Complete weekly release (PDF)

THIS WEEK: The Portland State softball team (2-3) heads to Las Vegas, where they will play five games over four days at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic hosted by UNLV. PSU opens on Thursday at 3 p.m. against BYU, at Eller Media Stadium on UNLV's campus. The Viks then take on Hawai`i at 11:15 a.m. on Friday, Utah at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, Texas Tech at 3:45 p.m. on Saturday and Long Beach State at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The final four games will all be played at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park in Henderson.

GAME NO. 6
vs. BYU (3-2)
Thursday, Feb. 16  •  3 p.m. PT
Las Vegas, NV  •  Eller Media Stadium

GAME NO. 7
vs. Hawai`i (6-0)
Friday, Feb. 17  •  11:15 a.m. PT
Henderson, NV  •  Stephanie Lynn Craig Park #1

GAME NO. 8
vs. Utah (2-2)
Saturday, Feb. 18  •  11:15 a.m. PT
Henderson, NV  •  Stephanie Lynn Craig Park #1

GAME NO. 9
vs. Texas Tech (1-4)
Saturday, Feb. 18  •  3:45 p.m. PT
Henderson, NV  •  Stephanie Lynn Craig Park #1

GAME NO. 10
vs. Long Beach State (3-2)
Sunday, Feb. 19  •  1:30 p.m. PT
Henderson, NV  •  Stephanie Lynn Craig Park #1

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKS THIS WEEK: All five games at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic will feature a live audio broadcast and live stats through GoViks.com. Assistant Media Relations Director Ryan Borde will bring the action to you, with the pregame show set to being 10 minutes before first pitch. Should a game be delayed, an updated start time will be posted on both the PSU Softball schedule page and the LIVE/AUDIO video page on GoViks.com. Links for everything can be found by clicking on the LIVE EVENTS tab on the front of GoViks.com.

LOUISVILLE SLUGGER DESERT CLASSIC INFO: The four-day Louisville Slugger Desert Classic is hosted by UNLV and played on campus at Eller Media Stadium and in Henderson at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park. The event features 18 teams and 45 games. All four of PSU's games at SLC Park will be on field one.

VEGAS, BABY, VEGAS: For the 14th-straight year, Portland State will play in a tournament hosted by UNLV. The Vikings have made the trek to Las Vegas every season since they started playing a full slate of DI games in 1999. They actually like playing in Las Vegas so much they made two trips to the area in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Since 1999, Portland State is 34-45 in tournaments played in Las Vegas, but they are 25-20 since 2006. Additionally, this will mark the sixth time they have taken part in the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, also playing in it from 2006-09 and in 2011. They are 15-10, including a 3-2 record last year. The only team that PSU will face this year in Las Vegas that they have previously played at the LSDC is Utah. The Utes won that game, 6-1, on Feb. 13, 2006.

BERTRAND NAMED PCSC MOUNTAIN DIVISION PITCHER OF THE WEEK: For the eighth time in her career, Anna Bertrand was named the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 14. The junior righty from McMinnville was named the honoree for the Mountain Division after hurling PSU's first no-hitter in over three years on Feb. 10 against Cal Poly. In her first start of the 2012 season, Bertrand was nothing short of remarkable, facing just one batter over the minimum. After issuing a leadoff walk, she fanned seven of the next eight Mustang batters and retired 15 in a row as PSU claimed a 9-0 victory in five innings. She also pitched a complete-game victory over McNeese State the following afternoon, scattering three hits, striking out six and walking two in the Vikings' 4-1 victory. Earlier that morning she went the distance against No. 9/10 Stanford, but took the loss as the Cardiinal won 7-0. Bertrand struck out four in that appearance. For the weekend, Bertrand went 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA and 17 Ks in 19.0 innings of work. She limited opponents to a .227 batting average. A two-time All-PCSC Mountain Division selection, Bertrand has the most weekly awards of any pitcher in either the Coastal or Mountain Division over the past two years.

STIFF COMPETITION: In what has become the norm under Tobin Echo-Hawk, the Vikings opened this season with some very stiff competition. Echo-Hawk likes to schedule a tough preseason slate of games and that is no exception this year as two of PSU's first five games, all of which were in Tempe, came against teams that reached the NCAA tourney last spring (San Diego State and Stanford). This weekend, the Vikings will take on three more squads that made the postseason last year, including BYU, Long Beach State and Texas Tech. Hawai`i, whom the Vikings play on Friday, didn't make the tourney in 2011, but has made nine appearances since 1994 and reached the Women's College World Series in 2010. Both BYU and Hawai`i are receiving votes in the polls this week. Hawai`i is just outside of the NFCA poll with 34 votes, which would put them 27th, and got six votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. BYU, meanwhile, received three votes in the NFCA poll and 18 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.

REWINDING PSU SOFTBALL: Portland State kicked off its 2012 campaign by going 2-3 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. PSU split on each of the first two days, before coming out flat on Sunday and falling to Utah, 3-1. The Viks lost their opener to San Diego State, 7-3, on Friday as the Aztecs belted three homers. They rebounded, though, taking down Cal Poly that afternoon, 9-0 in five innings, as Anna Bertrand fired a no-hitter. On Saturday, No. 9/10 Stanford pounded out 14 hits in a 7-0 victory, before PSU defeated McNeese State, 4-1, behind Bertrand's three-hitter. The day prior, McNeese State had defeated two Pac-12 schools, including top-ranked and defending national champion Arizona State. Portland State hit .262 as a team and was led by Alexa Morales (.400, 1 2B), Karmen Holladay (.385, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI) and Jenna Krogh (.375, 3 R). Crysta Conn drove in a team-leading five runs, while Carly McEachran and Aubrey Nitschelm both homered on the weekend. Bertrand was the leader in the circle, going 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA over 19.0 innings and three appearances. Holladay pitched twice, going 0-2 over 11.2 innings of work.

A MEMORABLE FIRST HIT: Viking freshman Aubrey Nitschelm belted a two-run home run against Cal Poly on Feb. 10 for her first hit as a Viking. The last time a PSU freshman recorded a home run as her first hit was Danielle Lynn on Feb. 20, 2010, against UC Davis. Coincidentally, Lynn's was also a two-run bomb.

SOMETHING ABOUT THAT FIELD: For senior Karmen Holladay, there might be something magical about the Northeast field at the Tempe Sports Complex. In 2011, Holladay delivered a game-winning single in the bottom of the eighth inning against BYU on the field for her first hit as a Viking. Then, on Friday against Cal Poly, she belted a walk-off two-run homer to end the game via the eight run rule. Both of the hits were to right center.  

NO-NOs: Anna Bertrand's no-hitter against Cal Poly on Feb. 10 was the Vikings' third at the NCAA Division I level (1999-present) and 22nd overall. On April 9, 2005, then freshman Mandy Hill threw the first one in a 3-0 victory over Santa Clara at Erv Lind Stadium. The other no-no at the DI level came on Feb. 6, 2009, when Tori Rogers blanked McNeese State in a 10-0, five-inning victory in Tempe, Ariz.