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SEATTLE – Portland State hung close with a ranked opponent for a second straight day, but saw its season come to an end after a 2-1 loss to No. 21/23 Auburn in an elimination game at the NCAA Seattle Regional.

The Vikings conclude their second most successful season at the NCAA DI level with a 34-18 record, trailing only the 2006 squad's 38 victories for the most in school history.

The Tigers (40-18) advance to play BYU in another elimination game at 8 p.m. this evening.

Portland State had several chances throughout the game to score runs, but only once were they able to come through with a clutch hit.

Auburn wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, scoring the game's first run in the opening frame on Kelsey Cartwright's RBI-double to left field. The Tigers had a chance to extend their lead after putting runners on the corners, but PSU pitcher Nichole Latham struck out Elizabeth Eisterhold to end the inning.

Portland State threatened in the second after Danielle Lynn hit a leadoff single to right field and moved up on Lacey Holm's sacrifice bunt. But Lynn was stranded at second base. The Vikings had another shot in the third when Jenna Krogh hit a two-out triple, but again Portland State wasn't able to capitalize.

In the top of the fourth, Auburn's Kelley Smiley ended up at third base with two outs, but Viking third baseman Crysta Conn made a spectacular diving catch in foul territory going towards the on deck circle for the final out.

Moments later, Conn came through at the plate. With two outs, Holm drove a ball into the right center gap for a double and Conn laced a ball back up the middle to score pinch runner Meghan Lyons.

PSU right fielder Becca Bliss added to the defensive highlights in the next inning when she threw out an Auburn runner trying to advance to third base. Morgan Estell lined out to Bliss and the PSU freshman easily gunned down Caitlin Stangl, who had tagged up, for a double play.

The Vikings had an opportunity to go in front in the bottom of the fifth after Krogh hit a two-out single up the middle and Wiser followed with a base hit to right field that chased Auburn starter Angel Bunner from the game. But again Portland State wasn't able to push across a run as Krogh and Wiser were stranded on the corners.

Auburn scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the sixth, playing small ball just as they had in the first inning. Kyndall White led off with a double off the right field wall and moved up on Smiley's sac bunt before scoring on Eisterhold's sacrifice flyout.

Latham, one of the Vikings' four seniors, pitched effectively in her final appearance. The righty scattered six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a complete game effort. She finished her season with a 16-9 record and career at 52-39.

Krogh led PSU at the plate, batting 2-for-4.

Lauren Schmalz (15-6) got the win for the Tigers, pitching hitless ball over the final 2 1/3 innings.

NOTES: Brandi Campos, Susan Winningham, Latham and Wiser all played their final games for the Vikings. Campos, Latham and Wiser were four-year seniors and concluded their careers with a 121-98 record, two trips to the NCAA tournament and two Pacific Coast Softball Conference titles ... Bliss also made a great play in the top of the seventh, robbing Katie Colton of a double after making a diving catch in the right center gap ... the Vikings fell to 0-3 against Auburn and 1-9 against SEC opponents ... PSU is 1-6 all-time in the NCAA tourney ... Krogh finished the season with a .398 batting average, the best by a Viking since Cynthia Macon hit .386 in 1991. It is the fourth best average ever and the top batting average in PSU's DI era ... PSU hit .308 as a team, the first time that has happened since jumping up to a full-time DI schedule in 1999. It's also the first time since 1997 that a PSU squad has hit over the .300 mark ... Holm's .354 average is the fourth-highest total since 1999, while Wiser's .343 mark is the sixth-highest and Carly McEachran's .333 average is the 10th-highest ... the Vikings had four players – Holm (40), Conn (31), McEachran (30) and Wiser (30) – drive in at least 30 runs in a season for just the second time in school history.