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Wolf Pack Classic • March 13-15 • Nevada • Reno, NV
vs. St. Mary's Gaels (7-15); Friday, March 13; 1:00 p.m.
at Nevada Wolf Pack (5-18); Friday, March 13; 3:30 p.m.
vs. St. Mary's Gaels (7-15); Saturday, March 14; 10:30 a.m.
at Nevada Wolf Pack (5-18); Saturday, March 14; 3:30 p.m.
vs. St. Mary's Gaels (7-15); Sunday, March 15; 10:00 a.m.

This Week
The Portland State Vikings (5-15 overall) conclude the non-conference tournament portion of their 2015 schedule this weekend at the Wolf Pack Classic hosted by Nevada in Reno, Nev. The Vikings will take on former Pacific Coast Softball Conference rival the St. Mary's Gaels (7-15) three times and Nevada (5-18) twice this weekend. 
     Portland State defeated Nevada earlier this season, 9-7, at the Kajikawa Classic. Sophomore IF Rayleen Pallan and senior OF Aubrey Nitschelm each  drove in two to help the Vikings win their first game of the season. Junior RHP Kristen Crawford threw six innings in relief for the Vikings and allowed just two earned runs on six hits while striking out four to pick up her first win as a Viking. 

Follow the Vikings
Live stats will be available for all five games at the Wolf Pack Classic. Check the softball schedule page on GoViks.com for more information. 

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.

The Gaels
St. Mary's enters play this weekend 7-15 overall this season. The Gaels are 2-3 in their last five and 3-7 in their last 10 games. They opened the season 1-4 at the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic in Honolulu where they defeated No. 25 DePaul 11-9. SMC then went 2-3 at the Gaucho Classic in Santa Barbara getting wins over Rutgers (4-3) and UCSB (14-6). The Gaels then defeated Sacramento State twice, 7-6 (8 innings) and 4-2. Their two other wins were against Montana (7-6) and Boise State (7-1). 
     Saint Mary's is hitting .243 as a team this season while opponents are hitting .351. The Gaels have been out-scored 129-84 this season and have combined for 54 extra base hits (34 doubles, 4 triples, 16 home runs) for a .399 slugging percentage. They have a .308 on-base percentage and are 10-for-16 in stolen base attempts. Defensively, Saint Mary's has committed 20 errors in 22 games leading to 12 unearned runs. 
     The Gales pitching staff has combined for a 5.70 earned run average after allowing 117 earned runs over 143 2/3 innings. They have allowed 26 home runs, walked 62, and struck out 89. 
     Andrea Hazel leads the team with a .317 batting average. She has a team-high 20 hits and is tied for the team lead with 13 runs scored. She has six doubles, two home runs, and seven RBIs. Monika Reichhardt is hitting .306 and is one of four players with 11 RBIs. She is also one of four players to have started all 22 games this season. 
     Lujane Mussadi has thrown 71 1/3 of the team's 143 2/3 innings this season and is 4-8 with a 5.00 ERA. She has allowed 51 earned runs on 112 hits while walking 20 and striking out 38. Opponents are hitting .359 with 24 doubles and six home runs off Mussadi. Katie Moss is 2-4 with a 6.80 ERA in 16 appearances and has allowed 11 home runs. 

The Wolf Pack
Nevada is 5-18 overall this season and 1-2 at home. The Wolf Pack won its season opener against Fordham, 6-4, before dropping five straight games. After going 2-1 over their next three games, they lost nine straight and 12 of their next 14. They went 1-2 in a three-game series with Idaho State last weekend. 
     The Wolf Pack are hitting at a .296 as a team with a .404 slugging percentage and a .386 on-base percentage. They have been out-scored by a mark of 155-104 this season. Nevada is 16-for-21 in stolen base attempts this season. Defensively, Nevada has committed 34 errors in 23 games, which has led to 37 unearned runs. The Wolf Pack has a team ERA of 5.62 in 147 innings this season. 
     Karley Hopkins has started all 23 games this season for Nevada and is hitting .421 at the plate. She has scored a team-high 18 runs. She has five doubles and 13 RBIs. Megan Sweet is hitting .348 with three home runs and 18 RBIs. McKenna Isenberg has thrown a team-high 62 2/3 innings and is 1-8 with a 4.36 ERA. 

Up Next
Following this weekend's action in Reno, the Vikings will open Big Sky Conference action Saturday, March 21 with a doubleheader against Southern Utah. The first game is slated for a 1 p.m. start at the Gordon Farber Recreation Complex Field No. 4. The final game of the three-game set will be Sunday, March 22 starting at 12 p.m.

News & Notes
Tough Loss
Sophomore LHP Meagan Hendrix threw a career-high nine innings in a loss to Wisconsin (3/6) at the USF Under Armour Showcase. She allowed just two unearned runs on three hits. She walked five and struck out four. 

Tying it Late
Senior OF Aubrey Nitschelm hit her second home run of the season in the Vikings' 2-1 loss to Wisconsin (3/6). Nitschelm tied the game with a solo home run to right center with one out in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings. 

Pinch Hitting
The Vikings hit just .045 (1-for-22) as a team in pinch hitting situations in last season. In 2015, the Vikings are 5-for-16 (.313) with a pair of pinch hits from sophomore Jenna Stanford, including a pinch hit home run. 

Hot Hitter
Junior IF Ashley Smith extended her hitting streak to seven games before having it broken last time out against Villanova. She went 12-for-22 (.545) with four runs scored, two RBIs, and a stolen base over the stretch.

She's Heating Up
Senior IF Brittany Hendrickson put on a hitting clinic at the Long Beach Louisville Slugger Invitational (Feb. 27-March 1). She started the weekend going 4-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and three RBIs against Seattle (2/27). She hit safely in four of the five games and improved her batting average by 90 points to a mark of .349. Her 4-for-4 performance was the first four-hit game for a Viking since Alicia Fine's 4-for-4 day against Southern Utah last April. 

When it Scores, It Wins
Portland State is a perfect 5-0 this season when scoring six-or-more runs in a game. The Vikings are 0-15 when scoring fewer than six runs. 

You Get a Walk, And You Get a Walk
Portland State hitters combined for a season-high 14 walks in a 10-6 win over Boise State (2/14). Junior OF Lexi Goranson walked four times in the game, scored a run, and drove in two RBIs, all on walks. Two others, Rayleen Pallan and Shae Nelson, each walked three times in the game.

One for the Books
Sophomore OF Jenna Stanford came into the game against Utah Valley (2/14) hitless for her career in limited action. She picked up her first career hit against the Wolverines in a big way. She came off the bench in the top of the fifth inning and hit a pinch hit, three-run, home run to put the Vikings up 10-0. 

Pinch Hit Homer
Sophomore OF Jenna Stanford's pinch hit home run was the first by a Viking since Kayla Norrie hit one in April of 2011. Norrie's home run also came against Utah Valley. 

Plate Discipline 
Portland State has walked 68 times over the first 20 games of the season (3.4 walks per game). The Vikings walked a total of 84 times in all of 2014 (1.9 walks per game). Portland State batters have walked five or more times in a game five times including a season-high 14 times against Utah Valley (2/14). 

Complete Game Shutout
Junior RHP Kristen Crawford threw the first complete game shutout of her Portland State career against Utah Valley (2/14). Crawford allowed three hits and two walks over five innings of the Vikings' 10-0 win. She also struck out two. 

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 applied the pressure to 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 finished the opening week with a four-game hitting streak. She hit .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 the first nine games of the season. Dating back to the end of 2014, Hendrickson reached safely in 14 straight games.