Complete game notes (PDF)

THIS WEEK: The Portland State softball team (7-7) travels this weekend to Riverside, Calif., to play five games at the Highlander Classic hosted by UC Riverside. The Vikings will take on the host Highlanders on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., and again on Sunday at 2 p.m. On Friday, PSU plays South Carolina at 9 a.m. On Saturday, the Viks face Maine at 9 a.m., and UC Davis at 2 p.m.

GAME NO. 15
at UC Riverside (4-10)
Thursday, March 1  •  1:30 p.m.
Riverside, CA  •  Amy S. Harrison Field

GAME NO. 16
vs. South Carolina (10-3)
Friday, March 2  •  9 a.m.
Riverside, CA  •  Amy S. Harrison Field

GAME NO. 17
vs. Maine (2-6)
Saturday, March 3  •  9 a.m.
Riverside, CA  •  Amy S. Harrison Field

GAME NO. 18
vs. UC Davis (5-12)
Saturday, March 3  •  2 p.m.
Riverside, CA  •  Amy S. Harrison Field

GAME NO. 19
at UC Riverside (4-10)
Sunday, March 4  •  2 p.m.
Riverside, CA  •  Amy S. Harrison Field

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKS THIS WEEK: All five games at the Highlander Classic will feature live stats provided by UC Riverside (GoHighlanders.com). Additionally, South Carolina will be doing a free audio broadcast through their website, Gamecocksonline.com. Links for everything can be found by clicking on the LIVE EVENTS tab on the front of GoViks.com.

LOOKING BACK: Portland State is coming off its best weekend yet, going 3-1 at the PCSC Crossover Tournament in Moraga, Calif. After a relatively easy 8-3 victory on Friday over Santa Clara in which they pounded out 18 hits, the Vikings played three close games the rest of the tourney. They went into the eighth to defeat Sac State on Saturday, 2-1, and then defeated the Hornets the next day, 3-2. Also on Sunday, they lost 2-1 to host Saint Mary's as the game ended in a rather unique fashion. With two outs in the top of the seventh and a runner on first, pinch-hitter Danai Martin reached on an infield single for the Vikings. However, she was never reported to the home plate umpire, Saint Mary's appealed, and Martin was called out to end the game. Karmen Holladay led the offensive charge in the tournament, batting .500 (6-12) with two doubles, two home runs and three RBIs. Crysta Conn hit .400 (4-10) and knocked in four runs, while Becca Bliss batted .286 (4-14), scored three times and drove in three runs. The Vikings' pitching staff of Holladay, Anna Bertrand and Raya Johnson also had their finest weekend of the season, combining for a 1.25 ERA and to hold opponents to a .220 batting average. Bertrand was named the PCSC Mountain Division Pitcher of the Week after going 1-1 with a 1.24 ERA and one save. She got the victory over Sac State on Saturday and earned PSU's first save of the season on Friday against Santa Clara. Johnson pitched her best game yet as a Viking against the Hornets on Sunday. After giving up two runs and four hits over the first two innings, she settled down and allowed only one hit and no runs the rest of the way for her first career victory. Holladay got the “W” against Santa Clara, pitching four innings and giving up three runs, only one of which was earned.

MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW ... BERTRAND AGAIN NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK: For the third-straight week and the 10th time in her career, Portland State's Anna Bertrand has been named the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Mountain Division Pitcher of the Week. Over three appearances and two starts last weekend at the PCSC Crossover Tournament, Bertrand went 1-1 with a 1.24 ERA and one save. In 17 innings of work, the junior righty struck out 18, walked just two and held opponents to a .203 batting average. Bertrand made her first appearance at the tourney on Friday against Santa Clara, working the final three innings to earn PSU's first save of 2012. She entered the ballgame in the fifth with the Vikings clinging to a 5-3 lead and proceeded to give up only one hit while striking out five. On Saturday, she started and went the distance in a 2-1, eight-inning victory over Sacramento State. She scattered six hits with no walks and seven Ks. In the bottom of the eighth, the Hornets put runners on second and third with no outs, but she sat down the next three hitters to end the game. For the season, Bertrand is 5-3 with a 2.10 ERA and leads the PCSC with 65 strikeouts. This is just the fourth time in the 10-year history of the PCSC that a student-athlete has been named pitcher of the week three consecutive times. It is also the first occurrence since 2004.

