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THIS WEEK: The Portland State softball team (18-18 overall) travels south to Eugene, Ore. for a mid-week doubleheader with the University of Oregon (29-9) on Wednesday. The first game is slated for a 3 p.m. PDT start with the second game starting at 5 p.m. 

HOW TO FOLLOW THE VIKS: Wednesday's doubleheaders against Oregon will feature a free live audio broadcast through GoViks.com, with Teri Mariani calling the action. Live Stats will be provided by Oregon at GoDucks.com. 

PSU-UO SERIES TIDBITS: Wednesday's games in Eugene mark the 153rd and 154th games between the two schools. Oregon leads the all-time series 102-49-1and has the advantage in Eugene (55-16-1).  The Vikings dropped a doubleheader at home last season by scores of 8-3 and 4-2 with their last win coming in Eugene on May 4, 2010 by a score of 4-1. The Vikings held a 2-1 lead going to the top of the seventh and added two unearned runs to take the game 4-1. The last three wins for the Vikings have been in Eugene. The longest winning streak for the Vikings during the series was 10 games from 1982-1983. 

A QUICK LOOK AT OREGON: Oregon comes into play Wednesday with a 29-9 overall record and an 8-5 record in Pacific-12 Conference play. It is 7-3 in its last 10 games having won its last three. It is coming off a three-game series sweep at conference newcomer Utah. Christie Nieto leads the team with a .414 batting average. Jessica Moore has pitched 177.1 innings for Oregon, same as the Vikings' Anna Bertrand, and has given up 51 earned runs to Bertrand's 54. The difference in strikeouts between the two is only five as well. If both pitchers get the nod, it could be a very interesting matchup in the circle. 

BATS COME ALIVE IN COLORADO: The Vikings split their four-game series with Northern Colorado and then lost their Monday matchup with Colorado State to go 2-3 on their recent road trip through Colorado. Even though the Vikings lost three-of-five, the bats are starting to heat up as they approach the home stretch of the season. The Vikings hit .323 as a team (52-for-161) led by freshman Alicia Fine who went 13-for-22 (.591). She led the team with 13 hits, four doubles, and 10 RBIs. She also added a game-winning walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning of their third game against Northern Colorado. 

DOING JUST FINE: Freshman SS Alicia Fine has come off of late after going 13-for-22 over the past five games with 10 RBIs. Since March 1, when she was hitting just .250, she has raised her batting average to .388. She hit what appeared to be her first career home run against No. 1 Alabama on March 14, but it was wiped out after the game was cancelled after two innings. It didn't matter, as she belted a two-run shot against Boise State on March 16, to tie the game up in the top of the seventh. In her next at-bat, which game the next day vs. Utah State, Fine hit a solo shot and finished the game 2-for-4. Her third home run of the season, which is second on the club, was the was the game-winning walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning of their third game against Northern Colorado.

IDAHO STATE WEEKEND RUNDOWN: The Vikings moved to 6-2 in PCSC play with a 3-1 series win over Idaho State. Anna Bertrand pitched back-to-back complete games on Friday going 1-1 on the day. The Vikings took the first game of the Friday doubleheader 1-0 in seven innings on a fielder's choice in the second inning. The Vikings then would drop an extra inning affair by a score of 3-2 in the second game of the double header with Bertrand going a career-high nine innings while striking out a season-best 12 batters. The Vikings then secured their second consecutive conference series win with a sweep of the Bengals in the Saturday doubleheader. They took the first game, 7-0, with Crysta Conn going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. The Vikings then took the second game, 2-1, with Karmen Holladay going 2-for-3 while driving in a run. Sadie Lopez drove in the game-winning run on a pinch hit to right field.  

