Box Score 

EUGENE, Ore. – Senior Karmen Holladay drove in three runs for Portland State (27-24 overall) but the Vikings fell to the No. 11-seeded University of Oregon (40-15) Thursday night in the Vikings' first game of the 2012 NCAA Softball Eugene Regional by a score of 7-3 at Howe Field in Eugene, Ore.
 
Holladay finished the game going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in while Becca Bliss recorded her sixth multi-hit game of her career by going 2-for-3 while scoring two of the Vikings' three runs. Kayla Norrie added the other Viking run after reaching on a walk in the third.
 
Oregon jumped out to a big lead early with six earned runs in the bottom of the first forcing Vikings' starting pitcher Anna Bertrand from the game after recording just two outs. Bertrand picked up the loss in the game moving to 22-12 on the season with the loss.
 
“All I said in the huddle directed to Anna following the game was that she's the reason we're here,” head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said following the game. “She can't beat herself up, everyone has a bad day. It just happened to be today. Tomorrow's a new day.”
 
Oregon had runners on second and third after the first two batters reached on a single and double respectively. The next batter grounded to Carly McEachran at second who threw the runner out at the plate for the first out of the inning. With runners on the corners, the runner at first stole second. After a 12-pitch walk loaded the bases, he next batter was hit by a pitch bringing the game's first run. A single drove in two more runs and then another single drove in the fourth run of the inning.
 
The next batter hit into one of the more obscure plays possible. The batter drove a ball high off the left field fence but thought that she had cleared the fence and passed the runner in front of her which is an automatic out, the second of the inning. The next batter singled down the right field line driving in the fifth and sixth runs of the inning and forcing Bertrand from the game.
 
Freshman Raya Johnson came in relief of Bertrand with two outs in the first and got the next batter to ground out to Alicia Fine at short to end the inning but the damage was done and Oregon led 6-0 at the end of the first inning.
 
After neither team did anything in the second, Norrie led off the top of the third with a five-pitch walk. Bliss reached on a fielder's choice forcing Norrie out at second. Jenna Krogh reached on an infield single moving Bliss to second. McEachran loaded the bases after she reached on an error by the Oregon second baseman bringing Holladay to the plate.
 
Holladay singled through the right side bringing in Bliss from third for the Vikings first run of the game. Fine then hit the drove the ball well but right at the shortstop who doubled off Krogh at third ending a potential big inning for the Vikings.
 
After relieving Bertrand in the circle, Johnson gave up just one run in the fourth but that was it, throwing the final 5 1/3 innings. She walked three but struck out four in the game including striking out the side in the sixth.
 
The Vikings added two more runs in the top of the fifth after Norrie again reached base to lead off the inning, this time after being hit by a pitch. Bliss then picked up her second hit of the game through the right side. Krogh then moved the runners up 60-feet with a sacrifice bunt. After McEachran recorded an out, Holladay doubled off the right-center wall scoring both Bliss and Norrie. The Vikings could only pick up two runs in the inning and fell by a score of 7-3.
 
Jessica Moore threw a complete game for Oregon and gave up three earned runs while walking one and striking out seven. She improved to 28-12 on the season.
 
Portland State and Mississippi State will face off Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. PDT with both teams facing elimination. Mississippi State fell to BYU 4-3 in nine innings Thursday. The Vikings will be the designated home team and will provide the audio for the official video stream of the game on www.goducks.com.