By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications
PORTLAND, Ore. – For the first time in more than a decade, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball trophy landed at Saint Martin’s University.
A tight race with four teams all in contention for the regular-season title entering the final weekend was won by the Saints, who swept their series against Simon Fraser to earn the trophy and Athletic Solutions GNAC Team of the Week recognition. SMU won the league with a conference record of 18-6 and finished the regular season 33-17 overall as they head into this week’s GNAC Championships tournament with the No. 1 overall seed.
“Our team played really well during our GNAC season this year,” said SMU head coach
Jim Peterson, who is in his ninth season in charge. “We had a team goal of maintaining focus to make this our sixth straight GNAC playoff appearance. From the first week of practice in the fall semester, we talked about doing something special and giving our team an opportunity to accomplish something that has not happened at SMU since 2015.”
The four victories last week gave SMU its third overall GNAC regular-season crown, with the first two coming in 2013 and 2015. The sweetest part for the Saints was achieving the feat on their home turf, with Saturday’s doubleheader sweep prompting a Gatorade dump on the head coach and sparkling cider bottles.
The series started off in dramatic fashion, with SMU having to come from behind to beat Simon Fraser 8-7. Trailing 7-3 with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Saints managed to plate four runs to even the score at 7-7. That set up a walk-off double by
Haley Agena in the bottom of the frame, as the senior came through in the final home series of her career.
SMU then relied on a gem in the circle by GNAC Pitcher of the Week
Kayla Vaughan, who went the distance in the team’s 6-1 win to complete the day-one sweep. Vaughan limited the Red Leafs to five hits and one run, while striking out five hitters on 99 pitches across her seven innings of work.
The Saints once again found themselves behind late in the third game of the series, facing a narrow 1-0 deficit after the top of the fifth frame. Agena got the rally started with a leadoff walk, and reigning GNAC Player of the Year
Heather Ebner delivered a big two-run double to give her team its first lead of the afternoon. This time it was
Bridget Johnson’s turn to deliver a complete-game effort in the circle, as she held SFU to seven baserunners and a single run while tossing 107 pitches in the 4-1 win.
SMU took command from the start in the series finale, scoring all five of its runs across the first four innings in game four. Ebner got things started with an RBI-single in the first, while
Elissa Dewees,
Jennessy Lopez and
Olivianna Trinidad each also had RBIs in the eventual 5-1 triumph. Vaughan kept SFU off the scoreboard for the first four innings, before
Heidi Leitz,
Keagan Norfleet and
Amanda Peterson combined to allow just one run on one hit over the final three innings.
“After a big comeback extra-inning win in game one of the series, our team kept that momentum going for the next three games,” said Peterson. “It's difficult in our league to win all four games of a weekend series. Also, it was senior weekend for us and the team wanted to rally behind our two seniors,
Shelby Lawson and Haley Agena. It was an exciting weekend for our team.”
The regular-season title was cause for celebration but the season is far from over for Saint Martin’s. The Saints were left out of the most recent NCAA West Region rankings, but maintain aspirations of advancing to the national tournament for the second straight season. One path would be to win next week’s GNAC Championships, something the team has done just once – in 2013.
“I'm proud of our entire team on their performance this year,” Peterson said. “We had many close games and multiple comeback wins during the season. It was awesome to clinch the GNAC regular season title on our home field over the weekend and celebrate with our fans, friends, and family on senior day.
GNAC Team of the Week presented by Athletic Solutions
Athletic Solutions was introduced as an official partner of the GNAC on Dec. 8, 2025 and it will sponsor the GNAC Team of the Week award. Athletic Solutions is a national leader in NIL fan engagement and e-commerce technology, collaborating with colleges and universities to bring NIL Locker Rooms to life. Its platform simplifies NIL opportunities, providing student-athletes with the tools and exposure needed to thrive in the evolving landscape of college athletics.