CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Western Washington University softball team recorded another victory in an elimination game at the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Saturday evening, defeating No. 3 seed Central Oklahoma at Frost Stadium at Warner Park.
The No. 8 seed Vikings shut out No. 4 North Georgia 3-0 earlier Saturday, with the two victories moving WWU to the semifinal round and the final four of the double-elimination tournament. The Vikings face off against No. 1 seed UT Tyler on Sunday at 11 am ET/8 am PT with an "if necessary" game at 4 pm ET/1 pm PT. WWU needs a pair of victories vs. the Patriots to advance to the best-of-three championship finals that begin play Tuesday.
WWU's 3-2 victory over UCO came was keyed by another balanced and determined team effort, with clutch hitting going 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position, error-free defense and great pitching from sophomores Alli Kimball and Kaiana Kong.
The Vikings looked to jump out early in the 1st inning, but left the bases loaded after back-to-back hits to lead off the game. Kimball got two quick outs on two pitches in the bottom of the 1st inning, but UCO went ahead 1-0 on three consecutive hits.
Western answered with a pair of runs in the top of the 3rd inning to take a 2-1 lead. Junior shortstop Hailey Rath singled up the middle with the game-tying run scoring on a throwing error by the Broncho center fielder. Senior catcher Emma Andrewjeski-Ramirez singled to drive in Rath with the go-ahead run.
UCO responded with a run in the bottom of the 4th inning to tie the game 2-2. The game-tying run scored on a wild pitch by Kimball, but the sophomore buckled down stranding the potential go-ahead run at third base by getting a strikeout and pop out to keep the game tied.
WWU sophomore Kaina Kong entered in relief in the 5th inning after throwing a 2-hit shutout vs. North Georgia earlier in the day and allowed just two baserunners on a hit and walk in 3.0 scoreless innings.
The Vikings forged ahead in the top of the 7th inning when sophomore All-American third baseman Maleah Andrews doubled to the left field gap to lead off the inning and scored on the next play when senior second baseman Kanilehua Pitoy singled down the left field line. Kong worked a 1-2-3 7th inning on eight pitches to close out the game for her 15th victory of the season (15-1).
Andrews went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles to extend her on-base streak to 56 consecutive games and Pitoy was 3-for-3 and reached base in all four plate appearances also drawing a walk. The Vikings led off four of seven innings with a hit.
UCO (52-11) ace Terin Ritz recorded the loss allowing three hits and one run in 2.0 innings of work to drop to 24-6 on the season.
WWU improved to 47-12 overall and 10-2 in the postseason with the victory, and are 4-0 in elimination games so far during the NCAA Tournament.
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WWU 3, UCO 2 (May 24, 2025 at Frost Stadium at Warner Park)
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Score by Innings
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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R
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H
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E
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LOB
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Record
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Western Washington
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0
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0
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2
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0
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0
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0
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1
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-
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3
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10
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0
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8
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47-12
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Central Oklahoma
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1
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0
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0
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1
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0
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0
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0
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-
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2
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6
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1
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5
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52-11
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WWU – Kimball, Kong (5) and Andrewjeski-Ramirez, Dellamaggiore (5)
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UCO – Pipkin, Ward (3), Ritz (6) and Clark
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Win: Kong (15-1) Save: None Loss: Ritz (24-6)
WWU HR: None UCO HR: None
Time of Game: 1:51
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The Vikings (47-12) advance to the final four of the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship tournament, meeting up with No. 1 seed UT Tyler Sunday at 11 am ET/8 am PT. A second "if necessary" game would follow at 4 pm ET/1 pm PT with the Vikings needing a pair of wins over the Patriots to advance to the best-of-three championship series. All games during the NCAA DII Softball National Championship tournament are being played at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The complete 2025 schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/Team33 with links to season statistics, photo galleries and program history.
Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2025 season:
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RECORD BREAKDOWN
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Overall
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47-12
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GNAC
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21-3
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Non-Conference
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26-9
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Postseason
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10-2
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Streak
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W2
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Home
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12-2
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Away
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25-5
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Neutral
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10-5
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vs. Ranked Teams
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5-1
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1-Run Games
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6-5
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2-Run Games
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2-1
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Extra Innings
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1-0
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Shutouts
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13-4
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BY UNIFORM
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Light Blue Pinstripes
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17-4
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Navy
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5-1
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Navy/White
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12-3
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Gray
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5-2
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White/Navy
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6-2
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Gray/Blue
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0-0
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Autism Awareness
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2-0
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All games during the 2025 NCAA Division II Softball National Championship will be streamed live and FREE online by visiting NCAA.com/liveschedule. Once visiting that link fans will be able to choose from all NCAA events that will stream that day…just find the Viking logo and click to watch the game live online. A direct link will also be available by bookmarking wwuvikings.com/SB_Watch.
WWU is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships and second consecutive after the historic run to the NCAA II World Series in 2024. Entering the 2024 postseason with one NCAA Tournament victory, the Vikings went 10-5 during the run to the national championship series. Prior to moving to the NCAA level in 1999, WWU won the NAIA World Series in 1998 for the first team national championship in WWU Athletics history. Here is a look at the Vikings game-by-game listing in the NCAA Championships with the regional host site listed next to the year. The Vikings are 18-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, with 17 of the 18 wins over the last two seasons:
2003 (Bakersfield, CA):
Lost to UC Davis, 4-2
Lost to Humboldt State, 7-1
2007 (Turlock, CA):
Lost to Stanislaus State, 2-0
Lost to Sonoma State, 3-1
2011 (Chico, CA):
Lost to Chico State, 3-1
Lost to Central Washington, 8-4
2017 (Seaside, CA):
Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 5-3
Lost to Dixie State, 5-0
Lost to Sonoma State, 6-4
2021 (Irvine, CA):
Lost to Hawai'i Hilo, 3-0
Lost to Central Washington, 9-5
2024 (Bellingham, WA):
Defeated Azusa Pacific, 1-0
Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 4-3
Defeated Azusa Pacific, 3-0
Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 7-1
Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 2-1
Defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 4-3 (Super Regional)
Lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-2 (Super Regional)
Defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 7-6 (West Region Champions) – 8 innings
Defeated Wilmington (DE), 2-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL
Lost to UT Tyler, 10-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL
Defeated Auburn Montgomery, 7-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL
Defeated UIndy, 2-1 (9 inn.) (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL
Defeated UIndy, 7-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL
Lost to UT Tyler, 3-0 (NCAA Championship Series) – Longwood, FL
Lost to UT Tyler, 10-1 (NCAA Championship Series) – Longwood, FL
2025 (Hayward, CA):
Defeated Concordia Irvine, 8-0
Defeated Cal State East Bay, 2-1
Defeated Cal State East Bay, 6-2
Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 9-1 (Super Regional)
Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 4-1 (Super Regional)
Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 3-2 (Super Regional)
Lost to UT Tyler, 6-5 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN
Defeated North Georgia, 3-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN
Defeated Central Oklahoma, 3-2 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN
HOW TO FOLLOW THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Here are links on how to follow the 2025 NCAA Division II Softball Championships World Series in Tennessee:
The WWU softball program is in its 33rd season in 2025 while coming off a historic 52-12 season in 2024. The Vikings won the 2025 GNAC regular-season title with a 21-3 league record and have won back-to-back GNAC Tournament titles in 2024 and 2025. WWU advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the sixth time in program history in 2024, playing on its home field in the NCAA postseason for the first time. WWU won its first West Regional title defeating Cal State San Marcos in the sub-regional and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Super Regional. The historic season ended playing in the national championship series as part of the NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival in Longwood, Florida. WWU has posted a winning record 21 times during the 32-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title.