TURLOCK, Calif. – The Western Washington University softball team closed out play in the 2017 Tournament of Champions going 1-1 on Sunday, including a 4-0 victory over No. 7 Chico State and a 4-1 defeat by Cal State San Bernardino.
Freshman starting pitcher Anna Kasner (Milton, WA/Fife) fired a complete-game, 1-hit shutout against the 7th-ranked Wildcats, tying her career-high with 13 strikeouts. It marked the sixth time this season the right-hander has recorded double-digits in strikeouts in a game, and third time to reach the 13-strikeout mark.
The two-time NFCA National Player of the Week and Freshman of the Year candidate allowed only a two-out single in the first inning, and then retired the final 19 batters she faced. Of her 13 strikeouts, 12 were swinging.
In 16 appearances (14 starts), Kasner has recorded 123 strikeouts, 7th-most in WWU single-season history, and is averaging 10.17 strikeouts per 7.0 innings pitched.
Sophomore McKenna Mathis (Mesa, WA/Connell) led the Vikings at the plate going 3-for-6 in the two games combined, while junior Makinlee Sellevold (Everett, WA/Cascade) was 2-for-6 with a pair of RBI and Shearyna Labasan (Mililani, HI/Maryknoll) was also 2-for-6.
WWU ended the 26-team, 77-game tournament going 4-2 with wins over Academy of Art (12-0), San Francisco State (3-1), UC San Diego (1-0) and Chico State (4-0). WWU is now 53-48 all-time in the 16 years of the Tournament of Champions hosted by Stanislaus State.
The Vikings return to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next weekend with road doubleheaders at Saint Martin’s in Lacey (Saturday, 1 & 3 pm) and Central Washington in Ellensburg (Sunday, 1 & 3 pm). WWU is currently tied for 4th in the GNAC standings with a 5-5 mark in league play.
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