Skip To Main Content

Portland State University Athletics

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Crysta Conn
Larry Lawson

Softball Written By Ryan McCall

Vikings Play in Final Big Sky Tuneup at Gaucho Classic


Complete Release in PDF Format | Live Stats

Gaucho Classic II • March 14-16 • UCSB • Santa Barbara, CA

vs. Utah State Aggies (5-11); Friday, March 14; 1:30 p.m.
vs. Dartmouth Big Green (2-7); Friday, March 14; 3:30 p.m.
vs. Dartmouth Big Green (2-7); Saturday, March 15; 1:30 p.m.
vs. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (15-5); Saturday, March 15; 3:30 p.m.
vs. Monmouth Hawks (4-5); Sunday, March 16; 9:00 a.m.

First Pitch
This Week: The Vikings look to right the ship this week at the Gaucho Classic II hosted by UC Santa Barbara. It will be the final non-conference tournament weekend for the Vikings. Portland State will have six more non-conference games left on its schedule following this weekend at the Gaucho Classic. The Vikings are scheduled for mid-week doubleheaders with Seattle, Oregon, and Oregon State.

Follow the Vikings: Live stats will be available for all five games at the Gaucho Classic. Log on to GoViks.com for more information.

Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic: The Vikings lost five straight games at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic including a pair eight inning, 4-3 losses to BYU and UC Davis. Sophomore OF Brianna Celaya led the way for the Vikings, going 5-for-12 at the plate with team highs in average (.417), slugging (.583), and on base percentage (.462). Celaya scored a run, hit two doubles, and drive in the first three RBIs of her career. Sophomore RHP Karyn Wright was the workhorse for the Vikings in the circle throwing 27 of the team's 30 1/3 innings. She started four of the five games and threw three complete games.

Looking at Utah State: The Aggies enter this weekend's play 5-11 overall and 1-9 in their last 10 with eight straight losses. Utah State is hitting .241 as a team and has out-scored its opponents 71-66 this season. The Aggies have 12 home runs as a team and are slugging a combined .372. Defensively, they have committed 14 errors as a team led by Victoria Saucedo's four. Saucedo has made up for the defensive miscues; she leads the team with a .333 batting average. She has a team-high 17 hits including a pair of doubles and three home runs. She has driven in nine and is second with a .549 slugging percentage. Paxton Provost is also hitting .333 on the season with three home runs. She has driven in a team-best 13 RBIs this season.
     Noelle Johnson has seen the majority of innings in the circle for the Aggies, appearing in 15 of their 16 games and making eight starts. She has six complete games in those starts including two shutouts. She has allowed 32 earned runs over 69 1/3 innings for a 3.23 ERA. She is 4-8 on the season.

Looking at Dartmouth: The Big Green is playing in just its third tournament of the season this weekend and is 2-7 overall. This weekend begins a 13-game road trip to California for Dartmouth over the next two weeks. Dartmouth is hitting .252 as a team in its nine games this season. It has scored 24 runs and allowed 37. Kelsey Miller leads the team with a .438 batting average going 14-for-32 on the year with six runs scored. Karen Chaw is hitting .323 with team highs in home runs (3) and RBIs (10).
     Kristen Rumley is 2-3 on the season with a 2.84 ERA. She has allowed 15 earned runs over 37 innings while walking just six and striking out 34. She has made four starts this season, going the distance in three. Opponents are hitting .262 off her.  

Looking at UC Santa Barbara: The Gauchos have the best record of any team completing this weekend at 15-5 overall and winners of their last four after taking two from Nevada and Seattle last weekend. Santa Barbara is hitting .303, slugging .365, with a .420 on base percentage as a team. The Gauchos have hit 10 home runs and out-scored their opponents 96-68. Defensively, UCSB has committed 17 errors in 618 total chances and turned five double-plays. Arianna Palomares leads the team with a .419 average going 26-for-62 on the season. She has scored 15 runs and driven in seven. She has a team-high 11 walks leading to a team-high .506 on base percentage.
     The Gauchos have a 2.78 team ERA allowing 55 earned runs in 138 1/3 innings. Andriana Collins is 6-1 on the season with a 2.65 ERA over 31 2/3 innings. Shelby Wisdom has thrown the most innings, 72 1/3, this season and is 5-4 with a 2.81 ERA. She has walked 18 and struck out 42.

Looking at Monmouth: Monmouth, like Dartmouth, is playing in just its third tournament this weekend. The Hawks are 4-5 this season. They are hitting .269 as a team through nine games and have scored 38 runs compared to 52 by their opponents. Vanessa Cardonza leads the team with a .364 average (12-for-33) with six runs scored and one of the team's three home runs. She has a team-best .515 slugging percentage.
     Two players have seen time in the circle this season for the Hawks led by Sydney Underhill. She has appeared in all nine games, making five starts. Underhill has allowed 20 earned runs over 36 innings for a 3.89 ERA. She is 2-3 on the season.

Up Next: The Vikings open Big Sky Conference play next week when they host Idaho State for a three-game set starting Saturday, March 22. Portland State and Idaho State were tied atop the Big Sky a year ago with identical 14-4 records. Idaho State earned the right to host the inaugural Big Sky tournament after taking 2-of-3 from Portland State in Pocatello during the regular season.

News & Notes
Celaya's Big Weekend
: Sophomore OF Brianna Celaya had the best weekend of her young career going 5-for-12 (.417) with a pair of doubles and the first three RBIs of her career at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic. She opened the weekend going 1-for-3 with her first career RBI against BYU. She then hit safely in both games against No. 17 Stanford before recording her first multi-hit game of her career going 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs against UC Daivs (3/8) to cap a four-game hitting streak.

