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Portland State vs. Seattle & at Northern Colorado | Games 31-35

Seattle University Redhawks
(13-25 Overall)
Head Coach: Dan Powers (Pacific Lutheran, '94)
Record at SUU: 260-266 (11th)

Northern Colorado Bears
(13-27 Overall, 4-2 BSC)
Head Coach: Shana Easley (Arkansas, '06)
Record at NC: 29-57-1 (2nd year); Big Sky: 10-12 (2nd year)

Portland State Vikings
(4-26 Overall, 1-7 BSC)
Head Coach: Barb Sherwood (Troy, 1999)
Record at PSU: 4-26 (1st year); Big Sky: 1-7, (1st year)

First Pitch
This Week: The Vikings play five games this week starting with a mid-week non-conference doubleheader with Seattle University Wednesday, April 9 at Erv Lind Stadium. Game one is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch. The Vikings will then head out on the road for their second Big Sky Conference road trip to take on the Northern Colorado Bears Friday and Saturday, April 11-12, in a three-game set. 

Follow the Vikings: Fans not able to make it out to Erv Lind can follow the action via live stat at GoViks.com. A live video stream will also be available at WatchBigSky.com.  Live Stats will be available for all three conference games at Northern Colorado. Links can also be found at GoViks.com. 

Three Games at SUU: The Vikings were swept in a three-game series last weekend at Southern Utah. The Vikings dropped the first two by scores of 8-0 and 10-2 respectively, both in five innings. The Vikings led in game three, 6-4, going in going into the bottom of the seventh but three Southern Utah runs completed the sweep by the Thunderbirds. Aubrey Nitschelm led the Vikings at the plate going 5-for-7 with a pair of runs scored. Crysta Conn provided the power going 3-for-8 with a pair of home runs. She also drove in a team-high five RBIs on the weekend. 

Looking at Seattle: The Redhawks enter this week's doubleheader 13-25 overall and 2-4 in WAC play. Seattle is 2-3 in its last five games and 3-7 in its last 10. The Vikings and Redhawks met once already this season at the Easton Desert Classic in Las Vegas, NV. Seattle took the first meeting 6-5 in nine innings. The Redhawks went 2-2 last week starting with an 11-0 loss to No. 9 Washington. They then went 2-1 in conference play against Utah Valley. 
     As a team, Seattle is hitting .273, slugging .408, and has a .360 on base percentage. The Redhawks have been outscored 235-to-162 this season. Isabella Geronimo has the team's best batting average with a .393 mark with 24 runs scored. Bubba Morrow is hitting .333 on the season with team highs in runs (29), home runs (8), and RBIs (31). Seattle is 19-for-24 in stolen base attempts. The Redhawks have been vulnerable defensively, committing 67 errors in 38 games. Opponents have scored 60 unearned runs on the season. 
     The Seattle pitching staff has a combined 5.06 ERA after allowing 175 earned runs over 242 innings. Lindsay Davis has been the most efficient pitcher for the Redhawks going 5-6 with a 3.84 ERA. She has struck out 41 and walked 22 in 72 2/3 innings. 

Last Year vs. SU: The Vikings and Redhawks split a doubleheader last year in Seattle. The Redhawks took the first game, 7-2, before the Vikings evened the day with a 5-2 victory in game two. The win gave Karyn Wright her second career win. Brittany Hendrickson went 4-for-7 with a double and a pair of runs batted in over the course of the doubleheader. 

Looking at Northern Colorado: The Bears come into play this weekend 13-27 overall and 4-2 in Big Sky play. Northern Colorado swept Weber State to open conference play before losing to Sacramento State 2-1 last weekend. Northern Colorado is 2-3 in its last five and 6-4 in its last 10 games. 
     Erica Dick leads the Bears with a .325 average and has scored a team-high 31 runs. She also leads the team with a .525 slugging percentage with six doubles and a team-high six home runs. She is also second with 22 RBIs. Mikayla Duffy is also hitting .325 with seven doubles, five home runs, and 20 RBIs. Northern Colorado is hitting .257 as a team with 35 home runs. The Bears have been out-scored 233-to-162 this season. 
     The Northern Colorado pitching staff has a combined 5.26 earned run average. Breeanna Holliday is 4-5 this season with three complete games and a pair of saves. Megan Wilkinson has thrown 105 2/3 innings this season, the most of any NC pitcher. She is 7-12 with a 4.77 ERA in 17 starts. 

Last Year vs. NC: The Vikings swept the Bears last year in a three-game set in Portland. Portland State hit .333 in the series out-scoring Northern Colorado 19-5 in the series. Sadie Lopez hit .714 over the series going 5-for-7 with three runs scored, a double, two home runs, and seven RBIs. Anna Bertrand went 3-0 with three complete games and allowed just three earned runs over 19 innings for a 1.11 ERA. Lopez was named Big Sky Player of the Week while Bertrand was named Pitcher of the Week honors. 
 
Up Next: Following this week's games against Seattle University and Northern Colorado, the Vikings will head to Sacramento State for a three-game Big Sky Conference series April 18-19.  

News & Notes
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. Her five home runs this season is a single-season career high. 

Nitschelm Keeps Hitting: Junior RF Aubrey Nitschelm is in the middle of a five game hitting streak. She is hitting .553 (8-for-15) over the streak with a team-high two runs scored. She has also driven in three runs. Nitschelm had a six-game hitting streak earlier this season. 

Consistently Fine: Junior SS Alicia Fine had a six-game hitting streak earlier this season and is currently riding a four-game hitting streak. Fine is hitting .571 (8-for-14) with two runs and two RBIs over the last four games. She went 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI in her last game. Fine has hit safely in 14 of the last 17 games. She has raised her batting average 128 points over the last 17 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 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 is hit .556 (10-for-18) with five runs, three doubles, two home runs, four walks, sacrifice fly, and eight RBIs. Hendrickson is 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 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. 

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 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.