Battling cold, windy, and rainy conditions, a delay due to a miscommunication with the umpires, and impending darkness, the softball team was able to sweep Western Washington, 1-0 and 10-0, Tuesday afternoon at Viking Field to pull into a tie with for the GNAC lead.
With the doubleheader delayed one hour waiting for the arrival of umpires, the two teams seemed to quicken their pace in the first game, which turned into a pitcher’s dual between Seattle University’s Erin Martin (Valencia, Calif.) and Western Washington’s Sarah McEnroe. McEnroe allowed only four hits in the first seven innings while Martin held hitless until the seventh inning.
In the eighth inning, Katie Gould () reached on an infield hit and advanced to second on a groundout. When one of McEnroe’s pitches hit the dirt and got away from the catcher, Gould took off for third base. Catcher Liza Teichler’s throw to third base hit a sliding Gould in the helmet, redirecting the ball into left-center field and allowing Gould to score.
Martin set the Vikings down in order in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete her seventh shutout of the season and 34th of her career, setting a new GNAC record. She also improved her record to 21-4 in the game. Brenda Stice () went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases in the game.
used the momentum from the first game and took the early lead in the first inning of game two. Lauren Berin (Lacey, ) hit a double that scored Katie Antich (, ) and Megan MacIsaac (), followed by a single by Jamie Foote (Lynnwood, Wash.) that plated Berin and Sandra Hernandez (Redlands, Calif.). After a pitching change, Gould singled to drive in Kaha Weir ().
The Redhawks continued the offensive pressure in the second inning, with the big hit being a bases-clearing double by Weir that scored Berin, Hernandez, and Stice. Another RBI single by Gould scored Weir and gave a comfortable 10-0 lead.
Kelsey Reynolds (, ) shut down (23-21, 10-10 GNAC), allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three batters for her 12th victory of the season, including her seventh shutout. Gould finished the second game 3-for-3, while MacIsaac, Hernandez, and Foote each earned two hits in the nightcap.
(33-11) is tied with with identical 15-5 records within the conference. The Redhawks will travel to , to face the Wolves Thursday, May 1, in a GNAC doubleheader beginning at 2:30 p.m. After a non-conference game at Western Oregon Friday, returns home to face ’s Saturday, May 3, beginning at 12 noon at Logan Field.