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TEMPE, Ariz. – They say the last out is the hardest to get. Sunday it proved to be the final three outs for the Portland State Softball team. The Vikings led 3-1 over the No. 3 Arizona State Sun Devils heading to the bottom of the seventh. The Sun Devils scored three runs in the seventh to complete the comeback in walk off fashion to win the four-game series finale 4-3 at Farrington Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

“I'm really proud of how our team bounced back after a rough Saturday. Not a lot of teams would be able to do that,” Vikings' Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said following the game. “Anna Bertrand pitched another great game and we made some great plays behind her. We just need to figure out how to close out games. This was a tough one to lose.”

ASU had runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the second when Cheyenne Coyle lined out to Crysta Conn at third. Conn then tagged the runner moving from second to third for an inning-ending double play to keep the game scoreless.

The Sun Devils (16-0 overall) broke the scoreless tie with a lead off home run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 1-0 lead off Vikings' (4-11) starting pitcher Anna Bertrand.

Portland State came right back to score three runs in the top of the sixth. Becca Bliss and Alicia Fine hit back-to-back solo home runs to lead off the inning. Brittany Hendrickson came up next and reached on a fielding error by the Sun Devil's third baseman. Hendrickson came around to score later in the inning when pinch hitter Lauran Bliss worked a bases loaded walk with two outs to give the Vikings a 3-1 lead.

The Vikings chased the Sun Devils' starting pitcher Dallas Escobedo in the sixth. She allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. She got a no decision in the game.

The Vikings led 3-1 and were three outs away from the upset before the Sun Devils plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh to complete the comeback. ASU hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh and cut the lead to 3-2. The Sun Devils tied the game with a one out RBI single. Pinch hitter Jennifer Soria then hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded and two outs to win it for the Sun Devils, 4-3.

Bertrand went 6 2/3 innings allowing four earned runs on nine hits. She walked five, one intentional, while striking out three. She was credited with the loss to fall to 2-6 on the season.

Portland State heads to the 2013 Wildcat Invitational March 1-3 hosted by the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. It will be the Vikings' third trip to the state of Arizona in the first four weeks of the season.