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FIRST PITCH
THIS WEEK: The Vikings begin the second half of Big Sky Conference play with a tough road series at Idaho State this Saturday and Sunday. A doubleheader is slated to start at 12 p.m. PDT on Saturday with the three-game series' finale set for Sunday at Noon. The Vikings enter the weekend 8-1 in conference play with the Bengals just one game back at 7-2.
FOLLOW ONLINE: Fans can follow all three games online via Live Stats and a live video feed. A live audio feed will also be available for Sunday's series finale. Links can be found on the softball schedule page at GoViks.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Vikings are coming off a doubleheader loss to No. 5 Oregon Tuesday at Erv Lind Stadium. Oregon took game one by a score of 5-0 before winning the second game 8-0 in five innings. Oregon held the Vikings to just five hits on the day.
IDAHO STATE: The Bengals enter this weekend with a 20-18 overall record and are second in the Big Sky at 7-2. They have won their last eight games including a three-game sweep of Northern Colorado last weekend when they outscored the Bears 40-17. Idaho State leads the Big Sky with a .333 overall team batting average and it is hitting .404 in conference play.
Vicky Galasso leads the team and the conference with a .481 batting average. She is hitting .571 and slugging 1.057 in conference play. She is the reigning Big Sky Player of the week after leading ISU to a 4-0 record last week while hitting .647 going 11-for-17 with two doubles, two home runs, 10 runs scored, eight RBI and no strikeouts. Six Bengals are hitting over .300 on the season led by Galasso. The Bengals have hit 51 home runs this season, which leads the Big Sky. Amanda Fitzsimmons has a league-best 13 long balls. Five Bengals have seven or more home runs while Fitzsimmons and Galasso (11) in double-figures.
The Idaho State pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.00. Fitzsimmons has been the workhorse for the Bengals throwing 131 2/3 innings this season. She has a 9-11 record and a 4.94 ERA after allowing 93 earned runs. She has walked 52 and struck out 92. Five pitchers have made starts for Idaho State.
ALL-TIME vs. ISU: Portland State is 13-3 all-time against Idaho State including a 4-1 record in Pocatello. The last time the Vikings were in Pocatello they swept the Bengals in a four-game set. Portland State is 9-1 in the last 10 games of the series.
LAST YEAR vs. ISU: The Vikings went 3-1 against the Bengals last season as part of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. The Vikings took the first game 1-0 before dropping a nine-inning game 3-2. PSU came back to sweep the final two games 7-0 and 2-1 respectively.
COMING UP: Following this weekend's games in Pocatello, the Vikings will head to Seattle University for a doubleheader Wednesday, April 24. The first game is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch.
