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FIRST PITCH
The Vikings host first-place Montana for a three-game set this weekend at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex in Hillsboro, Ore. The series opens with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 22 beginning at 1 p.m. PT and is slated to conclude with a single game on Sunday, also beginning at 1 p.m.
     Portland State is looking to right the ship in time to make a late-season push at the Big Sky Conference tournament. The Vikings have lost their last five games overall, including a midweek non-conference game against Oregon State in Corvallis on Tuesday, and six of their last seven conference games.
     The Vikings are currently sitting on the outside looking in when it comes to making the tournament. They are seventh in the league a 0.5 game behind Sacramento State for the final tournament spot. The Vikings host the Hornets on the final weekend of the regular season. In fact, Portland State is just 2.0 games behind North Dakota for the four-seed. Portland State and North Dakota square off next week for a three-game series in Grand Forks, N.D.
     Despite the five-game losing streak, if the Vikings can pick up a few key wins over the final three weeks of the regular season, they will be in prime position for a Big Sky tournament bid. 

ONLINE: Live stats will be available for all three games against Montana this weekend. Links can be found on GoViks.com.

LIVE VIDEO: A live video stream will be available for all home games played on Gordon Faber Field 4. If games are moved to the turf field due to weather, a video stream will be unavailable. Links are available on GoViks.com. 

SOCIAL MEDIA: Stay informed with Portland State Softball on social media. See below for everything related to Portland State Softball.
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SENIOR CAMPAIGN
Senior IF Shae Nelson continues to thrive in her final season at Portland State. She leads the team, and is sixth in the Big Sky Conference, with a .370 batting average. She is on pace to finish in the top 10 all-time at PSU for single-season batting average. She leads PSU in on-base percentage (.421), runs scored (15), Hits (40), and is second in runs batted in (12). 

COMING ON STRONG
Senior IF Celena Carrisosa has come on strong in conference play. She entered league play hitting .118 with just four hits on the year. Since that time, She has raised her batting average over 100-points and is currently hitting .230 with four multi-hit games on the year. She hit safely in all three games at Weber State going, 4-for-7. 

STREAKS
Senior IF Shae Nelson had her five-game hitting streak broken Tuesday at Oregon State. She has hit safely in 12 of the last 14 games for the Vikings, hitting .386 (17-for-44) with six runs scored, a double, triple, and five runs batted in. 

SERIES WIN
Portland State picked up its first Big Sky series win of the season, taking 2-of-3 from the Northern Colorado Bears at home last weekend. The Vikings hit .290 as a team against the bears but the big story was the Vikings' pitching staff. Freshman Emma Detamore and Sophomore Alyssa Burk combined for a 1.84 ERA over the three games, allowing just five earned runs over 19.0 innings pitched. Detamore recorded her first complete-game shutout and tallied a career-high nine strikeouts in the series opener. Burk followed with a complete game win of her own in game two to take the series. 

4 FOR SHAE
Senior IF Shae Nelson posted the team's first four-hit game of the season, going a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and a run batted in against Seton Hall. She added her second four-hit game of the year, going 4-for-4 with a run scored and two driven in against Northern Colorado (3/31). 

FIRST WIN
Portland State picked up its first win of the season with a 4-3 win over Rhode Island in the final game of the GCU Invitational on Feb. 26 in Phoenix, Ariz. Not only did the Vikings get their first win of the year, but it was the first NCAA Division I win for first-year Head Coach Meadow McWhorter.  

YOUNG SQUAD
Portland State added 11 freshman to the roster heading into the season. The 11-member freshman class is tied for the largest in the country this year. 

UP NEXT
Portland State hits the road for its final road games of the regular season when it heads to Grand Forks, N.D. for a three-game series against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The series will open on Friday, April 28 with a doubleheader and with conclude with a single game the following day.   

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MONTANA GRIZZLIES
• Team: Montana enters play this weekend as the best team in the Big Sky Conference. The Grizzlies are 24-19 overall, 9-3 in league play, and winners of their least five games. Montana is the only team in the Big Sky to win every series this season. The Grizzlies are 14-4 in their last 18 games. UM is third in the Big Sky in both batting average (.277) and ERA (3.47). 
• Hitting: Montana has a pair of players hitting over .400 for the season. Delene Colburn leads the team with a .408 batting average with 51 hits on the year. She leads the Big Sky with 11 home runs and 45 runs batted in. Bethany Olea is hitting .405 on the year with 51 hits of her own. She leads the team with 36 runs scored and 27 walks. Her .519 on-base percentage is tops in the Big Sky.
• Pitching: Montana boasts one of the top pitching staffs in the Big Sky, anchored by Michaela Hood. She is 12-4 on the season with 2.27 ERA, second in the league. She is also second in the conference with 123 strikeouts on the year.    

vs. MONTANA
All-Time: Montana leads the all-time series, 5-2, after adding Softball for the 2015 season. Portland State took the series, 2-1, in 2015 but has lost each of the last four games.  
Last Season: Montana swept the season series in 2016, taking all three games in Missoula. The Vikings and Grizzlies met one more time at the Big Sky Tournament with UM taking that game, 14-8.