History will be made in Bellingham on Thursday, May 9 when the first pitch of an NCAA Division II West Regional softball game is thrown at Viking Field.
Western Washington University entered the 2023–24 season having never hosted a Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament. Now, because of their program-best 42-7 overall record and top regional seed, the Vikings have earned the right to stay home once again.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament runs May 9–11 and is half of the West Regional. Western’s GNAC rival, Northwest Nazarene, is the No. 2 seed and hosting the other half.
The winner of each half of the West Regional tournament advances to the West Super Regional, a best-of-three series between the victors May 15–16 to decide who will move on to the eight-team NCAA Division II Championships in Longwood, Florida.
Western is 1-10 all-time in West Regional games — last earning a victory beyond the GNAC tournament in 2017. The Vikings have a golden opportunity to improve on that record this year.
“This team is so special,” freshman pitcher Alli Kimball said. “It’s so fun being surrounded by such an amazing team that just pushes to get better and strives to be the best we can be every single day.”
The freshmen
Kimball is a large piece of a seven-player freshman class that has seamlessly meshed with Western’s group of first-year transfers and multi-year veterans. She is also one of three freshmen the team has relied on heavily as the postseason began.
Also in that role is third baseman Maleah Andrews, who was named the GNAC Tournament MVP after sparking Western’s offense in the 4-0 title game victory over Northwest Nazarene. Offensively, Andrews batted .500 in 10 at-bats in the tourney, scoring twice and logging three RBIs.
“I was a little more shocked than I planned on being,” Andrews said of the honor. “My hard work kind of feels like it’s paid off, and it’s really great because my team is supportive of me.”
Andrews leads the GNAC in runs scored (43), doubles (14) and triples (four) and has the fifth-highest batting average at .348.
Kaiana Kong (reliever) and Kimball (starter) make up two-thirds of Western’s regular pitching staff, alongside junior Joie Baker (starter).
In nine innings pitched over two games in the GNAC tournament, Kimball shut out Western’s opponents and allowed just six hits and one walk while striking out eight.
Combined, Western has the ninth-best earned run average (ERA) in the country this season at 1.74. Kong (1.25 ERA) and Kimball (1.28), individually, are third and fourth nationally among freshman pitchers.
“Joie and I both do a good job of starting games and just setting the tone early,” Kimball said. “[Kaiana] gives batters a different look, because she has different spin pitches than Joie and I … batters just have a difficult time catching up to it.”
Andrews is excited about what the freshmen success could mean for the program moving forward, noting the upperclassmen have been integral to their confidence.
“There’s nowhere left to go but up for us, really,” Andrews said. “We learn from our upperclassmen. They are amazing and we push each other.”
The veterans
Western’s established core has only gotten better this season.
On offense, sophomore Hailey Rath has built on an impressive first season in 2023 where she was named GNAC Freshman of the Year. This season, she led the league in hits (64) and is tied for first in batting average (.383).
BYU junior transfer Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez set a new single-season program record for home runs with 15, and she leads the league with 45 RBIs.
Stony Brook University senior transfer and first baseman Ashley Jacobson is third in the GNAC in putouts with 304, which highlights the effectiveness of the entire Western defense when the ball is in play.
Seniors Taylor Khorrami and Emily Paulson as well as juniors Mckenna Crum, Kanilehua Pitoy and Lexi Barcomb have all been with Western for at least two seasons and each has logged 20 or more hits.
The tournament
The Vikings will face No. 8 Azusa Pacific (30-19) at noon on May 9 in the first round of the West Regional tournament.
No. 4 Cal State San Marcos (35-20) and No. 5 Cal State East Bay (29-22) are the other two teams in the tournament. Of the four, Western is the only program currently ranked nationally at No. 13.
Similar to the GNAC tournament, the double-elimination format creates three paths to advance to the West Super Regional. The winning team can play a minimum of three games and a maximum of five.
Path 1: Win three straight.
Path 2: Win first game, lose second, win three in a row.
Path 3: Lose first game, win four in a row.
A West Regional championship for Western would solidify this season as the program’s most successful in team history. The Vikings have a chance to cement that legacy in front of a home crowd.
More information about the West Regional Tournament is available online. The full schedule is below.
Thursday, May 9
Game 1: No. 1 Western Washington vs. No. 8 Azusa Pacific, noon.
Game 2: No. 4 Cal State San Marcos vs. No. 5 Cal State East Bay, 2:30 p.m.
Friday, May 10
Game 3: Winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 10 a.m.
Game 4: Loser game 1 vs. loser game 2 (elimination game), 12:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner game 4 vs. loser game 3 (elimination game), 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 11
Game 6: Winner game 3 vs. winner game 5, noon
Game 7: Winner game 6 vs. loser game 5, 30 minutes after game 6 (if necessary)*
* Game 7 is only required if the team that lost Game 3 wins Game 6. The loser of Game 3 must win two games, while the winner must only win one.
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
