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TUCSON – Behind the pitching of senior Nichole Latham, the Portland State softball team was able to split a pair of games on Friday at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Arizona.

The Vikings dropped their opener against the fourth-ranked Wildcats, 8-0, in five, but bounced back to hand Idaho State the same fate behind Latham's one-hitter.

A powerful Arizona offense tallied nine hits against PSU pitcher Anna Bertrand (4-3). The Wildcats scored three runs in both the first and second innings, before run-ruling the Vikings with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Lauren Lastrapes led the Wildcats, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and a double, while Kenzie Fowler limited PSU to just two hits in five innings of work.

Crysta Conn and Danielle Lynn both singled in the contest for the Vikings.

PSU rebounded with a dominating 8-0, five-inning victory over Idaho State, a team they will see four times during conference play.

Latham gave up just a third inning single to Katee Wiley, and finished with a pair of strikeouts to up her record to 5-3. It was her second shutout of 2011.

"It was nice to how we bounced back against Idaho State," said PSU Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk. "We hit well and executed and NIchole pitched an excellent game."

The Vikings' offense wrapped out 13 hits to tie a season-high as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. Arielle Wiser went 3-for-3, with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Lacey Holm, Jenna Krogh and Carly McEachran each produced a pair of hits.

PSU scored three runs in the opening frame, getting an RBI-single from Lynn and also scoring on two Idaho State errors. They pushed their lead to 7-0 after two innings as Wiser, Holm and Sadie Lopez all drove in runs.

Portland State (9-6) is back in action tomorrow at the Wildcat Invitational. The play Minnesota at noon and UC Riverside at 6 p.m. PT.

NOTES: Krogh saw her 10-game hitting streak come to an end against Arizona. But she still has at least one hit in 13 of 15 games ... Krogh and Wiser each tallied their team-leading fifth multi-hit game against Idaho State ... the Viks fell to 0-2 all-time against Arizona, but are now 9-2 against Idaho State and have won the past seven meetings ... Latham moved up to eighth all-time at PSU in games started (71) and wins (41) ... Bertrand recorded seven Ks in the opener ...  Lopez and McEachran both doubles vs. Idaho State.