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Big Sky Conference Weekend • April 4-5 • Cedar City, UT

Southern Utah Thunderbirds
(11-19 Overall, 3-2 Big Sky)
Head Coach: Kyle Magnusson (Olivet Nazarene, '93)
Record at SUU: 83-115 (4th); Big Sky: 12-8 (2nd)

Portland State Vikings
(4-23 Overall, 1-4 Big Sky)
Head Coach: Barb Sherwood (Troy, 1999)
Record at PSU: 4-23 (1st); Big Sky: 1-4 (1st)

First Pitch
This Week: Portland State embarks on its first Big Sky road test of the year when the Vikings travel to Southern Utah this week for a three-game set. The series begins Friday, April 4 with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. PDT. The series finale is slated for Saturday, April 5 at 11 a.m. PDT.   

Follow the Vikings: Fans can follow all three games live online via live stats at GoViks.com.   

Rain Shortened Weekend: The Vikings fell twice to North Dakota in a rain shortened series at home. After not being able to get Erv Lind ready to play for two days, the series was moved to Hood View Park in Happy Valley, OR. North Dakota took an early 6-1 lead before the Vikings scored six runs in the bottom of the third to go up 7-6. UND countered with a six-run inning of its own to go up 12-7. PSU added a late run but North Dakota took game one 12-8. Aubrey Nitschelm doubled in a run in the bottom of the first in game two to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. UND posted another six-run inning in the top of the fourth and added another run in the fifth to go up 7-1. After the Vikings added a run in the bottom of the fifth, UND plated four runs in the top of the seventh to go up 11-2. The Vikings did not give up and plated seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within two at 11-9. Portland State had the tying run at the plate but could not keep the two-out rally going and fell 11-9 in game two. The series finale was called to do unplayable field conditions. 

Looking at Southern Utah: The Thunderbirds come into the weekend fourth in the conference with a 3-2 Big Sky record. The T-Birds took two-out-of-three against Weber State to open conference play before splitting a rain shortened series, 1-1, with Sacramento State last weekend. SUU is 11-19 overall and 6-4 in its last 10. The Thunderbirds are hitting .281 as a team on the season with 127 run scored and 16 home runs. They have a .377 team slugging percentage and a .364 team on base percentage. Southern Utah does not run much but is successful when it does, going 17-for-21 in stolen bases. The T-Birds have the second best team defense in the league with a .959 fielding percentage after committing 22 errors in 30 games. 
     Madison Resley leads the Thunderbirds with a .410 average in 27 starts. She is second on the team with 32 hits this season including a double and four home runs. She leads the team with 23 RBIs. Kylee Wolf is hitting .365 in 30 starts. She leads the team with 38 hits and 27 runs. She is also a perfect 10-for-10 on the base paths.
     The Thunderbirds' pitching staff is the definition of pitching by committee. Four players have appeared in at least 14 games with at least 21 innings pitched and all have an ERA in the 5's. Jordan Theurer leads the team with a 5-6 record and 60 2/3 innings pitched. She has allowed 47 earned runs for a 5.42 ERA and allows opponents to hit .341 with 11 home runs allowed. 

Last Year vs. SUU: The Vikings and Thunderbirds met five times in 2013, three during the regular season and twice in the inaugural Big Sky Tournament. Portland State took the regular seasons series, 2-1, on the opening weekend at Erv Lind Stadium. The Vikings took the first game in a 5-0 shutout. Crysta Conn and Lauran Bliss each drove in two; Bliss went 3-for-3 at the plate. Anna Bertrand threw the complete game shutout two-hitter while striking out a season-high 13. Portland State led 4-1 through four innings in game two before Southern Utah took the lead with a four-run top of the fifth. The T-Birds closed out the game to even the series. The Vikings took the third game, and the series, with a 5-4 win in the series finale. Brittany Hendrickson went 2-for-3 in the game with two runs and two RBIs with a home run in the game. 
     The teams met for the fourth time in the opening game of the Big Sky Tournament in Pocatello, ID. Brittany Hendrickson got the Vikings on the board with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. It was the first home run in Big Sky Tournament history. The Vikings added a run in the fourth and then five more in the fifth capped by Aubrey Nitschelm's walk-off three-run home run to give the Vikings the shutout.
     Portland State and Southern Utah met in the Big Sky Championship game; Anna Bertrand threw another complete game shutout to secure the tournament win for the Vikings. Portland State blew the game wide open with a three run fifth and won the game 5-0. 
 
Up Next: The Vikings have a mid-week non-conference doubleheader with Seattle University on Wednesday, April 9 starting at 2 p.m. Portland State will then head back out on the road for a three-game conference set at Northern Colorado April 11 & 12. 

News & Notes
Masters at the Plate: Sophomore UT/P Melissa Masters had the best weekend of her short career at the plate against North Dakota (3/29). Masters went 5-for-7 (.714) with four runs, a double, triple, and a home run, and three RBIs over the two games. She had a combined OPS of 2.321. She opened the series going 3-for-3 with a pair of runs and a pair of RBIs and was a home run shy of the cycle. She also threw four innings and allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out two in the game. She picked up the home run in the second game of the series after going 2-for-4. Masters had seen limited action prior to last weekend and raised her 233 points to .316 for the season. 

Hendrickson Keeps on Hitting: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson pushed her current hitting streak to five games after hitting safely in both games against North Dakota (3/29). Over the streak, Hendrickson is hitting .563 (9-for-16) with five runs, three doubles, two home runs, three walks, sacrifice fly, and eight RBIs. Hendrickson is slugging 1.125 with a .600 on base percentage. Hendrickson has not stuck out over the streak.  

Bliss' Big Game: Senior CF Becca Bliss posted the Vikings' first four-hit game of the season going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs in game two against North Dakota (3/29). Bliss also pushed her hitting streak to four games. Bliss is 9-for-16 (.563) with five runs, two doubles, and four RBIs over the stretch. 

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. 

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 against Idaho State (3/22) 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 1-4 at home this season including a pair of games at Hood View Park.  

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. 

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 11 of the last 14 games. 

Stolen Bases: Portland State is 12-for-17 in stolen base attempts 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.