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Easton Desert Classic Tournament Page

Easton Desert Classic • February 14-16 • UNLV • Las Vegas, NV

vs. BYU Cougars (2-3); Friday, Feb. 14; 1:30 p.m. PST
vs. Nevada Wolfpack (4-1); Friday, Feb. 14; 6:00 p.m. PST
vs. Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (3-2); Saturday, Feb. 15; 3:15 p.m. PST
vs. Seattle Redhawks (1-3); Saturday, Feb. 15; 9:00 p.m. PST
vs. Chattanooga Mocs (0-4); Sunday, Feb. 16; 11:15 a.m. PST

First Pitch
This Week: The Vikings head to the Las Vegas, Nev. desert this week for the Easton Desert Classic, Feb. 14-16, hosted by UNLV. The Vikings will take on a pair of NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in Hawai'i and BYU. They will also face off with Nevada, Seattle, and Chattanooga.

Easton Desert Classic: Like the Kajikawa Classic a week ago, the Easton Desert Classic will be played at multiple locations. The majority of the games in the 18-team tournament will be played at the Stephanie Lynn Craig Park (SLC) in Henderson, Nev. Games will also be played at Eller Media Stadium on the UNLV campus. The Vikings will play their first four games of the tournament at SLC but their final game against Chattanooga will be played at Eller Media.

Follow the Vikings: Live stats will be available for select games at the Easton Desert Classic. Check GoViks.com for links.

Opening Weekend: The Vikings went 2-3 over their first five games of the season at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Portland State opened the season with a 6-2 loss to Colorado State. The Vikings bounced back with their first win of the season with an 8-6 win over Indiana later in the day. PSU run-ruled New Mexico the following day, 10-0 in five innings, behind a four-RBI day from Aubrey Nitschelm. The Vikings dropped their final two games against a pair of Pacific-12 opponents. They lost to Utah 10-3 before falling to No. 24 California 8-3.

Looking at Nevada: The Wolfpack opened the season 4-1 at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah. They opened the season defeating BYU 10-9 and Southern Utah 4-2. Their lone loss of the tournament came 11-5 against Idaho State. They then finished out the opening weekend with run-rule wins over East Carolina (10-0) and Utah Valley (9-0). Karley Hopkins leads the team with a .588 average after going 10-for-17 with nine runs scored. Nevada as a team is hitting .331 on the season and has outscored its opponents 38-22. Megan Dortch has yet to give up an earned run on the season and is 2-0 with opponents hitting .222. The Wolfpack pitching staff has a 3.39 team ERA.

Looking at BYU: The Cougars opened the season 2-3 at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah. They opened the season with a 4-3 loss to Weber State before defeating Southern Utah 10-2. After falling to Nevada, BYU defeated East Carolina 13-5. They finished the weekend with a 3-2 loss to Texas-Arlington. McKenzie St. Clair leads the team with a .667 average with seven runs scored and a pair of home runs. She is slugging 1.250 with a .714 on base percentage. BYU is hitting .282 as a team while holding opponents to .215 at the plate. Ashley Thompson has both BYU wins on the season with a 2.23 ERA.

Looking at Hawaii: The Rainbow Wahine are 3-2 this season after hosting the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic. Hawaii opened the season with a 2-0 win over Hampton. The Wahine then defeated Delaware 7-0 before falling to UCLA 7-2. Hawaii again beat Hampton, this time 9-1, before falling again to UCLA 4-1. Jazmine Zamora leads Hawaii with a .400 batting average after starting three games. Three other starters are each hitting .308. Hawaii as a team is hitting .219 while opponents are hitting .212. Heather Morales leads the pitching staff with a 3-1 record and a 1.22 ERA. She has thrown 23 of the team's 33 innings this season. 

Looking at Seattle: The Redhawks opened the season 1-3 at the Kajikawa Classic. They picked up their only win, 8-4, over Cal Poly before losing three straight. Seattle fell to San Jose State 11-7, Cal State Northridge 4-2, and San Diego State 7-2. Bubba Morrow leads the team in hitting with a .714 average (10-for-14) with five runs scored and six runs driven in. The Redhawks are hitting .322 while opponents are hitting .258. The pitching staff has combined for a 5.19 ERA allowing 20 earned runs in 27 innings.

Looking at Chattanooga: The Mocs are 0-4 on the season after dropping their first four games of the season at the UCF Knights Invitational. Chattanooga fell to Fordham (12-3), South Dakota (5-4), LIU-Brooklyn (8-6), and Kansas (1-0). The Mocs are hitting .233 as a team led by Anyssa Robles who opened the season 7-for-13 (.538). Taylor Deason has seen the majority of work in the circle for the Mocs going 0-2 with a 0.64 ERA. She has allowed one earned run in 14 innings. The Mocs have given up 16 unearned runs this season after committing 13 errors in just four games.