GREAT START IN LEAGUE PLAY: The Vikings started league play on the right foot taking three of four at Utah Valley to open PCSC play. They very easily could have won all four games, but suffered a 1-0 setback in game two on Friday. PSU took the series opener, 7-0, scoring in every inning except the third and pounding out 11 hits. Alicia Fine led the way by going 3-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Anna Bertrand worked the first five innings before Raya Johnson took over for the last two. Johnson came back and fired a gem in the second contest, but took the loss despite only allowing the one run on four hits. PSU outhit UVU, 18-8, on the day. On Saturday, the Vikings won both games on walk-off hits. In the opener, Becca Bliss hit a run-scoring double in the bottom of the eighth to lift PSU to the 3-2 victory, before Karmen Holladay blasted a walk-off homer leading off the bottom of the seventh in game two for a 1-0 win. Bertrand went the distance in both games and finished the weekend with a 3-0 record and 0.70 ERA over 20 innings.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Since 2006, Portland State is 74-30 (.712) at Erv Lind Stadium, including 54-11 (.830) in league games. Under Tobin Echo-Hawk, PSU is 34-18 (.653) overall and 27-5 (.843) in PCSC action. All of those victories have also added up to a huge advantage on the scoreboard, as they have outscored the opposition 446-210 overall and 323-105 in PCSC games since 2006. In three years under Echo-Hawk, they have outscored teams 228-111 and 174-47 in PCSC play. 

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. 

SACRIFICING FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM: The Vikings tallied four sacrifice hits in game two against Boise State on March 27, their highest total since registering five versus Towson on March 16, 2007. After recording just five sac bunts over their first 20 games, PSU has laid down 14 over the past seven contests.   

RACKING UP THE PUTOUTS AT FIRST: First baseman Karmen Holladay recorded 16 putouts in the Vikings' 3-2, eight inning win at Utah Valley on March 31, making it the most since Kristin Wilson tallied 15 at Santa Clara on May 3, 2008. Pitcher Anna Bertrand induced 16 ground ball outs in the win, including at least one in every inning, and recorded three groundouts in each of the second, third and eighth innings.

WIN NO. 100 FOR ECHO-HAWK: Fourth-year Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk earned career victory number 100 on Feb. 26 against Sacramento State. Now at 109 wins, she is one of just two coaches in the PCSC since 2009 to reach 100 victories. LMU's Gary Ferrin reached the mark on March 24.  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. 

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). In Las Vegas, the Vikings took on three more squads that made the postseason last year, including BYU, Long Beach State and Texas Tech. Hawai`i, whom the Vikings played on Feb. 17, 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 were receiving votes in the polls when PSU played them, and the Rainbow Wahine are now ranked in both polls. Additionally, PSU has seven games scheduled against Pac-12 schools, and also had then No. 1 Alabama on their schedule for Mar. 14, but the game was cancelled after two innings of play. 

SWIPING BASES: On March 17, vs. Utah State, the Vikings swiped their season-best six bases. It was their highest total since stealing six against Seattle on March 29, 2009.

NO-NOs: Anna Bertrand's no-hitter against Cal Poly on Feb. 10 was PSU's 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.

THE WORKHORSE: After two years of sharing the circle with all-conference pitcher Nichole Latham, Anna Bertrand has been nothing short of a workhorse for the Vikings in the circle this spring, throwing 177.1 of their 244.2 innings and appearing in 30 of their 36 games. As always, she continues to shine and leads the PCSC in innings pitched, strikeouts (152), opponent batting average (.201), and is tied for first in strikeouts looking (39) and wins with 15. Nationally, Bertrand is 95th in ERA and 59th in victories. 

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 47-29 with a 2.13 ERA and 535 Ks over her two-plus years in the circle. She has moved up from sixth to third all-time in career strikeouts at PSU, taking over the number three slot from Michelle Hext (445/2003-06) on Feb. 26 against Saint Mary's. She also joined the top 10 for victories on March 3 against UC Davis, for games started on March 3 against Maine, for appearances on Feb. 19, and innings pitched on March 31 at Utah Valley. A two-time first team All-PCSC Mountain Division pitcher, Bertrand won 11-straight decisions down the stretch last year to help the VIkings win the division title. Over her career she has tallied nine double-digit strikeout performances, including fanning 16 against Idaho State on April 24, 2010, and against Nevada on Feb. 11, 2011. 

