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SACRAMENTO – Nichole Latham fired a complete-game shutout and
Danielle Lynn drove in two runs to lead Portland State past Saint Mary's, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Crossover Tournament.
The Vikings (8-5) got all the runs in they would need in the third inning and Latham worked herself out of several jambs to keep the Gaels off the scoreboard.
Lynn opened the scoring in the top of the third, doubling in a pair of runs.
Carly McEachran led off the inning with a single to right field,
Jenna Krogh followed with a single to left field, and
Sadie Lopez moved the runners up on a sacrifice bunt. Lynn then doubled to right center before
Lacey Holm brought her in with a double to left center, making it 3-0.
Portland State wouldn't score again, but it didn't matter as Latham (4-3) scattered five hits and struck out three over seven innings.
"Nichole just threw a great game. She was on today and got herself out of trouble a couple of times with their best hitters at the plate," said Vikings Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk.
Saint Mary's threatened twice late in the ballgame, but wasn't able to come up with any runs. In the fifth inning, the senior righty gave up a single, double and a walk to load the bases, but retired the next three Gaels' hitters. In the sixth, Saint Mary's got back-to-back singles to start the frame, but again Latham stopped the threat, sitting down the next three batters.
Lynn and McEacrhan paced the Vikings with two hits apiece, while Krogh extended her conference-best hitting streak to 10 games. Portland State finished with eight hits in all.
Echo-Hawk also praised her team's defense, especially the play of McEachran at second base. PSU played errorless ball for just the second time this year.
Gaels' starter Jessica Lemon took the loss to fall to 0-1. Over four innings she gave up eight hits and three runs with one walk and three strikeouts. Reliever Audrianna Solari quieted the Vikings over the final three innings by pitching hitless ball.
NOTES: PSU holds a 27-19 lead in the all-time series ... the Vikings only played two games at the tournament. Their other two games were rained out ... Latham took over sole possession of ninth place in the PSU record book for wins (40) ... all five of Lynn's RBIs this year have come over the past five games ... PSU has won three in a row for the second time in 2011 ... the Vikings are back in action next weekend at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson. They will play five games over three days, including opening against nationally-ranked and host Arizona ... Saint Mary's fell to 2-3.