[
Game 1 Box Score] [
Game 2 Box Score]
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Cal State San Marcos dropped two games to Western Washington to end its season at the NCAA West Regional pod #1.
The Vikings needed two wins on Saturday, while the Cougars needed one. WWU received quality pitching in both games to earn the right to advance.
Game 1
Cal State San Marcos took the lead on
Mackenzie Guiliano's two-out single in the second inning, but from there, Western Washington scored seven unanswered runs to win 7-1 and force the winner-take-all game.
WWU's
Maleah Andrews went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and scored two runs out of her leadoff spot. She started the scoring for the Vikings with a solo home run in the third, and they would go on to score in each of the next four innings.
Alli Kimball earned the win to improve to 20-2. She pitched the first five innings, allowing six hits and one run. She struck out two and did not walk a batter.
Game 2
Western Washington defeated Cal State San Marcos 2-1 in the winner-take-all game of the 2024 NCAA West Region Pod #2.
After WWU got on the board first with an unearned run in the top of the fourth, CSUSM answered back in the bottom half with an RBI single by
Gianna Lombardi, in pinch-runner
Brooklyn Ury.
A leadoff triple and a two-out single by Emily Paulson brought in Kanilehua Pitoy with the go-ahead run in the sixth.
Cal State San Marcos put runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the sixth. The next batter,
Czar Fleischman, hit a hard shot right at the shortstop, who cut the runner down at home for the second out. A grounder to third retired the side.
The Vikings used three pitchers to beat CCAA Pitcher of the Year
Jayline Sloss. WWU's Alli Kimball earned the win in both games of the doubleheader. She pitched two innings in relief, allowing two hits and no runs to improve to 21-2. Sloss went seven innings for CSUSM, allowing five hits and two runs (one earned). She walked two and struck out four.
Next
Western Washington will now host Cal State Dominguez Hills in the NCAA West Super Regional. The Toros and Vikings will meet in a three-game series starting May 14 to see who will represent the West at the NCAA Championships. The Toros won the Super Regional in 2022 and reached the NCAA title game.