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PORTLAND, Ore. – When Karmen Holladay stepped into the pitching circle on Tuesday afternoon at Erv Lind Stadium she knew she had to bring her A-game.

Facing her former team, Oregon State, the junior from Corvallis shut down the Beavers, pitching a complete-game three-hitter to help Portland State end a nine-game losing streak in the series with a 1-0 victory.

Holladay, who spent three years with her hometown Beavers before transferring up to Portland State this fall, ran her scoreless innings streak to 18 innings and improved to 2-0 on the season.

When asked if she had any extra motivation going up against Oregon State, a place where she redshirted in 2008 then saw little action the next two seasons, Holladay emphatically answered "definitely."

"Coming into this game I was a little bit nervous and wanted to get those first inning jitters out of the way," said Holladay, who walked one and struck out three. "My back was hurting a little bit toward the middle of the game, but this was a big game for me and my team and I knew I needed to push through so we could get the win."

The Beavers (18-26) recorded a hit in each of the first three innings, but Holladay stepped it up a notch from there and the Vikings' defense continually made play after play.

Lea Cavestany led the game off for Oregon State with a double to centerfield, but Holladay recorded three straight outs to get out of the inning. In the second frame it was Desiree Beltran leading off for the Beavers with a sharply hit single to center, but again Holladay came back with three consecutive outs.

In the third inning, OSU's McKenna Lowe laced a ball into left field for a base hit, but Holladay got Cavestany to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, before Ashley Sanchez grounded out to Arielle Wiser at short to end the inning.

Wiser made several key stops at shortstop for the Vikings throughout the game. With two outs in the seventh she bobbled a ball hit by Paige Hall, but recovered in time to gun down the Beavers' relief pitcher in bang-bang play for the final out of the contest.

After the game, PSU Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said that she knew Holladay was out to prove something and could tell the junior righty was going to throw a gem after watching her warmup.

"She did a great job today. She wanted to prove something," Echo-Hawk said. "Not only did she do a great job, but our team did a great job of supporting her. We made some pretty key defensive plays. They (Oregon State) hit the ball and we did what we needed to do. I'm just so proud of her to be able to put her on the field and have her beat her old team is pretty amazing."

The game was a pitchers battle throughout, but the Vikings finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning on a RBI-single by Carly McEachran. After Crysta Conn led off with a double down the left field line and moved to third on Danielle Lynn's sacrifice bunt, McEachran hit a 1-1 pitch through the right side of the infield, easily scoring Conn.

Portland State finished with four hits on the day, all off of Oregon State starter Tina Andreana.

Jenna Krogh went 2-for-3 from her leadoff spot for Portland State and was the only player with more than one hit for either team.

Andreana (5-15) worked five innings, walking four and striking out five before giving way to Hall after walking Lynn to start the sixth inning. Hall pitched one inning for the Beavers and struck out one.

Portland State (32-16) has now won nine straight games and 19 of its past 20. The Vikings host Loyola Marymount this Friday and Saturday in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Championship Series. The best-of-three event will determine who earns the league's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

NOTES: PSU snapped a nine-game losing streak to Oregon State. The Vikings last victory in the series was also decided by a 1-0 score. That came on May 6, 2008, in Portland ... Holladay has worked 18 innings this year over six appearances and has yet to give up a run. Opponents are hitting just .180 against her ... Holladay prepped just minutes from OSU's campus and was the 2007 Oregon 5A Pitcher of the Year as a senior at Corvallis High School ... Krogh recorded her team-leading 19th multi-hit game of the season ... Wiser had a sac bunt in the fifth inning, giving her 42 for her career. She is the Vikings' all-time leader in that category ... McEachran has hit safely in five straight games ... Friday's first pitch against LMU is set for 3 p.m., at Erv Lind Stadium.