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Big Sky Conference Weekend • March 26-28 • Portland, OR

North Dakota
(1-18 Overall, 0-3 Big Sky)
Head Coach: Eric Oakley (Eastern Michigan, '01)
Record at UND: 29-77 (3rd); Big Sky: 2-13 (2nd)

Portland State Vikings
(4-21 Overall, 1-2 Big Sky)
Head Coach: Barb Sherwood (Troy, 1999)
Record at PSU: 4-21 (1st year); Big Sky: 1-2 (1st)

First Pitch

This Week: The Vikings continue Big Sky Conference play this week with a three-game set against North Dakota at Erv Lind Stadium. The series begins with a doubleheader Friday, March 28 at 4 p.m. The series finale is slated for Saturday, March 29 at 1 p.m. Check back to GoViks.com for more information about potential inclement weather changes.  

Follow the Vikings: Fans can follow all three games live online via live stats at GoViks.com. There will also be a live video stream of the games at WatchBigSky.com with former softball head coach Teri Mariani calling the action. The broadcast will begin 10-15 minutes prior to the first pitch of the day's first game.  

Opening Weekend: Portland State went 1-2 against Idaho State last week to open Big Sky Conference play. The Bengals took game one, 2-1, before the Vikings stormed back to even the series with a 10-2, six inning win in game two. Idaho State took the rubber-match and the series with a 7-4 win in the series finale. 

Looking at North Dakota: North Dakota enters this weekend's series 1-18 overall on the season and 0-3 in Big Sky Conference play after being swept at Sacramento State. UND is hitting .225 as a team this season through 19 games and has been out scored 192-to-47. North Dakota is slugging .317 with an on base percentage of .285. Defensively, North Dakota has seen its share of errors, committing 36 as a team for a league-worst .925 fielding percentage. Eight players have committed three or more errors. 
     Sophomore 1B Emily Bell leads the team with a .375 average. She is tied for the team lead in hits with 15 in 40 at bats. She leads the team with four doubles and is second with seven RBIs. Senior OF Amanda Johnson also has 15 hits this season and is hitting .306. She has a team-high three home runs but has turned them into just four RBIs. 
     The North Dakota pitching staff has the worst team ERA in the Big Sky with a 10.53 mark. The staff has allowed 157 earned runs on the season in 104 1/3 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .412 against North Dakota. Kaylin VanDomelen leads the staff with an 8.25 ERA and picked up the team's lone win against UC Davis, 9-2, on March 15. 

Last Year vs. UND: The Vikings swept the season series with North Dakota last season in Grand Forks, N.D. Portland State took game one, 5-1, behind a three-hit game from Brittany Hendrickson. Becca Bliss went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. North Dakota nearly took the second game but a fifth inning RBI hit from Alicia Fine gave the Vikings the 1-0 lead they would need. Portland State rolled to the series sweep with an 11-2 lead in game three. Hendrickson went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and her first career grand slam. Anna Bertrand picked up all three wins throwing all but two innings on the weekend. Portland State's win in game three secured the Vikings a share of the inaugural Big Sky regular season championship. 

Up Next: Portland State will get its first taste of Big Sky road action next week when the Vikings travel to Southern Utah for a three-game set. The Vikings took the season series, 2-1, a year ago in Portland, OR. 

News & Notes

Monster Weekend: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson had arguably her best three-game stretch of her career as the Vikings went 1-2 against Idaho State to open Big Sky Conference play. Hendrickson went 6-for-7 at the plate for a .857 batting average. She scored a pair of runs, doubled, and hit two home runs including a walk-off grand slam in game two. Hendrickson drove in eight runs on the weekend, six of which came with two outs. She slugged 1.857 on the weekend with 13 total bases. She added a pair of walks for an .800 on base percentage and a combined OPS of 2.657. She went a perfect 3-for-3 with runners in scoring position and 4-for-5 with two outs. She improved her season batting average 52 points and is now hitting a team-best .351.

Player of the Week for Hendrickson: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson was named the Big Sky Conference's Player of the Week for games played March 18-23. It was the second career Player of the Week honor for Hendrickson.

Walk-Off Winner: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson hit a walk-off grand slam against Idaho State (3/22) to give the Vikings a 10-2, six inning win in game two of the three-game series. It was her second career grand slam and the Vikings' first walk-off home run since Aubrey Nitschelm hit a three-run walk-off home run to defeat Southern Utah in the opening game of the 2013 Big Sky Conference Tournament.  

Masterful Win: Sophomore RHP Melissa Masters picked up her first career win in her first career start Saturday against Idaho State in game two. Masters allowed just two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings while giving up just four hits to the best hitting team in the Big Sky in arguably her best outing as a Viking. 

Conference Openers: Portland State is now 1-1 in Big Sky Conference openers. Portland State is now 7-2 over its last nine conference openers going back to Pacific Coast Softball Conference play. 

Home Field Advantage: Portland State has embraced its home field advantage at Erv Lind Stadium over the past nine years, including 2014. The Vikings are 87-39 (.690) overall at Erv Lind and 72-18 (.800) in conference play over that span. PSU went 10-2 at home in conference play in 2012 and a perfect 12-0 in 2010 and 2006. The Vikings are 1-1 at home this season. 

Three-Bagger: Junior RF Aubrey Nitschelm hit the Vikings' first triple of the season to drive in two runs against Monmouth (3/16). 

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 12 of the last 15 games for the Vikings and has thrown seven complete games. She threw a then-career-high 7 2/3 innings pitched against BYU (3/7) before topping that three games later going eight innings against UC Davis (3/8). Wright has made an appearance in all but one game this season. 

Fine Turning it Around: Junior SS Alicia Fine extended her season-high hitting streak to six games before having it broken at UC Santa Barbara (3/15). She went 7-for-17 (.412) with a run scored, RBI, and a walk over the stretch. Fine has hit safely in 10 of the last 12 games. 

Stolen Bases: Portland State is 12-for-17 in stolen base attempts through 25 games this season. The Vikings  barely ran last year going just 10-for-16 in 56 games.

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. 

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 also hit five home runs by five different players, three in one inning. 

Solid in the Field: The Vikings have played solidly in the field this season for a league-best .972 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.  

Going Streaking: Aubrey Nitschelm and Alicia Fine have each gone on six-game hitting streaks this season. Nitschelm went 8-for-18 (.444) with four runs scored a double and a home run while driving in six over her streak while Fine went 7-for-17 (.412) with a run scored, RBI, and a walk over her stretch. Brittany Hendrickson and Shae Nelson have each tallied five-game hitting streaks this season. 

Conn's 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.