Up Next: Following this week in Las Vegas, the Vikings will have a week off before heading to Northridge, Calif. for the CSUN Invitational where they will face Rutgers for three games and Cal State Northridge for two.

News & Notes
Conn off to a Hot Start: Senior 3B Crysta Conn is off to a hot start to her senior year going 8-for-16 (.500) over the first five games. She has hit safely in four games, three straight, and has four multi-hit games. She is slugging .750 with a double and a home run and has driven in four. Conn has been clutch for the Vikings going 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position and 1-for-1 with the bases loaded.

Freshman Impresses: Freshman 2B Shae Nelson has stepped right into the starting lineup and made an immediate impact. Nelson opened the season with a run scored against Colorado State. She then hit safely in the next four games going 6-for-13 with a pair of RBIs. Nelson has ledoff for the Vikings in each of the last three games and has scored at least one run in each.

Britt is Back: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson picked up right where she left off a year ago going 6-for-16 (.375) with a double and a team-best five RBIs.

Fine Reaches Century Mark: Junior SS Alicia Fine has now started in 103 games over her career, all at short stop. She made every start at short as a sophomore and has started all five games as a junior. 

Hendrix Gets First Win: Freshman LHP Meagan Hendrix picked up the first two wins of her career at the Kajikawa Classic. Hendrix has had some good moments and some not so good moments in the circle. She combined for her first career shutout, a 10-0 win over New Mexico in five innings, but has also given up four home runs, including a grand slam.

Bliss Out Indefinitely: Sophomore C Lauran Bliss is out indefinitely after sustaining injuries to both of her wrists in a collision at first base against Indiana (2/7). She will be reevaluated in a couple of weeks to determine when she will be able to return.

Beware of the Long Ball: The Portland State pitching staff has performed well at times this season but has been stung by the long ball. The Vikings have given up seven home runs in five games including three grand slams over the first four games. Portland State had given up just three grand slams over the previous two seasons.

Season Notes
Power Bats: The Vikings had a power explosion a year ago resulting in 45 home runs. The total was the second best in program history, four shy of the all-time mark of 49 set in 2006. The Vikings hit 26 solo home runs, 12 two-run home runs, six three-run home runs, and a grand slam. PSU hit just 27 home runs in all of 2012. 

Triple Crown: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson won the Portland State "Triple Crown" a year ago by leading the Vikings in batting average (.350), home runs (9), and runs batted in (42). Hendrickson had a trio of five-RBI games in 2013 against UC Riverside (3/2), East Carolina (3/8), and North Dakota (5/4).

Preseason Poll: Despite being the defending Co-Regular Season Big Sky Champions and Big Sky Tournament Champions, Portland State was selected to finish fourth in the Big Sky Coaches' Preseason Poll. Idaho State was selected first followed by Sacramento State and Southern Utah.

Big Sky Tournament: The 2014 Big Sky Softball Tournament will be played May 8-10 at the home of the regular season champion. It will be a four-team double-elimination tournament.

Inaugural Big Sky Season: The Vikings finished in a tie for first in the inaugural Big Sky softball season in 2013. PSU and ISU finished with identical 14-4 conference records. The Bengals won the right to host the conference tournament after taking the season series, 2-1, in Pocatello. 

Inaugural Big Sky Tournament: Portland State rolled through the inaugural Big Sky tournament in 2013 going 3-0 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Vikings run-ruled Southern Utah, 8-0, behind home runs from Brittany Hendrickson and Aubrey Nitschelm. Hendrickson's home run was the first ever at the Big Sky Tournament. PSU then defeated host team Idaho State thanks to a two-run homer by Sadie Lopez in the top of the seventh to win 5-3. The Vikings then blanked Southern Utah again, this time 4-0, to win the conference tournament.

Three Straight: The Vikings made it to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season in 2013, fifth time in the last eight. The Vikings fell in the first game of the tournament to #11 Washington 2-1 despite a one-hitter from pitcher Anna Bertrand. The Vikings then fell, 5-0, to Minnesota to be eliminated from the tournament. 

First-Year Head Coach: Barb Sherwood is in her first season as head coach at Portland State. Sherwood spent the last five seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Virginia Tech. Sherwood added first-year assistant coaches Tory Yamaguchi (Indiana, '07) and Kelly Melone (Texas, '09) to her staff.