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2013 Wildcat Invitational • March 1-3 • University of Arizona • Tucson, AZ

vs. UC Riverside Highlanders (5-9); Friday, March 1; 10:00 a.m. PT - Live Stats
vs. Boston University Terriers (1-4); Friday, March 1; 12:00 p.m. PT - Live Stats
vs. UC Riverside Highlanders (5-9); Saturday, March 2; 12:00 p.m. PT - Live Stats
vs. No. 17 Arizona Wildcats (10-5); Saturday, March 2; 5:00 p.m. PT - Live Stats | Live Video
vs. No. 17 Arizona Wildcats (10-5); Sunday, March 3; 10:00 a.m. PT - Live Stats | Live Video

FIRST PITCH
THIS WEEK: The Vikings head to Tucson, Ariz. this week to take part in the 2013 Wildcat Invitational hosted by the University of Arizona. Portland State will open the invitational Friday, March 1 when it takes on UC Riverside starting at 10 a.m. PT.

FOLLOW THE VIKINGS: Fans can follow the action from Arizona via Live Stats. Links can be found on the Portland State softball schedule page. There will be a live video stream for the two Arizona games. Those links can also be found on the softball schedule page.

LAST WEEKEND: The Vikings dropped a four-game series with No. 3 Arizona State last weekend in Tempe, Ariz. The series could easily have gone to a 2-2 spit as the Vikings lost two games by a combined two runs. PSU dropped the series opener 6-5 in a 12 inning marathon. The Vikings led twice in the game including in the ninth but ASU came back to tie it and then won it in the 12th. ASU took the next two games in five innings by scores of 19-2 and 9-0 respectively. The Vikings held a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh in the series finale but could not get the final three outs to secure the win as Arizona State plated three runs to win it 4-3.

UC RIVERSIDE: Portland State leads the all-time series against UC Riverside, 11-8. UCR took the last two meetings at the Highlander Classic last season by scores of 5-0 and 8-0 (five innings) respectively. The Highlanders enter the weekend 5-9 overall on the season having won their last three games. They are hitting .216 as a team this season led by Marissa Escalante who is hitting .333 (11-for-33). They have hit only four home runs on the season. Their pitching staff has a 3.82 ERA having allowed 48 earned runs while opponents are hitting .292.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY: Friday's game will be the first ever meeting between Boston U and Portland State. The Terriers are just 1-4 after opening their season in Orlando last weekend. They won their first game of the season 2-1 over Georgia Southern but have lost the last four. BU is hitting .205 on the season led by Amy Ekart who is hitting .455 (5-for-11). The Terriers have scored eight runs on the year while they have given up 35 runs. Their pitching staff has a 7.76 ERA with Whitney Tuthill getting the majority of the work. She has pitched 20 of their 29 innings.

NO. 17 ARIZONA: The Vikings and Wildcats have met only twice entering this week with each team recording a win. The Wildcats are 10-5 on the season. They went 2-3 last weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., losing to LSU 3-0 their last time out. UA is hitting .274 as a team led by Hallie Wilson who is hitting .409 (18-for-44) with a team-best five doubles. Chelsea Goodacre leads the team in home runs (4) and RBIs (11). Shelby Babcock is 5-2 on the season with a 2.78 ERA having given up 18 earned runs in 45 1/3 innings. As a staff, the Wildcats have a 3.12 ERA and are holding opponents to just a .218 batting average.

COMING UP: Following this weekend in Tucson, the Vikings will head to the 2013 Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. It will be the Vikings' first games of the season not played in the state of Arizona.

NEWS AND NOTES
ROUGH BEGINNINGS: The Vikings have had a rough start to the 2013 season opening 4-11 through their first 15 games. As a team the Vikings are hitting .222 and have scored only 33 runs in 15 games. Seventeen of the 33 runs have been driven in via 13 home runs. Freshman catcher Lauran Bliss leads the team in batting average hitting .316 (12-for-36). She is the only player hitting over .300 so far this season. The Vikings pitching staff has seen its share of struggles this season as well. PSU has a team earned run average of 6.44. Senior pitcher Anna Bertrand has been the ace of the staff the past couple of years but she too has struggled giving up 35 earned runs through 15 games for a 4.15 ERA. She gave up just 66 earned runs in all of 2012.

SCHEDULING TOUGH: Portland State has by far one of the toughest schedules in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings have already played six games against ranked opponents including five straight against top 10 teams. The Vikings have played a ranked opponent each of the first three weeks of the season. They played No. 20 Stanford at the Kajikawa Classic, No. 8 California at the Easton Desert Classic, and just completed a four-game series at No. 3 Arizona State. The schedule does not lighten over the next couple of weeks as the Vikings take on No. 17 Arizona this weekend at the Wildcat Invitational and then play Hawaii three times the following weekend at the 2013 Pepsi Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament. Hawaii is currently ranked 20th in the country.

FINDING THE LONG BALL: The Vikings have hit 13 long balls through their first 15 games this season. That puts them on a pace for 46 home runs on the season after hitting just 27 home runs in 2012.The school record for team home runs in a season is 49 set by the 2006 squad. 

ONE FINE WEEK: Sophomore shortstop Alicia Fine led the Vikings hitting .417 (5-for-12) at the Easton Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. Her five hits led the team as did her two doubles. She also blasted her first home run of the season in a 5-3 win over BYU. She drove in three runners on the weekend and dropped down a pair of sacrifice bunts. She had a .833 slugging percentage and a .417 on-base percentage on the weekend. She entered the tournament hitting .188 and raised her average nearly 100 points to .286. She started the tournament going 2-for-3 with a run scored while driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth in a 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton. She then hit her first home run of the season to give the Vikings a lead against BYU. In the final game of the weekend she hit a pair of doubles off No. 8 California while driving in a run.

