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Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic • March 7-9 • Stanford • Stanford, CA

vs. BYU Cougars (7-10); Friday, March 7; 10:00 a.m.
vs. No. 17 Stanford Cardinal (17-5); Friday, March 7; 2:30 p.m.
vs. No. 17 Stanford Cardinal (17-5); Saturday, March 8; 2:30 p.m.
vs. UC Davis Aggies (7-15); Saturday, March 8; 7:00 p.m.
vs. North Dakota State Bison (10-6); Sunday, March 9; 10:00 p.m.

First Pitch
This Week: After a rain-shortened tournament last weekend, the Vikings will look forward to a full slate of games at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic March 7-9 in Stanford, CA. The Vikings will have a rematch with BYU to start the classic before facing host team the Stanford Cardinal for two games. Portland State will then play UC Davis before finishing out the week with North Dakota State.

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

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.

Looking at BYU: The Cougars come into play this weekend 7-10 overall after going 2-3 in their last five games. They split a pair of games last weekend at the San Diego Classic. Their last win was their biggest of the year defeating then-No. 2 Tennessee 6-3 in seven innings. BYU took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first against the Lady Vols before Tennessee scored two in the bottom of the first and one more in the third to tie the game. After three scoreless innings, the Cougars plated three runs in the top of the seventh on two home runs and a wild pitch to take the game 6-3.
      BYU is hitting .286 as a team and are averaging 5.7 runs per game. The Cougars are allowing 6.1 runs per game while opponents are hitting .296 against them. Ashley Thompson leads the team with a .429 average and a team-best 16 RBIs. Thompson also boasts a team-best .547 on base percentage with 11 walks and 18 hits on the season.
      In addition to a strong bat, Thompson leads the Cougars' pitching staff with a 3-2 record and a 4.74 ERA in 44 1/3 innings pitched. She has allowed 40 runs, 30 earned runs, over her innings this season. She has allowed 40 walks while striking out 35 this season. BYU has a team ERA of 5.35 and has allowed 14 home runs. BYU as allowed 23 unearned runs this season after committing 20 errors in 17 games.

Looking at No. 22/17 Stanford: Stanford is 17-5 overall this season and 5-0 at home. The Cardinal is ranked No. 22/17 in the  USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls respectively.
     Stanford started the season 13-0 before falling 7-1 to No. 15 Baylor at the Mary Nutter Classic on Feb. 21. The Cardinal went 2-3 at the classic after also dropping games to No. 23 LSU and No. 2 Tennessee. Stanford went 3-2 last weekend with losses to South Florida and Central Connecticut State.
     Kylie Sorenson leads the Cardinal with a .421 average on the season and a .702 slugging percentage after hitting a team-high nine doubles, a triple, and a home run. She also has a team-best .551 on base percentage aided by 17 walks. Leah White is also hitting over .400 for the Cardinal with a .409 average and is 11-for-12  in stolen base attempts this season. Stanford is 36-for-40 as a team in that category. Stanford is hitting .330 as a team with 146 runs scored in 22 games (6.6 runs per game).
     Madi Schreyer leads the pitching staff with a 14-3 record on the season in 19 appearances. She has thrown 103 1/3 of the team's 141 innings this season. She has allowed just 19 earned runs over those innings for a miniscule 1.29 ERA. Carley Hoover (2-0, 1.65 ERA) and Kayla Bronstrom (1-2, 9.13 ERA) are the only other two players with decisions this season.

Looking at UC Davis: The Aggies enter play this week with a 7-15 overall record. They opened the season with a 5-4 win over Arkansas before dropping their next five games. UC Davis then posted a pair of shutout wins over Sacramento State (1-0) and Western Kentucky (2-0). The Aggies are 4-9 since with five losses to ranked opponents.
     The Aggies are hitting .254 as a team this year led by sophomore Kelly Zboralske who is hitting .328 on the season with three doubles, two triples, and a team-high four home runs. She leads the team with a .612 slugging percentage. UC Davis has scored 77 runs as a team this season while opponents have scored 144.
     The UC Davis pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.19 led by Andrea Reynolds. Reynolds is 2-4 on the season coming mainly in relief. She has thrown 45 2/3 innings, second on the team. Reynolds has allowed 26 earned runs over those innings while walking 12 and striking out 16. She has allowed five home runs. The Aggies have allowed 39 unearned runs thanks to 25 defensive errors.

Looking at North Dakota State: The Bison have the second-best record in the classic this week with a 10-6 overall record. Three of their six losses came to No. 12 Florida at the FSU Renegade Classic. North Dakota State is coming off a 7-4 win over Idaho State last weekend at the UNM Invitational.
    The Bison are hitting .305 as a team this season while opponents are hitting .252. Alex Sobrero leads the team with a .286 average in 14 starts. She leads the team with six doubles and has a team-best .591 slugging percentage. North Dakota State has hit 13 home runs on the season by nine different players led by Maritza Lopez-Portillo's three. NSDU is 25-for-30 as a team in stolen bases.
    Krista Menke anchors the Bison's pitching staff with a 7-2 record and a 1.78 ERA after allowing 16 earned runs in 63 innings pitched. She has allowed 50 hits and 26 walks over those innings for a 1.21 WHIP.

Up Next: The Vikings will conclude their non-conference tournament schedule at the Gaucho Classic II hosted by UC Santa Barbara. The Vikings will take on Utah State and Dartmouth on March 14 followed by a game with host team UCSB and another matchup with Dartmouth on March 15. Portland State will conclude the classic with Monmouth on March 16.

News & Notes
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.

Stolen Bases: Portland State is 8-for-10 in stolen base attempts through 12 games this season. The Vikings  barely ran last year going just 10-for-16 in 56 games. Junior RF Aubrey Nitschelm and freshman 2B Shae Nelson are each 2-for-2 this season.

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 .324 batting average and leads the team with 10 RBIs. She is second on the team with a .471 slugging percentage and leads the team with a .439 on base percentage for a .910 OPS.

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 11-for-19 (.579) when leading off an inning. Nelson is hitting a team-best .324 with eight runs scored and a .378 on base percentage since being moved to the leadoff spot.

Solid in the Field: The Vikings have played solidly in the field this season committing 10 errors in their first 12 games for a .971 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 2.50 this season.

Going Streaking: Three Vikings: Aubrey Nitschelm went on a team-best six game hitting streak before having it broken the last time out 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.

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. 

Fine Reaches Century Mark: Junior SS Alicia Fine has now started in 110 games over her career, all at short stop. She made every start at short as a sophomore and has started all 12 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 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.