Western Washington University softball is headed to the Final Four for the first time in program history, thanks to a dominating win over No. 1 Auburn University, Montgomery on Tuesday, May 21.
One day removed from its lopsided loss to UT Tyler, No. 6-seeded Western (50-10) responded with a decisive, 7-1 rout of AUM (47-14) to keep its season alive at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, Florida. Western is in its first-ever NCAA Division II World Series.
The Vikings, facing elimination, were powered by a pair of two-run home runs from freshman Maleah Andrews and junior Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez.
Freshman pitcher Alli Kimball threw 6.1 innings and allowed seven hits, no earned runs and just two walks.
“We got beat pretty bad yesterday by UT Tyler and came out just a completely different team today,” Western head coach Sheryl Gilmore said. “We got contribution again from our entire lineup, and that’s how we win games.”
The win sends Western to the bracket play finals against No. 4 University of Indianapolis (59-5). Two wins there would send the Vikings to the NCAA Division II National Championship, while one loss would send them home.
The first game of that final will be at 8 a.m. PST on Wednesday, May 22. If Western wins, a second game will be played at 1 p.m. later that day to determine which team advances to the best-of-three championship series.
“We have a lot of respect for [University of Indianapolis] and what they can do, what they have done and so we’ve just got to focus one pitch at a time,” Gilmore said. “[If] we think two games or let it get too big, then it gets out of control — so one at a time.”
AUM came into the game following a 17-4 win over the University of Charleston (West Virginia) earlier in the day. The loss to Western eliminated the Warhawks from the tournament.
The Vikings proved once again they are at their best with their backs against the wall — regardless of opponent.
In three games following losses this postseason, Western earned a 3-0 shutout (beat Azusa Pacific in West Regional), a 7-6 win in extra innings via walk-off (beat Cal State Dominguez Hills in Super Regional) and now a commanding win in the World Series.
“That’s when we’re at our best,” Gilmore said. “We play better when we play more softball. So it’s not unlike these guys to take the hard road. We’ve done it a few times.”
Western batted 8 for 14 in the game with two outs on the board. AUM was 2 for 8 at the plate in those scenarios. The Vikings also left nine AUM runners stranded.
AUM’s lone run came in the bottom of the second when senior Gia Martin got home on an unintentional sacrifice fly from junior Chloe Derric that was caught by Western senior Taylor Khorrami.
Western’s Andrews, who entered the game batting .487 (19 for 39) with eight RBIs and three home runs in the postseason, then added another bomb to her resume. She sent a two-out, two-run homer over the right field fence in the top of the third inning to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
She didn’t stop there. On Andrews’ next at-bat in the top of the fifth, the freshman slugger knocked a two-out single into the left field gap to move Khorrami into scoring position at third. Junior Kanilehua Pitoy was then walked to load the bases.
Sophomore Hailey Rath hit a three-run single to deep left field, scoring Khorrami, Andrews and Pitoy to inflate the Vikings’ lead to 5-1. Rath also turned in a solid game, finishing 2-for-4 batting with a run scored and three RBIs.
But Western’s five-hit fifth frame was punctuated by Andrewjeski-Ramirez’s 18th home run of the season — another two-run homer that extended the Vikings’ lead to 7-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
“[Rath] cleared the bases for me, so I felt like the pressure was off in my at-bat and I was just trying to make an adjustment,” Andrewjeski-Ramirez said. “I felt like after I hit the ball, it just kind of gave us some insurance and sealed the deal.”
AUM left six runners on base in the final three innings, as freshman Kaiana Kong relieved Kimball in the circle with two outs remaining.
Warhawks senior Molly Cobb was 4-for-4 batting with two runs scored and six RBIs in AUM’s rout of Charleston earlier in the day. She was held without a hit versus Western.
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