500 K CLUB: Junior Anna Bertrand became just the fourth pitcher in all-time at Portland State (third during the Division I era) to surpass the 500 strikeout mark. She came into the four-game series with Idaho State with 497 strikeouts and punched out 31 Bengals over the weekend to move to 528 for her career. Since then she has added to her total and has 535 for her career. Finally, her 218 Ks in 2010 are the second highest single season mark in PSU history and the sixth-best in PCSC history.

SWINGING A BIG STICK: Senior Karmen Holladay has been swinging a big stick to start the year, hitting over .300 in four of the first five tournaments. She earned her first PCSC Mountain Division Player of the Week honor on March 20, after going 4-for-6 with two homers, a double and seven RBI over two games in Boise. For the season, 15 of her 34 hits have gone for extra bases. She leads the team in doubles (8), home runs (8), slugging (.635) and on-base percentage (.418). Holladay's eighth homer of the year was of the walk-off variety, as she led off the bottom of the seventh against Utah Valley on March 31 with a solo shot that gave PSU a 1-0 victory. Additionally, she has already surpassed her home run (4) and doubles (4) totals of a year ago.

HOMERIN' HOLLADAY: Karmen Holladay's eight home runs this year rank her third in the PCSC and tie her for the seventh-best single season mark at PSU. Her 12 career round trippers also leaves her in a tie for seventh and just one shy of sixth place and three short of fifth. On a national scale, Holladay is 57th in home runs per game (0.26) and 87th in slugging (.678).

SWEET SWINGING FRESHMAN: Freshman IF/DP Brittany Hendrickson has opened her Viking career in brilliant fashion, batting .253 through the first 34 games. 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. 

BALL MAGNET: In what has become somewhat of a running joke, her teammates and coaches have referred to sophomore Crysta Conn as a ball magnet. 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 12 times this season, which is a school single season record. Her total of 18 is now the all-time record on the Park Blocks as she passed up Mandy Hill (13) in early March. Nationally, Conn ranks 21st in hit by pitches per game (0.32).

MORE SAC FLIES: With her three sacrifice flies this season, and eight for her career, Crysta Conn moves into first all-time during the Division I era at Portland State surpassing Lacey Holm (2010-11 who ended her career with seven. 

BLISSFUL ON THE BASE PATHS: Sophomore Becca Bliss is a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts this season and is now 12-12 for 11 in her career. Jenna Krogh is 8-for-8 this season and 17-for-20 during her career. 

THE REGULARS: Three Vikings have started all 36 games this season: Becca Bliss, Crysta Conn and Karmen Holladay. Of those players, only Conn has started all 79 games since the start of the 2011 season. Conn had made 76 straight starts at third base until starting as the DP on March 17, against Utah State.

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 the first day of this spring 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.  

VIKINGS PICKED TO WIN PCSC MOUNTAIN DIVISION TITLE AGAIN: Portland State has been picked to win its third straight Pacific Coast Softball Conference Mountain Division title, as selected by the league's 12 head coaches. PSU finished just behind reigning Coastal Division champion Loyola Marymount in the voting for who would be the overall champion. The Lions received nine of 12 first-place votes to win their division and garnered five votes to win the overall PCSC Championship, which is decided in a best-of-three series at the conclusion of the regular season. The Vikings brought home eight first-place votes in the Mountain Division, registering 67 points, and three votes to win the PCSC Championship Series. Also in the Mountain Division, Northern Colorado tallied the other four first-place votes and received 53 points in being tabbed second. Utah Valley was picked for third, followed by Idaho State, Seattle and Weber State. In the Coastal Division, San Diego received two first-place votes and 56 points to finish second and was followed by Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, Cal State Bakersfield and Santa Clara. Saint Mary's received one first-place vote. Last season, Portland State won the Mountain Division before sweeping LMU, two-games-to-one, to advance to the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history. The PCSC expanded from six to 12 teams and split into two divisions for the 2010 season. Since that time, Portland State has won both Mountain Division crowns and played in the PCSC Championship Series both seasons.

