Only a few weeks remain in the spring regular season for most prep sports, and teams that were once riding high have hit new lows. As a result, new contenders are capitalizing.
Western Washington University softball has torn through its Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule, most recently sweeping an eight-game road trip to make history.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the last week of the spring season.
Prep
Baseball
It’s been a rough week for select Whatcom County baseball teams, at least those previously at the top of the Northwest Conference standings.
Lynden (12-4, 8-3 NWC) has fallen to fourth in the league standings after consecutive losses — most notably suffering a 3-1 upset to Bellingham (6-8, 4-6 NWC) on Friday, April 12. The Lions bounced back, however, on Wednesday, April 17 with a 4-1 win over Nooksack Valley.
Blaine (7-8, 3-8 NWC) has also been in a freefall since April 9, losing each of its last five games. The Borderites began the season 5-0, but most recently lost to Lynden Christian by three on April 17.
Meridian (11-5, 6-5 NWC) has been up and down, winning three of its last five games. The Trojans have seemingly gotten back on track, however, with two straight wins.
While others waver, Lynden Christian (10-5, 7-4 NWC) is surging.
LC has won three in a row and six of its last seven, most recently beating Blaine, 4-1, on April 17. The Lyncs now sit two spots below Lynden in the league standings at sixth.
Nooksack Valley, Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, Sehome, Mount Baker and Squalicum currently make up the bottom six teams in the NWC entering the final few weeks of the regular season.
Fastpitch softball
Goliaths are meeting goliaths. As the regular season enters its final few weeks of play, the NWC’s top teams are finally facing off.
Blaine (6-3, 5-1 NWC) solidified its positioning at the top end of the conference with a 5-2 win over Lynden (9-2, 5-2 NWC) on April 16. That win snapped a three-game skid for Blaine that included two non-league losses on Saturday, April 13.
Lynden has lost two of its last three to top league competitors (Blaine and Sedro-Woolley) after beginning the season 8-0.
Mount Baker (12-1, 6-1 NWC) has the best overall record in the NWC despite being third in the standings with its one loss. The Mountaineers are streaking, winning their last eight games and most recently beating Royal 4-1 on April 13.
Lynden Christian (7-4, 3-3 NWC) is in the mix, especially after winning its last three games. The Lyncs outlasted Meridian, 14-10, in a high-scoring bout on April 16.
Girls tennis
Lynden has continued its dominance into post-spring break matches, and the Lions are currently 8-0 overall with a 51-5 court record. The Lions most recently swept Oak Harbor, 7-0, on April 16.
Sehome (7-0), Bellingham (7-1) and Squalicum (6-2) make up the following three spots in the NWC standings, and the Bayhawks have the best court record of the three at 49-7. Bellingham also earned a sweep on April 16, beating Mount Vernon.
Sehome edged Squalicum on April 16, 4-3, in one of the season’s closer matches between two in-city rivals.
WWU
Softball
Western softball cannot be stopped. With an eight-game road trip in the books, the Vikings are 34-4 overall (14-2 GNAC) and on a 17-game win streak — crushing the previous program record of 13 straight wins.
The hot streak has propelled Western to No. 11 in the national rankings with eight games remaining in the regular season. The Vikings’ final two four-game series of the season will be against Central Washington (April 19–20) and Western Oregon (April 26–27).
During the win streak, Western has outscored its opponents 108-37.
Western is also approaching a team record for home runs in a season. The program record is 39, set in 2019, and the current Vikings squad of power hitters has 34.
They are also two wins away from tying the program record for wins in a season, set in 2011 — a mark this team will almost certainly shatter.
Northwest Conference baseball standings — April 16
Northwest Conference fastpitch softball standings — April 16
| Baseball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Mount Vernon | 11-0 | 15-2 |
| Oak Harbor | 9-2 | 13-2 |
| Anacortes | 9-2 | 12-4 |
| Lynden | 8-3 | 12-4 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 8-3 | 11-5 |
| Lynden Christian | 7-4 | 10-5 |
| Meridian | 6-5 | 11-5 |
| Nooksack Valley | 5-6 | 7-8 |
| Bellingham | 5-6 | 7-8 |
| Burlington- Edison | 5-6 | 7-8 |
| Lakewood | 5-6 | 5-8 |
| Ferndale | 4-7 | 5-9 |
| Blaine | 3-8 | 7-8 |
| Sehome | 2-9 | 3-12 |
| Mount Baker | 1-10 | 2-13 |
| Squalicum | 0-11 | 0-14 |
| Softball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Sedro- Woolley | 7-0 | 10-1 |
| Burlington- Edison | 7-0 | 8-4 |
| Mount Baker | 6-1 | 12-1 |
| Blaine | 5-1 | 6-3 |
| Lynden | 5-2 | 9-2 |
| Mount Vernon | 5-3 | 5-7 |
| Lakewood | 4-3 | 6-4 |
| Lynden Christian | 3-3 | 7-4 |
| Ferndale | 3-4 | 5-5 |
| Oak Harbor | 3-4 | 5-6 |
| Sehome | 2-5 | 6-6 |
| Meridian | 2-5 | 5-7 |
| Anacortes | 2-5 | 4-5 |
| Nooksack Valley | 2-5 | 3-9 |
| Squalicum | 0-7 | 0-10 |
| Bellingham | 0-8 | 0-14 |
Northwest Conference boys soccer standings — April 16
| Boys soccer | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L-T | W-L-T |
| Sehome | 7-0-0 | 11-0-0 |
| Squalicum | 6-0-0 | 8-3-0 |
| Mount Vernon | 5-1-2 | 8-2-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 4-0-1 | 6-4-1 |
| Burlington-Edison | 4-1-1 | 6-3-1 |
| Bellingham | 4-2-0 | 8-3-0 |
| Ferndale | 3-5-1 | 4-7-1 |
| Meridian | 3-1-0 | 7-3-1 |
| Blaine | 2-1-1 | 7-2-2 |
| Anacortes | 2-4-1 | 3-6-4 |
| Oak Harbor | 1-6-1 | 2-8-2 |
| Lynden | 1-5-0 | 4-7-1 |
| Nooksack Valley | 1-3-0 | 3-7-0 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 1-4-0 | 4-7-0 |
| Lakewood | 1-7-0 | 3-9-1 |
| Mount Baker | 0-5-0 | 0-6-0 |
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
