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FIRST PITCH
     The Vikings make the short trip north this week to Seattle, Wash. to take part in the Husky Classic hosted by the University of Washington. Portland State opens the week against the BYU Cougars on Friday, March 2. 
     After a pair of games against the Northwestern Wildcats, the Vikings take on a pair of ranked opponents beginning with No. 11 Alabama on  Saturday, March 3. PSU will close out the classic against top-ranked Washington on Sunday, March 4. First pitch against the No. 1 Huskies is slated for 12:15 p.m. PT.  
     Portland State went 1-4 last week at the UTEP Tournament taking a game from New Mexico State, 6-5. The Vikings hit .287 over the five games, hitting six total home runs, including four in their win over the Aggies. 

ONLINE: Live stats will be available for all five games at the Husky Classic. Links are available on the Softball schedule page at GoViks.com.

LIVE VIDEO: Live video will be available for all five games this week. Links are available on the Softball schedule page at GoViks.com.  

SOCIAL MEDIA: Stay informed with Portland State Softball on social media. See below for everything related to Portland State Softball.
Twitter - @PSUViksSB
Instagram - @PSUViksSB
Facebook - @PSUViksSB
YouTube - @GoPortlandState

UP NEXT: After playing the first three weeks on the road, the Vikings open their home slate on Wednesday, March 7 against Toledo at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex in Hillsboro, Ore. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 3 p.m. PT.  

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SCHEDULE ADDITION: Portland State has added a home doubleheader against Boise State on Tuesday, March 27 beginning at 12 p.m. PT. 

FRESH ARM: After not throwing over the first week of the season, RHP Emma Detamore made her season debut by allowing one unearned run on two hits over three complete innings against New Mexico State (2/23). She went 0-1 in three appearances and allowed five earned runs over 11 1/3 innings. 

GOING DEEP: After having the worst home run per game average in the nation a year ago, there has been an infusion of power this season. The Vikings have blasted eight long balls, which is tied for the most in the Big Sky Conference. Five of the eight homers have been hit by first-year players, led by Darian Lindsey's team-best three homers. 

FOUR DINGERS: Portland State hit four home runs, all solo and all by different hitters, in their 6-5 win over New Mexico State (2/24). It was the most home runs in a single game since the Vikings hit five against Hawaii in 2014. 

OPENING DAY WIN: Portland State picked up an 8-2 win over Sam Houston State to open the season. It was the first win to open the season for the Vikings since they opened the season with a 9-7 win over Nevada in 2015. Portland State is 4-6 in its last 10 games to start the season. 

GRAND SALAMI TIME: JR C Kaela Morrow became the first Viking since Brittany Hendrickson in 2014 to hit a grand slam. Morrow came up with the bases loaded in her first at bat of the season and hit her first home run in the top of the first against Sam Houston State.  

CAREER DAY: JR C Kaela Morrow started the season off with a career day. She went 2-for-4 with a run scored, her first career home run, which just happened to be a grand slam, and a career-high 5 RBIs. She became the first Viking since Alex Flores in 2016 to record five RBIs in a game. 

IMMEDIATE IMPACT: SO IF Darian Lindsey has had a tremendous impact on the Portland State roster in a short amount of time on the Park Blocks. She opened her PSU career with a 2-hit 3-RBI performance against Sam Houston State in a win. She leads the team in batting average (.364), slugging percentage (.909), on base percentage (.440), runs scored (6), hits (8), home runs (3), total bases (20) and is second in runs batted in (7). 

COMPLETE GAMES: JR RHP Alyssa Burk started the 2018 season right where she ended in 2017. She opened the year with a complete-game win over Sam Houston State. She allowed just two earned runs on two hits, she walked four and struck out five. It was her ninth-consecutive complete game, dating back to last season. She closed out the 2017 season with eight-straight compete games in Big Sky Conference play, going 3-5 in the process. 

LAST SEASON
Portland State went 9-36 overall and finished eighth in the Big Sky Conference with a 7-14 record. The Vikings missed out the on the Big Sky Tournament a year ago after making it in 2016. 

THE ROSTER
Portland State has a very young roster again in 2018 with 18 underclassmen (7 freshmen and 11 sophomores).The Vikings return 12 letterwinners from a year ago, including a pair of pitchers. They add 10 newcomers, including a trio of sophomore transfers. 

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT
The Big Sky Conference Championship will be held  May 10-12 in Ogden, Utah. It will be hosted by Weber State due to the Wildcat's regular season championship in 2017. Six teams will qualify for the double-elimination tournament with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.