BELLINGHAM, Wash. – There are good days at the ballpark, and then there was the day that Western Washington University senior Makinlee Sellevold had on Saturday.
For starters, the Senior out of Cascade High School in Everett threw the 25th no-hitter in Great Northwest Athletic Conference history and recorded her 49th and 50th career pitching wins to become the all-time leader in WWU Softball history.
Adding to that, Sellevold went 2-0 recording a pair of complete-game shutout victories over Montana State Billings on Saturday, combining to allow only one hit and striking out 21 in 11.0 innings.
“It was a blast to watch Makinlee do her thing today,” said WWU first-year head coach Sheryl Gilmore. “She was untouchable against a great MSUB offense and she really fought for us today.”
The Vikings improved to 8-5 overall and opened conference play with a doubleheader sweep over MSUB, winning 10-0 (5 innings) and 8-0 (6 innings) in games that were shortened due to the run mercy rule.
“It was so fun to see the girls come together and play their game and let it fly at home,” added Gilmore. “They prepared well all week and they were absolutely on point in all three phases of the game.”
The Vikings collected 20 hits, 10 of which were doubles, while out-scoring the Yellowjackets 18-0. In the second game of the doubleheader the Vikings set a WWU single-game record and tied the GNAC mark with eight doubles.
Sophomore right fielder Mackenzie Palmer combined to go 5-for-6 with a double and 3 RBI in the doubleheader, providing the walk-off two-run double in the nightcap.
Junior designated player Paityn Cyr was 3-for-6 in the doubleheader, including a pair of doubles in the second game, extending her hitting streak to 12 consecutive games.
The Vikings and Yellowjackets wrap up their GNAC opening series on Sunday with another doubleheader beginning at 12 pm at Viking Field on the WWU campus.
“I am so proud of the team and I can’t wait to continue to watch them take the next step and grow together,” concluded Gilmore.
WWU 10, Montana State Billings 0 (Game 1) Box Score | Game Book
WWU senior starting pitcher Makinlee Sellevold recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts while recording a complete-game, one-hit shutout in the Vikings 10-0 victory in a run-rule-shortened five innings.
Sellevold improved to 6-5 on the season and recorded her 49th career victory to set the all-time WWU program record, breaking a tie with Amanda Grant (2000-03) and Jackie Quint (2004-07). Sellevold recorded her third double-digit strikeouts performance of the season, recording 12 of the 15 outs in the game via strikeout.
Western pounded out 9 hits, with sophomore right fielder Mackenzie Palmer (2-for-2, 2 R, RBI, BB) and senior first baseman Emily Benson (2-for-2, R, 2B, BB, 2 RBI) recording multi-hit games. Sellevold helped her own cause going 1-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI. Junior Paityn Cyr went 1-for-3 with one RBI to extend her career-high hitting streak to 11 consecutive games.
The Vikings jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, scoring a pair of runs in each the first and second innings. Benson got the scoring started with a two-run double to the right field gap in the bottom of the 1st inning and Palmer brought home a run with a two-out single in the 2nd inning. Another run scored on a MSUB fielding error.
WWU tagged on six more runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning to extend the lead to 10-0. Sellevold drove home a pair of runs with a double down the right field line, and Seli Aholelei, Cyr and Benson also tabbed run-scoring singles.
MSUB designated player Morgan Quimby led off the top of the 3rd inning with a single to right field for the Yellowjackets only hit of the game. Starting pitcher Maddy Lincoln (3-5) was saddled with the loss allowing 10 runs (7 ER) on 9 hits.