TRIFECTA: Three Vikings hit home runs against the BYU Cougars. Becca Bliss, Alicia Fine, and Alexa Morales all hit their first home runs of the season against the Cougars. To find the last time the Vikings hit three or more home runs in a single game you have to go back to the 2011 season when they hit four in an 11-0 win over Weber State.

TRIFECTA AGAIN: For the second time this season the Vikings had three home runs in a single game all coming off one of the game's best pitchers, Dallas Escobedo. The Vikings hit three home runs off Escobedo in their 6-5 loss in 12 innings during the first game in a four-game series with No. 3 Arizona State. Carly McEachran hit her fifth home run of the season in the third inning followed by Alexa Morales' second home run of the season in the fourth. Brittany Hendrickson hit her second home run of the year leading off the ninth inning.

EASON DESERT CLASSIC: The Vikings went 2-3 at the Easton Desert Classic hosted by UNLV in Henderson and Las Vegas, Nev. PSU opened the weekend up with a 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton thanks to an Alicia Fine game-winning single in the bottom of the sixth. After the Vikings lost to UNLV, they defeated the BYU Cougars, 5-3, behind a trio of home runs. PSU then closed out the weekend with losses to Nevada and then-No. 8 California. Fine hit .417 (5-for-12) with a home run to lead the Vikings on the weekend.

KAJIKAWA CLASSIC: The Vikings opened the 2013 season by going 2-4 at the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. The Vikings dropped their season opener to San Jose State 12-2. Senior Carly McEachran started the season hitting a home run on the first pitch she saw leading off for the Vikings in the bottom of the first against the Spartans. She then hit a pair of home runs in a 2-1 win over Boise State for the Vikings first win of the season. The Vikings lost to No. 20 Stanford 3-1 before dropping a game to Bradley. PSU added a 5-3 win over Kentucky before dropping the final game of the Classic to Indiana. McEachran blasted four home runs on the opening weekend after hitting four all of last year.

STARTING WITH A BANG: Senior Carly McEachran started the season the way no Viking ever has. McEachran hit a home run over the left field fence on the first pitch she saw leading off for the Vikings in the bottom of the first against San Jose State. McEachran hit two more home runs against Boise State and added another against No. 20 Stanford. She hit home runs for her first three hits of 2013. Her four long balls on the opening weekend matched her total from all of 2012.

COMING UP CLUTCH: Freshman Candice Orozco hit a ground-rule double over the center field fence driving in a pair of runs against No. 20 Stanford. What makes the hit even better is the fact that it was Orozco's first career hit as a Viking.  

PRESEASON POLL: The Portland State softball team enters the 2013 season as the favorite to win the inaugural Big Sky Softball Championship as selected by conference coaches. Portland State finished first in the coaches' poll with 35 points including five first-place votes. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the preseason poll.

DOUBLE THE BLISS: With the addition of mid-year transfer Lauran Bliss, the 2013 Vikings will have double the Bliss and double the fun. Lauran Bliss joins junior Becca Bliss on the roster though there is no relation between the two.

TOURNAMENT WIN: With the Vikings 2-0 win over Mississippi State at the NCAA Eugene Regional, the Vikings picked up their second NCAA Division I Tournament win and the first since 2006. It was also Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk's first career tournament win.

2012 NCAA EUGENE REGIONAL: The Vikings advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season in 2012 and the third time in the last four years. Portland State lost its tournament opener to Oregon before defeating Mississippi State 2-0 for its first tournament win since 2006. The regional came to an end with a 2-0 loss to BYU.

2012 PSCS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: The Vikings claimed their second straight PCSC Championship series by sweeping the Saint Mary's Gaels in Moraga, Calif. The Vikings took the first game 6-1 thanks to a four-run sixth inning capped by a Becca Bliss three-run home run. It was tougher going in the second game but pitcher Anna Bertrand led the Vikings to the series sweep with a complete game three-hit shutout of the Gales. Brittany Hendrickson drove in the only run of the game with a single to right field scoring pinch runner Aubrey Nitschelm from second.

2012 PCSC MOUNTAIN DIVISION CHAMPIONS: The Vikings won their third consecutive PCSC Mountain Division championship in 2012 after going 15-5 in conference play. They went 7-1 over their final eight conference games to secure the title.

2012 POST-SEASON AWARDS: The Vikings cleaned up the 2012 PCSC Mountain Division claiming three of the four individual awards. Anna Bertrand was named the unanimous Pitcher of the Year while Alicia Fine was named the Freshman of the Year. Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk was named the Coach of the Year. Six Vikings earned Mountain Division honors. Jenna Krogh, Karmen Holladay, Bertrand and Fine were named to the first team while Crysta Conn and Carly McEachran were named honorable mention. Bertrand was also named to the NFCA Division I Pacific Region Second team for the second straight year in 2012.

VIKINGS' 2014 NLIs: Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk announced the signing of seven players to National Letters of Intent for the 2014 season on Nov. 11. The 2014 recruiting class consists of Amee Aarhus (Camas, Wash./Camas HS), Mackenzie Bourbanis (Tacoma, Wash./Fife HS), Celena Carrisosa (Tracy, Calif./Merrill F. West HS), Alex Flores (Hillsboro, Ore./Liberty HS), Kelsie Gardner (Salem, Ore./South Salem HS), Meagan Hendrix (Puyallup, Wash./Emerald Ridge HS), and Jenna Stanford (Portland, Ore./Lincoln HS).