ABOUT THE 2012 VIKINGS: Coming off their third PCSC championship and third NCAA tourney appearance, the Vikings head into 2012 with 10 returning letterwinners and six returning starters. Among the most notable returners are junior right-handed pitcher Anna Bertrand, senior center fielder Jenna Krogh, junior infielder Carly McEachran and senior first baseman/right-handed pitcher Karmen Holladay. Other returning starters are sophomore infielder Crysta Conn, junior outfielder Sadie Lopez and sophomore outfielder Becca Bliss. Bertrand will once again lead the way in the circle, with Holladay expected to see considerable more innings this year and freshman Raya Johnson adding to the mix. Holladay will most likely start at first base when not pitching, and junior Alexa Morales could see time at first as well. McEachran will start at second base for the second straight year, while Conn will most certainly start at third base. A pair of freshmen are battling for the starting shortstop job. Alicia Fine is the better fielder of the two, but Brittany Hendrickson brings a very potent bat to the Park Blocks. Hendrickson, along with Morales, could see action as the DP. In the outfield, Krogh should start again in center, with Lopez and freshman Aubrey Nitschelm competing for the starting left fielders job. In right field, Bliss and junior transfer Jordan Goschie are competing to see who will start. A wildcard in the outfield is junior transfer Danai Martin, who Echo-Hawk says is the best base runner she has ever coached. Behind the dish, sophomore Kayla Norrie and senior Maggie Sholian are neck-and-neck for the starting job.

RISING TO THE TOP OF THE PCSC: Portland State won its third PCSC title last spring and is now tied with Loyola Marymount for the most conference championships in the nine-year history of the league. PSU also won the title in 2006 and 2009 to advance to the NCAA tournament. Since 2006, Portland State has a conference best 85-34 record in league games. PSU's opponent in the PCSC Championship Series, Loyola Marymount, has the second best record at 75-45. Overall, LMU has tallied 192 wins since 2006, while PSU has registered 188.

VIKS WIN 2011 PCSC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PSU is the only team to play in both of the PCSC Championship Series, which started in 2010 after the conference expanded to 12 teams and split into two divisions. In 2010, the Viks won the opener at Saint Mary's, before getting swept the next day. Portland State captured the 2011 PCSC Championship Series after sweeping Loyola Marymount at Erv Lind Stadium. Viks outfielder Jenna Krogh was named the Series Most Outstanding Player and Anna Bertrand was tabbed as the Series Most Outstanding Pitcher. Krogh hit 5-for-9 (.556) with a double, triple and three RBIs, while Bertrand went 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA and held LMU to a .194 batting average. Bertrand went the distance in the second game after pitching three innings of relief in the series opener.

BACK-TO-BACK MOUNTAIN DIVISION TITLES: Portland State captured its second straight PCSC Mountain Division title last year. The Vikings have a 34-6 league record over the past two seasons, the best amongst all 12 PCSC schools. PSU won the Mountain Division title with an 18-2 in 2010, then went 16-4 in 2011. 

TOPPING THE 30-WIN PLATEAU: After finishing the 2011 season at 34-18, Portland State has now reached the 30-win plateau in back-to-back seasons and for the fourth time in the past six years. The Vikings went 30-27 in 2010 after finishing 29-26 in 2009 in what was Tobin Echo-Hawk's first season as head coach. PSU's 34 victories were their second most in their NCAA DI era, trailing only the 2006 team, which finished 38-20. 

ANOTHER TRIP TO THE NCAA TOURNEY: Portland State made its third appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2011, playing in the Seattle Regional. The Vikings reached the tourney for the first time in school history in 2006, and then went again in 2009, playing in the Palo Alto Regional. PSU is 1-6 all-time, with the lone victory coming in 2006 over Nevada in the Corvallis Regional. Last year, the Vikings opened with a 6-2 loss to No. 14 Washington, before seeing their season come to an end with a 2-1 loss to No. 22 Auburn. 

