Monday, February 12, 2024
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. –  With another perfect week in California under its belt, the Western Washington softball team is also coming back to Bellingham from the Golden State with the first GNAC Team of the Week honors for a softball program this year.

The Vikings completed their California sweep last week with five wins at the North Bay Challenge against regional competition, outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 29-16 and never allowing more than five runs in a game. The wins moved Western Washington to an undefeated 9-0 on the season ahead of the team’s home opener against British Columbia this Saturday.

“It was a fun trip!” head coach Sheryl Gilmore said. “I’m super proud of our team’s grit and competitiveness to start the season, especially against tough California teams on the road. Something I really appreciate about this group is that they are unfazed by anything that takes them outside of the present moment and they stay focused on what’s right in front of them. We are excited to get back to work after a little recovery and keep getting better was we move into GNAC play.”

Western Washington opened its week with a 7-3 win at Dominican (Calif.) last Thursday, using a big first-inning home run to take a lead that the Vikings would never surrender. It was reigning GNAC Player of the Week Emma Andrewjeski who hung the crooked number on the scoreboard to open the game, blasting a three-run homer to center field. After the Penguins cut the lead to just one run in the third inning, the Vikings put together another three-run inning in the fifth to put the game out of reach for the home team. Freshman pitcher Kaiana Kong picked up her first win of the season in the victory, throwing five innings and striking out three batters while allowing two runs on eight hits.

The Vikings followed up Thursday’s win with a 6-4 decision at Sonoma State in Santa Rosa, Calif., and a 6-5 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay in San Rafael, Calif., on Friday. Despite trailing the Seawolves after the first inning in Friday’s first game, WWU used another three-run bomb to get themselves back in the game in the second frame, this time from the bat of junior Riley Anderson.

Anderson finished the game 2 for 3 at the plate and tacked on two more RBIs with a two-run shot in the seventh inning to deliver WWU the win. Kong earned the win in the circle once again, throwing three innings in relief without allowing a hit.

Western Washington had to overcome an even bigger deficit in Friday’s second game against the Otters after falling into a five-run hole through the first three innings. From there, however, the WWU defense was rock-solid, not allowing another run while the offense came through with a big effort in the bottom of the seventh to steal the win.

Andrewjeski led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo shot for her second home run of the week to put the Vikings on the board. Sophomore infielder Hailey Rath got the seventh-inning rally started with a sacrifice fly to bring junior outfielder McKenna Crum around to score before senior Ashley Jacobsen and junior Kanilehua Pitoy secured the win with a pair of two-run homers.

The Vikings capped off the week with two more wins in San Rafael on Saturday, defeating Chico State 4-3 in extra innings to start the day before taking the rematch with Cal State Monterey Bay 6-1. Western Washington took an early lead against the Wildcats, capitalizing on a wild pitch and an error to tack two runs on the board in the third inning before Chico State battled back to take the lead in the fourth. A clutch RBI-single from Emily Paulson tied the game up at 3-3 in the fifth and sent the game to extra innings.

Pitoy drove in the game-winning run for a second straight game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, bringing freshman Maleah Andrews around to score. Kong notched her fourth win of the week in the victory, entering in relief once again. Kong threw five shutdown innings for the win, striking out a pair while allowing just two hits and throwing 57 pitches.

The final win of the week came with a seven-inning gem from junior pitcher Joie Baker in the circle. Baker threw 99 pitches while going the distance against the Otters, allowing just one run on seven hits and four walks while striking out one. She retired 12 batters via flyout and forced another six to ground out. Andrewjeski led the Vikings at the plate to end the week, going 2 for 4 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to take any pressure off of Baker.