Park.

Kimball limited Wilmington (45-15) to one run on seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks in her five innings of work, collecting her 22nd victory of the season. NCAA Division II saves leader Kong followed with two shutout innings, scattering just three hits while striking out two and walking one on the way to her 11th save of 2024.

Western Washington improved to 49-9 and will face UT Tyler on Monday at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT. The Vikings’ 49 wins this spring are fourth most by any GNAC team and the most since Humboldt State’s 54 wins in 2006.

Kimball dealt with some early pressure, stranding a runner on third base with a strikeout and a fly out to start her outing with a zero.

Maleah Andrews, who was named GNAC Championships MVP earlier this month, delivered the Vikings’ first run of the day with an RBI-double to the gap in left center in the top of the third. The laser-like line drive carried all the way to the wall, and provided plenty of room for senior Taylor Khorrami to motor around from first base after her leadoff single. GNAC Player of the Year Hailey Rath followed with a two-out, RBI-double that plated Andrews and made the score 2-0.

Wilmington threatened in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with one outs after hits by Emma Zimmerman and Julia Thuer. Sara Miller punched an RBI-single off Kimball up the middle, but a head’s up throw by Ashley Jacobson to Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez cut down a second runner trying to score to keep the Vikings in front 2-1.

That was all the scoring the teams would manage, as the Vikings held on for the narrow victory. Wilmington starter Kylee Gunkel allowed two runs on four hits with one walk in her four innings of work. Delani Sheehan pitched the final three frames, allowing no runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts and no walks.

Emily Paulson punched a one-out double just inside the third-base bag in the fourth, but the Vikings couldn’t capitalize on the runner in scoring position.

McKenna Crum made a diving catch on a sinking line drive to take a hit away from Gabbie Saucedo in the bottom of the fourth, a crucial defensive play in the win for WWU. Andrews was the lone Viking with multiple hits in the game.

NEXT UP: UT Tyler defeated Augustana 2-1 earlier on Sunday, setting up Monday’s winner’s bracket game against the Vikings. The winner of that game will advance to the finals of the four-team bracket, and would need to be defeated twice on Wednesday to be denied a trip to the NCAA Championships finals.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRACKET: Lenoir-Rhyne topped AUM 1-0 and UIndy blasted Charleston 9-0 in the other four-team pod on opening day Sunday. Lenoir-Rhyne and UIndy are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT on Monday, in a game that directly precedes the Vikings taking on UT Tyler. AUM and Charleston will play an elimination game on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.

GNAC HISTORY IN THE MAKING: WWU is the first team since the GNAC was founded in 2001 to reach the NCAA Division II College World Series. The Vikings finished second in the GNAC regular-season standings with a league record of 19-5, before going 3-0 on their home field to capture the program’s third GNAC Championships tournament trophy. From there, the Vikings went 4-1 at the west regional and defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-1 in a three-game super regional series to advance to the NCAA Championships. Overall in 2024 WWU went 9-2 on its home field in the playoffs. The Vikings set the GNAC record for consecutive wins to start a season with 13, broke the school record with a mid-season, 17-game winning streak and shattered the previous program record for wins in a season which was 34.