VIKINGS DOMINATE 2011 ALL-PCSC HONORS: Portland State dominated the 2011 All-PCSC Mountain Division selections, having 10 players earn all-conference accolades and also sweeping three of the four individual awards. Tobin Echo-Hawk was tri-coach of the year along with Northern Colorado's Mark Montgomery and Utah Valley's Todd Fairbourne to earn her third straight honor. Carly McEachran was co-player of the year, even though her numbers were superior to the athlete she shared it with, Northern Colorado's Kelli Henderson. McEachran hit .475 with four homers and 19 RBIs, compared to Henderson's .418 average, one home run and 14 RBIs. Nichole Latham earned the pitcher of the year award, just edging teammate Anna Bertrand. Latham went 8-2 with a 1.67 ERA in PCSC play. Joining Bertrand, Latham and McEachran on the Mountain Division first team were outfielder Jenna Krogh, utility player Sadie Lopez, first baseman Karmen Holladay, shortstop Arielle Wiser and third baseman Crysta Conn. Earning second team recognition were catcher Lacey Holm and outfielder Becca Bliss. The eight first team selections were both a school and PCSC record.

THREE VIKINGS EARN NFCA ALL-PACIFIC REGION HONORS IN 2011: The Vikings landed three players on the 2011 Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Pacific Region second team, with outfielder Jenna Krogh and pitchers Anna Bertrand and Nichole Latham receiving the recognition. The three players honored in one season is the most in school history for the Vikings. In all, Portland State has had nine players honored since 2003. 

SCHOOL RECORDS FALL IN 2011: The Vikings set single season offensive records for RBIs (244), sac flies (20) and slugging percentage (.408) in 2011, while scoring a DI-era record 269 runs. That total is just three shy of the overall record set in '96. They also hit .308, the best since average since 1996 and the first time a PSU team hit over .300 at the DI level. Portland State also led the PCSC in batting average for the first time ever. PSU's 20 triples were a new record at the DI level and the most since the 1997 team hit 21. The Vikings' 33 home runs were the second most ever in school history, trailing only the 2006 team's 49 homers. The pitching staff of Anna Bertrand, Karmen Holladay and Nichole Latham set a school single season record by holding opponents to a .220 batting average. They also tallied 14 shutouts, the most at the DI level and the best total since 1997. Additionally, they combined for a 2.06 ERA, the second best mark during PSU's DI era.

DRIVING IN THE RUNS: Not only did Portland State establish a new school record with 244 runs batted in 2011, but they also had four players tally 30 or more RBIs in the same season for just the second time ever. Lacey Holm led the squad with 40, Crysta Conn had 31, and Carly McEachran and Arielle Wiser both knocked in 30 runs. 

TABLE SETTER: For the first time in her three seasons as the head coach at PSU, Tobin Echo-Hawk had a prototypical leadoff hitter in 2011 in transfer Jenna Krogh. The speedy left spent her first two seasons at Colorado State, batting .346 and stealing 23 bases. But she upped her game on the Park Blocks, recording a PCSC-best .398 batting average, which was the highest mark by a Viking since 1991. She also led the league with seven triples, while ranking second in runs (39) and tied for second in hits (66). She led the Vikings with 22 multi-hit performances and by tallying at least one hit in 41 of 52 games. Krogh also led off a game with a hit 16 times. 

INSTANT IMPACT: The Vikings received immediate help last year from four new players, three of which were freshmen. The most notable impact players were freshman 3B Crysta Conn and junior transfer Karmen Holladay. Conn concluded the year with a .290 batting average, four HRs and 31 RBIs, and was one of just three players to start all 52 games, while Holladay hit .238 with four homers and 26 RBIs. Holladay also helped in the circle despite battling a back injury for much of the year. The righty didn't allow a single run over 18 innings and six apperances, and held opponents to a .180 batting average. She also threw a complete-game shutout on May 10 against her former team, Oregon State. The other two players that provided help immediately were freshmen Becca Bliss and Kayla Norrie. Bliss started 30 games in the outfield and batted .243, while Norrie played in 25 games and hit .275. She had several memorable pinch-hit moments, including belting a home run against Utah Valley on April 10.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After taking a look at the offensive numbers that infielder Carly McEachran produced as a freshman in 2010, not many people would have guessed that she would have went on to become the 2011 Mountain Division Player of the Year. McEachran had an up-and-down first year, starting 55 games and batting .200 with no home runs and seven RBIs. But as a sophomore, she broke out to hit .333 with six homers and 30 runs batted in. She also upped her slugging percentage from .264 to .567, and her on-base percentage from .248 to .372. In league action, McEachran led all PSU players with a .475 batting average, a .831 slugging percentage, a .500 on-base percentage, four HRs and 19 RBIs.