WIN NO. 100 FOR ECHO-HAWK: Fourth-year Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk earned career victory number 100 on Sunday against Sacramento State. She is the only coach in the PCSC since 2009 to reach 100 victories, with LMU's Gary Ferrin next at 87 wins as of Feb. 28. Additionally, she has guided the Vikings to a pair of 30-win seasons as they won 30 in 2010 and 34 in 2011. Only Saint Mary's with 30 victories in 2010 and LMU with 32 wins last season also have reached the 30-win plateau since 2009.

THAT'S A LOT OF HITS: Portland State's 18 hits against Santa Clara established a new school record at the NCAA Division I level (1999-present). It was also their best total since they had 17 in a 9-8 victory over Texas A&M Corpus-Christi on March 17, 2000. They also had 16 the next day against the Islanders in a 13-6 victory.

2012 HOME OPENER IS ON THE HORIZON: The Vikings' 2012 home opener is on the horizon, less than two weeks away. They will play host to North Dakota in a doubleheader on Monday, March 12, at 2 p.m., after playing 19 games and spending four weekends on the road. PSU also hosts Alabama two days later in a single game at 6 p.m. The Crimson Tide are currently first in the NFCA poll and second in the USA Softball poll.  

SHE COULD LEAVE AS THE BEST EVER: In just over two seasons on the Park Blocks, junior Anna Bertrand has established herself as one of the best pitchers ever to don a Viking uniform. She is 37-22 with a 2.13 ERA and 448 Ks over her two-plus years in the circle. She has moved up from sixth to fourth in career strikeouts at PSU, taking over the number four slot from Michelle Hext (445/2003-06) on Feb. 26 against Saint Mary's. On Feb. 19, she joined the top 10 for appearances with number 70. She is also close to joining the top 10 for victories (needs two more), games started (56/needs one more) and shutouts (10/needs four more). Additionally, her 8.01 strikeout ratio is the best ever at PSU and her ERA is the second-best ever during PSU's DI era (1999-present). A two-time first team All-PCSC Mountain Division pitcher, Bertrand won 11-straight decisions down the stretch last year to help the Viks win the division title. Over her career she has tallied eight double-digit strikeout performances, including fanning 16 against Idaho State on April 24, 2010, and against Nevada on Feb. 11, 2011. Finally, her 218 Ks in 2010 are the second highest single season mark in PSU history and the sixth-best in PCSC history.

THE WORKHORSE: Through the first three weeks of the season Anna Bertrand has been nothing short of a workhorse for the Vikings in the circle, throwing 66 2/3 of their 91 innings and appearing in 11 of their 14 games. As always, she continues to shine and leads the PCSC in strikeouts (65), strikeouts looking (18) and innings pitched. She also ranks tied for second in wins (5) and third in ERA (2.10) and opposing batting average (.210).

SWINGING A BIG STICK: Senior Karmen Holladay has been swinging a big stick to start the 2012 season, hitting over .300 in all three tournaments with nine of her 16 hits going for extra bases. She leads the team in batting average (.390), doubles (4), home runs (5), RBIs (9) and multi-hit games (5). In the PCSC, Holladay is third in homers and total bases (35), tied for fifth in doubles and sixth in slugging (.854). Additionally, she has already surpassed her home run total of a year ago (4) and matched her doubles total.

SWEET SWINGING FRESHMAN: Freshman SS Brittany Hendrickson has opened her Viking career in brilliant fashion, batting .333 through the first three weekends. She hit .533 (8-for-15) in Las Vegas, tallying two hits in four of five games and in each of the final three. A lefty, Hendrickson has perhaps the sweetest looking swing on the club. She had one of her best games against No. 9/10 Stanford on Feb. 11, going 2-for-3 with a double to left center. She could have easily had another double if not for a nice play in the left center gap by Cardinal centerfielder Sarah Hassman. Against Long Beach State on Feb. 19, she racked up four RBIs, including three on her first triple. She is currently second on the team in batting average, hits, RBIs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

BALL MAGNET: In what has become somewhat of a running joke, sophomore Crysta Conn has been referred to as a ball magnet by her teammates and coaches. After getting hit by a pitch six times last year, which was three more than anyone else on the squad, Conn has already been hit six times this season. Her total of 12 ranks her second all-time in the Vikings' DI era, leaving her just one short of Mandy Hill's record of 13. The six in each year also ties for the most in a single season.

MORE SAC FLIES: Just two games into the season, Crysta Conn added another sac fly to her resume against Cal Poly, then hit her PCSC-leading second vs. Santa Clara on Feb. 24. Her five last year were a school single-season record and with seven in her career, she is now tied for the career lead with Lacey Holm (2010-11).