HILLSBORO, Ore. – After picking up a pair of wins Friday to take the series, the Vikings were unable to complete the series sweep of Northern Colorado, falling 8-0 in five innings.
 
The Vikings (5-21 overall, 3-3 Big Sky Conference) were held to just one hit in the game, that coming on an infield single by senior IF Shae Nelson. The hit broke up the perfect game in the bottom of the fourth inning and extended her hitting streak to five games.
 
Nelson is having a career year as a senior leading the team with a .402 batting average. She hit .788, going 7-for-9 with a run scored and two RBIs over the three games against Northern Colorado. Over her current five-game hitting streak, Nelson is hitting .556 (10-for-18).
 
Freshman RHP Emma Detamore pitched a perfect top of the first and then got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the second to keep the game scoreless. Northern Colorado (14-23, 2-4) scored the game's first run in the top of the third after a leadoff double came around to score to make it a 1-0 game.
 
A leadoff walk came around to score in the top of the fourth as the Bears made it a 2-0 ballgame.
 
Sophomore RHP Alyssa Burk, who came on in relief of Detamore in the fourth inning, gave up back-to-back hits in the top of the fifth. She induced a fly ball out to left for the first out before a sacrifice fly to right drove in a run to put the Bears up 3-0 with one on with two outs in the fifth.
 
A Portland State error allowed the next batter to reach to extend the inning. That is when the wheels fell off the proverbial bus for the Vikings. Northern Colorado plated five more runs in the inning, all unearned, to take an 8-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth.
 
Northern Colorado ended the game via the run rule after shutting down Portland State in the bottom of the inning.
 
Portland State hits the road for a non-conference road doubleheader against No. 1 Oregon on Tuesday, April 4 in Eugene, Ore. The first game of the twin bill is slated for 5 p.m. PT.
 
Portland State will then return home for another Big Sky three-game series against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. SUU and PSU are tied for fourth in the conference with identical 3-3 records. The series will open with a doubleheader on Friday, April 7 beginning at 1 p.m. The series finale is slated for Saturday, April 8 at 12 p.m.