BELLINGHAM, Wash. --- Lisa Pendergrast capped a four-run sixth inning with a two-run double as Western Washington University rallied to defeat Northwest Nazarene University, 4-2, in the opener of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball doubleheader Friday at Viking Field on the WWU campus.

Western completed the sweep by winning the nightcap, 11-0 in
five innings, scoring eight runs in the first to match its season-high
for runs in an inning.   Meghan Flem was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two runs batted in,
finishing 4-for-5 for the day.

The Vikings improved to 20-15 overall and 9-5 in league play, moving
into a four-way tie for second, one game out of first.  NNU, which has
lost five straight, fell to 8-36 overall and 2-18 in GNAC action. 

In the first game, Western pitcher Sarah McEnroe (So., Woodinville)
(3-6) scattered nine hits in the complete-game victory.  She struck out
three and walked one, retiring 11 of the last 12 batters she faced.

The Crusaders took a 2-0 lead, scoring runs in the first and
second innings.  Katie Free had a two-out, run-scoring single in the top
of the first, and Rachel Bare drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the
second.

In the sixth, Western's Michelle Wrigley (Fr.,
Bothell/Inglemoor) had a lead-off walk and scored on a double by Liza
Teichler (Sr., Sammamish/Skyline).  Following an infield single by Flem,
Kelsey Anderson (Fr., Mount Vernon) had a RBI-single and Pendergrast
broke the tie by doubling across two more as the Vikings had four
straight hits.

Bare (9-18) pitched all six innings for NNU.  She also had
two hits for the Crusaders as did Jael Henthron.  

In the second contest, Western scored eight runs in the opening frame.
The big blows were a two-run double by Flem, run-scoring singles by
Katie Barker (Sr., Auburn/Auburn-Riverside), Caitlin Dotlich (Fr.,
Sedro-Woolley/Burlington-Edison) and Jenna Mohrweis (Fr., Mill
Creek/Jackson), and a sacrifice fly by Samantha Rutherford (Fr.,
Kenmore/Inglemoor). 

Jennifer Jorgensen (So., Bellingham/Meridian) (3-2) pitched a three-hit
shutout for the Vikings.  She worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the
first, before retiring 12 of the last 14 NNU batters.

Western scored three more runs in the fourth.  Flem led off with a
double and scored on a single by Teichler.  Pendergrast drove in
Teichler with a sacrifice fly, and with two outs, Dotlich singled and
scored on a triple by Rutherford.

Besides Flem, Dotlich and Rutherford each had two hits for the Vikings.

Pitcher Dana Shipley (0-18) got the loss for NNU, getting just one out
before Bare relieved.

Western and Northwest Nazarene meet Saturday (10 a.m.) in a
non-conference doubleheader.