Wright the Workhorse: Sophomore RHP Karyn Wright started four of the five games at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic throwing three complete games. She opened the weekend with a then-career-high 7 2/3 innings pitched against BYU before topping that three games later going eight innings against UC Davis. Wright ended up throwing 27 of the team's 30 1/3 innings at the Classic.

Fine Turning it Around: Junior SS Alicia Fine is riding a four-game hitting streak into this weekend. She improved her batting average by 38 points at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic hitting safely in the final four games. She also scored a run and drove in a run over the stretch.

Stolen Bases: Portland State is 10-for-14 in stolen base attempts through 17 games this season. The Vikings  barely ran last year going just 10-for-16 in 56 games. Senior CF Becca Bliss and freshman 2B Shae Nelson are each 2-for-2 this season while junior RF Aubrey Nitschelm is 2-for-3.

The Wright Stuff: Sophomore RHP Karyn Wright posted her first career complete game shutout in the Vikings' 2-0 win over Rutgers (3/2) at the CSUN Invitational. Wright allowed just five hits over seven innings and did not allow a walk.

Conn Shows Off the Power: Senior 3B Crysta Conn hit her team-leading third home run of the season to give the Vikings a 2-0 win over Rutgers (3/2). Conn is one home run shy of her single-season best of four home runs set as a freshman. Conn's home run against the Scarlet Knights was the first home run of the season by the Vikings in a game which they won.

Nitschelm Heats Up: Junior RF Aubrey Nitschelm has not only secured herself a starting job in the outfield this season but a spot in the middle of the Vikings' order. Nitschelm is second on the team with a .304 batting average and leads the team with 12 RBIs. She is second on the team with a .413 slugging percentage and leads the team with a .418 on base percentage.

Chicks Dig The Long Ball: Portland State hit five home runs in a 13-12 loss to Hawai'i (2/15) at the Easton Desert Classic. Not only did the Vikings hit five home runs, they hit five home runs by five different players, three in one inning.

Setting the Table: Freshman 2B Shae Nelson has settled into her role as leadoff hitter for the Vikings this season. Nelson went on a five-game hitting streak earlier this season. Nelson is 13-for-26 (.500) when leading off an inning.

Solid in the Field: The Vikings have played solidly in the field this season committing 12 errors in their first 17 games for a .975 fielding percentage. The fielding mark is up from a year ago when the Vikings had a .956 fielding percentage and committed 1.3 errors per game. 

Plate Discipline: The Vikings have been more disciplined at the plate this season improving their 2.09 walks per game last season to 2.29 this season.

Going Streaking: Aubrey Nitschelm went on a team-best six game hitting streak before having it broken against Cal State Northridge (3/2). Nitschelm went 8-for-18 (.444) with four runs scored a double and a home run while driving in six over the stretch. Brittany Hendrickson, and Shae Nelson have tallied five-game hitting streaks this season. Alicia Fine is currently on a four-game hitting streak.

Conn off to a Hot Start: Senior 3B Crysta Conn got her senior year off to a hot start, going 8-for-16 (.500) over the first five games. She hit safely in four games, three straight, with four multi-hit games. She slugged .750 with a double and a home run and drove in four over that span. Conn has a team-high five multi-hit games this season. 

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 For Season: Sophomore C Lauran Bliss will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining injuries to both of her wrists in a collision at first base against Indiana (2/7). 

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.

Weekly Roundup
Kajikawa Classic
: 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.

Easton Desert Classic: The Vikings had a tough weekend at the Eastern Desert Classic going 0-5 with a trio of one-run heartbreaking losses. The Vikings got off to a rough start by having travel problems that resulted in them "sleeping" in an airport and having to open the weekend with little to no sleep. They started the weekend with a 5-4 loss to BYU. The Vikings were up 4-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning but could not get the final three outs as the Cougars scored a pair to win by one. They then lost to Nevada 6-2 to finish out the first day. The Vikings blasted five home runs against Hawai'i, including three in a seven-run top of the fifth, but again could not get the final three outs and Hawai'i came back to win 13-12. The Vikings then lost a marathon, nine-inning, game to Seattle, 6-5. Portland State dropped its final game of the week to Chattanooga 9-3 to fall to 2-8 on the season.

CSUN Invitational Recap: After getting the first two days rained out at the Cal State Northridge Invitational, the Vikings split a pair of games defeating Rutgers 2-0 before falling to host team Northridge 5-3. Sophomore RHP Karyn Wright threw her first career complete game shutout against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to open the invitational. Wright allowed just five hits over the seven innings stranding seven runners on base, five in scoring position. Wright did not record a strikeout and did not walk a batter as she pitched to contact inducing nine fly balls and 11 ground outs. SR 3B Crysta Conn provided all the offense the Vikings needed with a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning driving in Aubrey Nitschelm who reached on a one-out single.
     Wright started the second game of the weekend against Northridge and went 5 1/3 innings allowing five runs, four earned, in the losing effort. The Vikings were down 2-0 when JR 1B Brittany Hendrickson hit a two-RBI double to tie the game at 2-2. The Matadors added one in the fourth and two more in the sixth to go up 5-2. The Vikings plated one in the seventh but could not mount the comeback falling 5-3. FR 2B Shae Nelson went 2-for-4 with an RBI double driving in the Vikings' run in the seventh.
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad