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PORTLAND – Brittany Hendrickson drove in the game-winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh propelling the Vikings to a 5-4 walk off win over the Northern Colorado Bears. The win gave the Vikings their second consecutive Big Sky Conference series sweep. The Vikings sit atop the conference with an 8-1 record.
 
"One of the good things about this team is that they've bought into the process," Head Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said after the win. "The game is not over until the last pitch. They did a good job being resilient today. Things didn't go our way early but they settled in and we were able to, one run at a time, make things happen."
 
 Senior Anna Bertrand threw her third straight complete game on the weekend picking up the win to improve to 12-12 on the season. The win was the 67 of her career, which ties her with Mandy Hill for the all-time career mark at Portland State. Bertrand gave up four runs, three earned, on 10 hits while walking three and striking out six.
 
Senior Sadie Lopez tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth with a two out double to right field scoring a pair of pinch runners. She finished the weekend hitting .714 (5-for-7) with three runs scored, a double, two home runs, and seven runs batted in. She slugged 1.714 and had an on base percentage of .750 for the weekend.
 
"She (Sadie Lopez) played well today and had an awesome weekend," Echo-Hawk added. "There's no other hitter that we would want up in that spot right now. I'm just so proud of her. She has come on strong for us with that confidence that she needs."
 
Northern Colorado (12-24-1 overall, 3-6 Big Sky Conference) scored three runs in the top of the first inning off Bertrand when four of the first six batters recorded singles. The Bears added another run in the top of the second to take an early 4-0 lead.
 
The Vikings (15-21, 8-1) found themselves behind for the first time in the series. It was early in the contest so they just started chipping away at the lead.
 
Portland State picked up a run in the bottom of the second when Crysta Conn hit her first home run of the season to left field.
 
The Bears kept the pressure on Bertrand by getting at least one runner in scoring position in all but one of the final five innings.
 
Carly McEachran singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth for the Vikings and moved to second on a wild pitch. Becca Bliss then moved her to third on a groundout to the first baseman. McEachran then came into score on another wild pitch by Bears' starting pitcher Kelci Cheney cutting the lead to 2-0.
 
Conn led off the sixth for the Vikings with a walk. Alicia Fine hit into a double play and it looked like the Vikings would not be able to mount anything that inning. Alexa Morales reached on a fielding error by the first baseman, however, and she was lifted for pinch runner Brianna Celaya.
 
Candice Orozco then walked to move Celaya to second. Sadie Petersen came in to run for Orozco, which put two of the Vikings' fastest runners on first and second. The speed moves made the difference when Lopez hit it over the right fielder's head to score Celaya from second and Petersen all the way from first to tie the game at 4-4.
 
Bertrand allowed a lead off walk in the top of the second. Lauran Bliss then gunned out a pinch runner who tried to swipe second for the first out. The next batter walked. This was followed by a fielder's choice that allowed the Vikings to get the runner at second. A single then put runners at first and second before Bertrand recorded her sixth strikeout of the game to end the inning.
 
B. Bliss led off the bottom of the seventh for the Vikings with a double to right field. Two batters later, with the outfield playing relatively deep, Hendrickson hit a walk-off single up the middle that scored B. Bliss from second for the game-winning run.
 
Saturday's game was the Vikings' annual Alumni Game. Different eras of Portland State softball were honored between innings. Around 40 PSU alums were in attendance with their families. The game drew a season-high attendance of 188.
 
The Vikings will now head to Seattle, Wash. for a Wednesday doubleheader at Seattle University. They will have a conference bye next weekend before returning to Erv Lind for a Tuesday, April 16 doubleheader with the University of Oregon.
 
NOTES: Sadie Lopez hit .714 on the weekend … Anna Bertrand picked up career win number 67 to tie the all-time Portland State record … Bertrand went 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA on the weekend.