DeMarini Desert Classic • February 19-21 • UNLV • Las Vegas, NV
Complete Release in PDF Format

This Week
     The Vikings look to bounce back after a rought opening weekend at the DeMarini Desert Classic, hosted by UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev. 
     Portland State will open the tournament on Friday, Feb. 19 against the CSUN Matadors at 11:15 a.m. PT before taking on the Colorado State Rams at 1:30 p.m. The Vikings will then take on Nevada on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 9 a.m. before taking on the San Jose Spartans later in the day at 3:45 p.m. Porltand State will wrap-up play against host UNLV on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 1:30 p.m.
     The three-day tournament will take place at the Stephanie Lynn Craig Complex and at Eller Media Stadium, home of UNLV Softball. 

Online
Live stats will be available for selected games at the DeMarini Desert Classic. Check the schedule page on GoViks.com for more information. 

Live Video
There will not be a live video stream available. 

Social Media
Stay informed with Portland State Softball on social media. See below for everything related to Portland State Softball. 
• Twitter - @PortlandStateSB
• Instagram - @PortlandStateSB
• Facebook - @PortlandStateSB
• YouTube - @GoPortlandState

DeMarini Desert Classic
The Vikings have in a Las Vegas tournament every season since 1999. Portland State is 2-7 at the Desert Classic under Head Coach Barb Sherwood. PSU defeated Utah Valley and Boise State last season in Las Vegas. 

Last Week
Portland State opened the season 0-5 last week at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Vikings lost to a trio of Pacific-12 Conference opponents in Stanford, Utah, and #22 Arizona State. The Vikings also fell to Wisconsin and San Diego. It is the first time the Vikings have opened the season 0-5 since 2006. The Vikings finished the 2006 season 38-20 that season and made it to the NCAA Corvallis Regional where they went 1-2. 

Quick Start
Senior OF Brianna Celaya is off to a hot start to start the season. She hit .571 (8-for-14) last week, which  lead the Vikings and is tied for second in the Big Sky Conference. She scored three times and hit the Vikings' first home run of the season, a solo shot at Arizona State.  

Hitting Streaks
Senior IF Melissa Masters is riding a four-game hitting streak entering play this week. She .600 (6-for-10) with three runs scored, a double, and two RBIs over the streak. Celaya has hit safely in three straight games and has reached base safely in every game this season. 

Struggles in the Circle
Portland State went 0-5 with a 9.84 ERA over the opening five games, after allowing 52 runs, 37 earned, over 26 1/3 innings. Opponents hit .382 off the Vikings' staff, including 19 extra-base hits. 

Up Next
Portland State heads to the Aloha state next week for the Hawaii Inviataional hosted by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Vikings will take on the Utah Valley Wolverines for three games and the Rainbow Wahine for two games. 

OPPONENT PREVIEWS
CSUN MATADORS
• Head Coach: Head Coach Tairia Flowers is 132-149 in six years at CSUN. 
• Record: 3-2 overall 
• Top Hitter: Taylor Glover leads the team with a .357 batting average. She went 5-for-14 at the plate with a pair of runs scored, a triple, with a team-high four RBIs over the opening weekend. 
• Top Pitcher: Daphne Pofek went 2-1 with a 2.94 ERA in four appearances, two starts, last week. She allowed eight runs, seven earned, over 16 2/3 innings, while walking 11 and striking out 17. 
• Team Notes: CSUN went 3-2 over the opening weekend at the Kajikawa Classic with wins over Creighton (3-2), Utah State (3-2), and Stanford (4-3). The Matadors fell to California (6-1) and Oregon State (6-2). The Matadors outscored opponents 19-13 over the five games. They hit .207, while opponents hit .281. 

COLORADO STATE RAMS
• Head Coach: Jen Fisher is 121-140 in six seasons leading Colorado State. 
• Record: 0-5 overall
• Top Hitter: Junior IF Haley Hutton leads the team with a .563 batting average. She went 9-for-16  with three runs scored, a triple, and a run batted in over the opening weekend. She went 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts. 
• Top Pitcher: Senior Holly Reinke went 0-2 with a 3.32 ERA over the opening week. She allowed 10 runs, seven earned, over 19 innings pitched. She allowed opponents to hit .211. 
• Team Notes: The Rams went 0-5 over the opening week at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas. They dropped two games to each #7 UCLA and Wichita State as well as a game against Texas A&M.  

NEVADA WOLF PACK
• Head Coach: Matt Meuchel is 164-202 in eight seasons leading the Wolf Pack.
• Record: 3-2 overall
• Top Hitter: Sophomore Aaliyah Gibson hit .615 (8-for-13) with two doubles, four runs scored, two outfield assists and her first career home run in a 3-2 opening weekend for the Nevada softball team. Against three opponents from the power five conferences, Gibson went 5-for-8 with three runs scored. The Austin, Texas native was also successful in her only stolen base attempt.
• Top Pitcher: Freshman LHP Brook Bolinger threw a team-high 18 2/3 innings over three starts last week at the Kajikawa Classic. She went 1-1 on the week with a 3.00 ERA after allowing 10 runs, eight earned. Opponents hit .289 off Bolinger, including three home runs. She walked eight and struck out nine. 
• Team Notes: Nevada opened the season with back-to-back wins over Bradley (7-6) and Indiana (5-3). They then dropped two straight to Wisconsin (3-2) and Boston College (8-1), before picking up a 2-1 win over East Carolina to end the week. The Wolf Pack hit .254 as a team, while opponents hit .324.

SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS
• Head Coach: 
• Record: 1-5 overall
• Top Hitter: Sophomore Brittany Abacherli led the Spartans at the plate, hitting .400 on the week. She went 8-for-20 with four runs scored, two doubles, the team's lone home run, and a team-high six RBIs.
• Top Pitcher: Katelyn Linford has throws a team-high 12 2/3 innings this season and is second on the team with an 8.53 ERA. 
• Team Notes: The Spartans opened the season with four straight losses at the Kajikawa Classic to BYU, #22 Arizona State, Boston College, and Oregon State. They picked up their only win of the season, 10-1, over Virginia before losing to #8 Tennessee to close out the week. San Jose State is hitting .266 on the season, while opponents are hitting .366. The Spartans have a team ERA of 10.04, after giving up 44 runs, 42 earned, 

UNLV REBELS
• Head Coach: Lisa Dodd is 76-91 in four years leading the Rebels. 
• Record: 4-2 overall
• Top Hitter: Janine Petmecky leads the team with a .706 batting average after going 12-for-17 over the first six games of the season. She leads the team in hits (12), runs scored (5), slugging percentage (1.000), and on base percentage (.762). She recorded multiple hits in four games this season. 
• Top Pitcher: Morgan Ettinger is 3-0 on the season with a 2.05 ERA. She leads the team with 13 2/3 innings pitched on the season and has allowed just four earned runs. She has walked four and struck out six. Opponents are hitting .275 off of Petmecky. 
• Team Notes: UNLV opened the season with a 7-3 loss to Texas Tech. The Rebels then won three straight, including a five-inning run-rule win over Utah Valley (11-1). UNLV then got run-ruled by Washington (9-0) in six innings before wrapping up the opening weekend with a 7-3 win over South Dakota. UNLV is hitting .329 as a team and has out-scored opponents 30-23 this season. The UNLV pitching staff has a combined 3.95 ERA on the year. 

2016 WEEKLY RECAPS
Week 1 - Kajikawa Classic (Feb. 12-14)
• Portland State opened the season 0-5 at the Kajikawa Classic. 
• Portland State hit .311 with three doubles, a home run, and 16 RBIs.
• Senior OF Brianna Celaya hit .571 (8-for-14) with three runs scored, a double, home run, and two RBIs. She posted an OPS of 1.504 on the week.
• Senior IF Melissa Masters (.500), junior IF/OF Shae Nelson (.462), and senior IF Ashley Smith (.400) all hit over .400 on the weekend. 
• Portland State pitchers went 0-5 with a 9.54 ERA after allowing 52 runs, 37 earned, over 25 1/3 innings. 
• Junior LHP Meagan Hendrix went 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA over 14 2/3 innings pitched. She struckout 10 batters on the weekend. 
• Portland State committed 10 errors which led to 15 unearned runs on the weekend. 

2016 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
• Feb. 14 - Brianna Celaya hit the first home run of the season by a Viking against Arizona State. 

2016 PRESEASON NOTES
• Head Coach Barb Sherwood is in her third year of leading the Vikings. Portland State doubled its win total from year one to year two in both overall and Big Sky Conference wins in 2015. 
• Portland State returns six starters, 13 letterwinners, and nearly its entire pitching staff from last year's squad that went 16-35 overall and 8-13 in conference play. The Vikings add five newcomers, which includes a pair of freshmen and three transfers. 
• Portland State will have to replace the majority of its offensive production from a year ago. The Vikings graduated two seniors who accounted for over 30-percent of the team's hits (112), doubles (17), and RBIs (71), while accounting for 54-percent of the team's home runs (13).
• The Portland State pitching staff tallied a 4.72 team ERA in 2015 which was 2.38 points better than the previous season. The Vikings will have to continue to improve their team ERA if they want to contend for their second Big Sky Conference championship.
• The Big Sky Conference Tournament has been expanded to six teams for the 2016 season. The double-elimination tournament will be hosted by the regular season champion May 12-14. 
• Head softball coach Barb Sherwood has announced addition of 10 players for the for the 2016-17 academic year on Nov. 11, 2015. Sierra Boyajian (Newhall, CA/Hart HS), Marissa Bruno (Monterey, CA/Santa Catalina HS), Riley Casper (Encinitas, CA, La Costa Canyon HS), Elena Cook (Boise State, ID/Boise HS), Emma Datamore (Woodland Hills, CA/Louisville HS), Taylor Gunesch (Salem, OR/West Salem HS), Korina Krueg (Lodi, CA/Tokay HS), Alexis Morrison (Pendleton, OR/Pendleton HS), Alexxis Ponce (Whittier, CA/Santa Fe HS), and Hannah Self (Tigard, OR/Tualatin HS) will all join the Vikings in the fall of 2016.