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Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic • February 13-15 • UNLV • Las Vegas, NV

vs. UTEP Miners (0-5); Friday, Feb. 13; 11:15 a.m. PST
vs. CS Northridge Matadors (4-1); Friday, Feb. 13; 1:30 p.m. PST
vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (3-2); Saturday, Feb. 14; 1:30 p.m. PST
vs. Boise State Broncos (3-2); Saturday, Feb. 14; 6:00 p.m. PST
vs. Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (3-2); Sunday, Feb. 15; 1:30 p.m. PST

This Week
The Portland State Vikings continue their non-conference tournament season this week at the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. hosted by UNLV. Portland State opens the classic against UTEP this Friday, Feb. 13 at 11:15 a.m. PST. It is the second time in two weeks that the Vikings and Miners have squared off.

Follow the Vikings
Live stats will be available for Friday's game against UTEP and Saturday's game against Utah Valley. Links can be found on GoViks.com. 

Social Media
Stay informed with Portland State softball on social media. Follow PortlandStateSB on Twitter and "Like" facebook.com/PortlandStateSB to stay in touch with all PSU stories and to find pictures and other great information. Check out Instagram.com/PortlandStateSB for the best in photos.

Season Openers
Portland State improved to 8-11 in season openers since the 1996 season with a 9-7 win over Nevada on Feb. 6.  

New Year, New Field
The Portland State softball team will open its home schedule at a new field in 2015. The Vikings will play 17 home games at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex Field No. 4. It will be the first time in the last 34 years that the Vikings have not called Erv Lind Stadium their home field. 

The Miners
     UTEP opened the season 0-5 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. last weekend. The Miners opened the season with a 14-5 loss to Virginia. They fell to San Diego 7-6 before falling to the Vikings 7-5. UTEP then dropped an extra-inning game to UC Santa Barbara (10-9). An 11-0 loss to Stanford rounded out the weekend. 
     The Miners hit .317 as a team led by Tahla Wade who hit .444 (8-for-18) with six runs scored. She also drive in three runs and went 2-for-2 in stolen bases. UTEP has a 9.80 team ERA as opponents scored 42 earned runs over 30.0 innings. Opponents hit .393 against the Miners. 

The Matadors
     CS Northridge opened the season 4-1 at the Kajikawa Classic. They won three straight to start the season over Wisconsin (4-3), Stanford (7-5), and New Mexico (5-1). After falling to Fresno State (3-2), the Matadors then defeated No. 16 Arizona State with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning. 
      The Matadors are hitting .310 as a team with 26 runs scored over five games. Maylynn Mitchell hit .500 (7-for-14) over the first weekend with three runs scored, a double, and seven runs batted in. She has a 1.134 OPS. Brianna Elder is 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA with six earned runs over 19.0 innings. The Matadors' pitching staff has a 2.14 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .199. 

The Wolverines
     Utah Valley went 3-2 at the Kajikawa Classic to open the season. The Wolverines fell to Bradley (7-1) to open the season before defeating Wisconsin, 9-5. They then defeated Virginia 5-4 before falling to San Jose State (10-7). Utah Valley finished out the weekend with a 4-1 win over Indiana. 
     The Wolverines are hitting .265 as a team with 26 runs scored over five games. They are slugging .471 thanks to 15 extra-base hits (8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs). Dynasty Lauval hit .400 over five games going 6-for-15 with four runs scored. She hit three doubles and a pair of home runs while driving in six runs. She is slugging 1.000 with a 1.429 OPS. 
Bailey Moore is 2-2 on the season with a 4.59 ERA. Utah Valley has a 5.40 team ERA.

The Broncos
     Boise State went 3-2 at the North Texas Tournament. The Broncos fall to Seton Hall 13-0 before taking down Texas Southern twice by scores of 9-1 and 6-1. Boise State then fell 14-4 in five innings to North Texas before defeating North Texas 10-3. 
     Devon Bridges hit .500 over the opening weekend going 9-for-18 with four runs scored and a home run. She also drove in four runs. The Broncos are hitting .340 as a team and slugging .532. Sara Ketelsleger hit .450 (9-for-20) with three doubles and six RBIs. 
     Boise State has a team ERA of 3.39 led by Sarah Barnes' 3.00 ERA. She is 1-1 on the season while Mackenzie McGill is 2-1 with a 4.06 ERA.

The Rainbow Wahine
     Hawai'i went 3-2 at its own Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic to start the season. The Rainbow Wahine opened the season with a 3-1 win over St. Mary's. After an 8-0 win over DePaul, Hawai'i fell to Oklahoma, 3-0. The Rainbow Wahine then defeated St. Mary's 3-0 before falling again to Oklahoma, this time by a score of 8-0. 
     Hawai'i hit .171 over its opening five games. Leisha Liilii hit .333 going 4-for-12 with two runs scored and two RBIs. 
     Kanani Ain Cabrales went 2-0 with a 2.39 ERA. She allowed just five earned runs over 14 2/3 innings while holding opponents to a .231 opponent batting average. 

Up Next
After a week off, the Vikings will head to Long Beach, Calif. for the Long Beach-Louisville Slugger Invitational. The Vikings will take on Seattle, Boise State, Utah Valley, UCLA, and Cal State Fullerton at the Invitational. 

News & Notes
Plate Discipline 
Portland State walked 20 times over the first five games of the season (4.0 walks per game). The Vikings walked a total of 84 times in all of 2014 (1.9 walks per game). 
 
Finding the Power
Sophomore C Alex Flores blasted her first two career home runs of the season at the Kajikawa Classic. She hit a three-run shot against UTEP (2/7) followed by a two-run home run against San Jose State (2/7). 

Crawford Making Her Mark
Junior P Kristen Crawford made her mark on the Portland State pitching staff right away picking up a pair of wins at the Kajikawa Classic. She went 2-0 with a 1.91 ERA allowing just four earned runs over 14 2/3 innings. 

The Pressure's On
The Vikings put the pressure on the opponents on the base paths at the Kajikawa Classic going 10-for-12 in stolen base attempts. Junior OF Lexi Goranson went 4-for-5 on the base paths. 

Streaking to Start 2015
Junior OF Lexi Goranson is riding a four-game hitting streak into play this weekend in Las Vegas. She is hitting .500 (6-for-12) with three runs scored, four stolen bases and a 1.100 OPS over the streak. 

Getting on Base
Senior IF Brittany Hendrickson reached base safely in all five games at the Kajikawa Classic. Dating back to the end of 2014, Hendrickson has reached safely in 10 straight games.