Throughout their athletic careers they’ve been told not to use their hands, until now

The NCAA Division II national champion Western Washington University women’s soccer team was recognized before the Seattle Mariners’ game against the Miami Marlins Tuesday at Safeco Field.

Senior defender Erin Russell threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the rest of the team got to take pictures on the field before the game. Russell is the second honoree with WWU ties to throw out the first pitch for the Mariners in less than a week, as Rice Insurance’s Tim Dickerson, a former Western basketball player, delivered first pitch Friday.

The Vikings won their first women’s soccer national title last fall, when they beat defending national champion Grand Valley State 3-2 Dec. 3 in Kansas City, Missouri, completing a 24-0-1 season.

The team will continue to be honored on Thursday, when it will visit the state capitol in Olympia, where Senator Kevin Ranker is sponsoring a senate resolution recognizing WWU’s accomplishment. The team will be in the gallery when the resolution is read into record and will be introduced by Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib, according to a press release.

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Throughout their athletic careers they’ve been told not to use their hands, until now."