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Weber State Wildcats
(20-23 Overall, 2-9 Big Sky Conference)
Head Coach: Mary Kay Amicone (Utah, '83)
Record at WSU: 47-52 (1st year); Big Sky: 2-9 (1st year)

Portland State Vikings
(7-34 Overall, 2-12 Big Sky Conference)
Head Coach: Barb Sherwood (Troy, '99)
Record at PSU: 7-34 (1st year); Big Sky: 2-12 

First Pitch
This Week: The Portland State Vikings welcome the Weber State Wildcats to Erv Lind Stadium this Friday and Saturday for a three-game Big Sky Conference series to close out the season. Friday's doubleheader is slated for a 4 p.m. PT start. Saturday's season finale has been moved up an hour, to 12 p.m., to accommodate Weber State travel plans. Saturday's game will also be Senior Day.

Follow the Vikings: Live stats and a live video stream will be available for all three games against Weber State. Links for both can be found on GoViks.com. 

Last Time Out: Portland State dropped a mid-week non-conference doubleheader to in-state foe Oregon State on Tuesday. The Beavers took the first game 13-1, in five innings, before taking the second game 6-3. The difference in game one was a 10-run inning by the Beavers in which they recorded 10 hits and sent 16 batters to the plate. Junior Aubrey Nitschelm went 3-for-5 on the day with a run scored and a stolen base to push her current hitting streak to four games. Brittany Hendrickson hit her third home run of the year, a solo shot to right center, in game two.

Looking at Weber State: Weber State has had a turnaround under first-year head coach Mary Kay Amicone. The Wildcats went 10-38 in 2013 but have a 20-23 overall mark so far this season. The Wildcats will play at BYU Wednesday before heading to Portland for this weekend's three-game series. Weber State started the season 11-5 over its first 16 games. The Wildcats have struggled as of late dropping 12 of their last 14 games. 
     The Wildcats enter this week hitting .275 as a team led by Brooke Silva's .347 average. Silva has a team-best 50 hits including nine doubles and five home runs. Jasmin Ioane is hitting .314 this season and leads the Wildcats with eight home runs and 36 RBIs. She is also tied for the team lead with three triples. Weber State as a team has hit 35 home runs, third in the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats run well as a team going 44-for-53 in stolen base attempts. 
     MaCauley Flint anchors the Weber State pitching staff with a 9-8 record and a 2.48 ERA, second best in the Big Sky. Flint has appeared in 29 of the team's 44 games including 23 starts and 11 compete games. She has allowed just 44 earned runs over 124 innings pitched. Flint has struck out 138 batters, tops in the Big Sky. Ioane is second on the team with 76 innings pitched, a 5-6 record, and a 3.87 ERA. 

Last Year vs. WSU: The Vikings swept the Wildcats in a three game series a year ago in Ogden, UT by scores of 5-2, 10-3, and 9-2. Brittany Hendrickson went 6-for-11 (.545) with three runs scored, double, triple and a pair of home runs against WSU. She also drove in four runs. Carly McEachran and Lauran Bliss each drove in five runs to lead the Vikings. Anna Bertrand went 3-0 with a 1.26 ERA including a pair of complete games. She allowed just three earned runs over 16 2/3 innings while striking out nine. 

All Time vs. WSU: Portland State is 15-1 all-time against Weber State. The first meeting was a 2-0 Wildcats win in eight innings. The teams did not meet again until 2010 when both were members of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. Since 2010, Portland State has gone 15-0 including an 8-0 mark at Erv Lind Stadium. 

News & Notes
Senior Day: Saturday's season finale will be Senior Day for the Vikings as they say good bye to two four-year starters in Becca Bliss and Crysta Conn. Conn has started in 200 games over her career while Bliss has made 178 career starts. Conn has recorded 148 hits in her career including 32 doubles, three triples, and 13 home runs. Her 13 home runs puts her in a tie for ninth all-time at Portland State. She has also driven in 83 runs, one shy of ninth all-time, and holds the Portland State record with 37 hit by pitches. Bliss has 119 hits during her career including 10 home runs. Bliss has scored 95 career runs which places her seventh all-time. Both were named to the All-Big Sky First Team a year ago. 

Hendrickson Goes Yard: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson hit her third home run of the season at Oregon State (4/29) to give her 14 for her career and move her into a tie for seventh all-time with Karmen Holladay (2011-12). 

Nitschelm Riding Four-Game Streak: Junior RF Aubrey Nitschelm is currently riding a four-game hitting streak going into play this weekend. She is hitting .455 (4-for-11) with a run scored and a stolen base over the stretch. Nitschelm hit safely in six games earlier this season. 

Hendrix vs. No. 1 Oregon: Freshman Meagan Hendrix has posted several tremendous pitching performances as of late including a stellar outing at No. 1 Oregon (4/22). Hendrix held one of the top hitting teams in the country to just three earned runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings and held the Ducks hitless over the first three innings. 

RBI Machine: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson took over the team RBIs lead after driving in all four Portland State runs at Sacramento State (4/18-19). Hendrickson now has a team-high 26 RBIs as a junior after leading the Vikings with 42 a year ago. 

Consistency in the Field: The Vikings have had nearly the same defensive look all season with Brittany Hendrickson (1B), Shae Nelson (2B), Crysta Conn (3B), Alicia Fine (SS), Becca Bliss (CF), and Aubrey Nitschelm (RF) all starting in ever game this season in their respective positions. Candice Orozco (LF) and Kayla Norrie (C) have each started 32 games at their positions. 

Wright Throws Complete Game Gem: Sophomore RHP Karyn Wright picked up her second win of the season with a complete game shutout of Seattle (4/9). Wright allowed just three hits while walking four in the win. 

Conn Brings the Power: Senior 3B Crysta Conn went 3-for-8 against Southern Utah (April 4-5) with three runs scored. She hit home runs in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. She drove in a team-high five RBIs on the weekend. 

Conn in the Books: Senior 3B Crysta Conn hit her 13th career home run at Southern Utah (4/5) which moves her into a tie for eighth all-time at Portland State. She is currently ninth all-time and her five home runs this season is a single-season career high. 

Consistently Fine: Junior SS Alicia Fine has hit safely in 20 of the last 22 games and has improved her batting average to .305 in the process. She has gone on a pair of six-game hitting streaks this season. She has gone 4-for-6 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and a double in the last two games. 

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. 

Hendrickson Keeps on Hitting: Junior 1B Brittany Hendrickson pushed her season-high hitting streak to six games after hitting safely in both games against North Dakota (3/29) and the first game at Southern Utah (4/4). Over the streak, Hendrickson hit .556 (10-for-18) with five runs, three doubles, two home runs, four walks, sacrifice fly, and eight RBIs. Hendrickson slugged 1.056 with a .609 on base percentage. Hendrickson struck out just once 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 the 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. 

Stolen Bases: Portland State is 14-for-20 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 third home run of the season to give the Vikings a 2-0 win over Rutgers (3/2). 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 .969 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, Alicia Fine, and Brittany Hendrickson have all 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 went 10-for-18 (.556) with five runs, three doubles, two home runs, and eight RBIs over her streak. 

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.