GOODBYE TO A PAIR OF SPECIAL SENIORS: The Vikings lost a pair of special seniors following the 2011 season in shortstop Arielle Wiser and pitcher Nichole Latham. Wiser played in all 222 games over her career, starting 221. She started 209 straight games to finish her time on the Park Blocks and left with her name in eight categories of the PSU record book. She also established a new school record by going 5-for-5 against Seattle on April 22, 2011. After batting .343 as senior, Wiser finished her career with a .304 batting average. Latham was one of the most effective pitchers in Portland State history, graduating with a 52-39 record, 2.80 ERA and 417 Ks. She is ranked in the PSU record book in 10 categories. 

PLAYING THE PROS: The Portland State softball team and the city of Portland was treated to a special game on Oct. 27, 2011, when the Vikings hosted Team NPF. The squad, made up of players from the league's four teams – the Akron Racers, the Chicago Bandits, the NPF Diamonds and the USSSA Florida Pride – stopped in Portland on their 19-game, 17-stop Back to School Tour. Among the notable pros were former Arizona All-American Caitlin Lowe and former Washington All-Americans Ashley Charters, Danielle Lawrie and Jenn Salling. Five former Olympians were on the squad. Lowe and Andrea Duran played the United State in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while Lawrie, Salling and Caitlin Lever competed for Canada. As expected, Team NPF won the game, 11-0.

SO LONG, PCSC: For five teams, the 2012 season will be their last in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. Portland State, along with Idaho State, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State and Weber State are moving over to the newly former Big Sky Conference. Technically, the Big Sky isn't a new conference, but rather is adding the sport of softball now that there are enough teams to field a league. With Montana adding the sport for 2013 and North Dakota and Southern Utah (both of which sponsor softball) joining in 2013, the Big Sky will have eight teams. 

ABOUT THE PCSC: The Pacific Coast Softball Conference was formed in 2003 and was originally made up of six teams: Loyola Marymount, Portland State, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, San Diego and Santa Clara. In 2010, the league expanded to 12 teams and split into two divisions, the Coastal and Mountain. The Coastal Division is made up of Cal State Bakersfield, LMU, Sac State, Saint Mary's, San Diego and Santa Clara. The Mountain Division is comprised of Idaho State, Northern Colorado, PSU, Seattle, Utah Valley and Weber State. Loyola Marymount is the winningest team over the past nine years with a 292-196 overall record and 119-60 PCSC record. Sac State is second overall at 250-229, followed by Portland State at 240-245. The Vikings are second overall, though, in PCSC wins at 116-60. Both LMU (2003, 2005, 2007) and PSU (2006, 2009, 2011) have won three PCSC titles. Santa Clara took home first place in 2004, Sac State finished first in 2008 and Saint Mary's won the inaugural PCSC Championship Series in 2010. 

VIKS INK FOUR TO NLIs: On Nov. 15, 2011, Tobin Echo-Hawk announced the signing of four prep players to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period that ran Nov. 9-16. Set to join the Vikings next fall are outfielder Brianna Celaya of Chino Hills, Calif., catcher Savannah Panell of Gilbert, Ariz., pitcher Karyn Wright out of West Hills Calif., and pitcher/utlitiy Melissa Masters from Banks, Ore. A 5-foot-1 right-handed leadoff hitter, Celaya was a first team All-Sierra League pick as a junior after batting .441, including .511 in conference action to lead all players. The 5-foot-4 Panell hit .404 with a .663 slugging percentage last year to earn first team 5A-I Central Region honors and honorable mention all-state recognition from the Arizona Republic. A 5-foot-5 righty, Wright went 24-4 with a 0.84 ERA and 185 Ks as a junior. She was a first team All-CIF Los Angeles City Section honoree and the West Valley League Pitcher of the Year in 2011. Masters, who is a three-year letterwinner for Banks High School, is a two-time first team all-state and first team all-league honoree. Last year, the 5-foot-7 Masters earned the recognition as an outfielder after being recognized as a pitcher as a sophomore.