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FIRST PITCH
     The Portland State softball team opens its 2018 campaign this week at the Bobcat Classic hosted by Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. 
     The Vikings open the season against the Sam Houston State Bearcats on Friday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. CT. They will then take on No. 9 Florida State later in the day at 1:30 p.m. CT. 
     The next day, Saturday, Feb. 11, Portland State will take on Sam Houston State and Florida State again starting at 3:00 p.m. CT and 5:30 p.m. CT respectively. The Vikings close out the opening week of the season against host Texas State on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. CT. 

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

LIVE VIDEO: Live video of all five games is available for a subscription fee. 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
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YouTube - @GoPortlandState

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. 

UP NEXT
After an early-season bye week, the Vikings hit the road again for the UTEP Tournament, Feb. 23-25 in El Paso, Texas. Portland State will face New Mexico State three times and UTEP twice. 

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SEASON PREVIEW
With a new year comes renewed hope and optimism for the Portland State softball team. The inaugural season for second-year Head Coach Meadow McWhorter did not go as the Vikings had planned in 2017 but after a full year with the program and a full recruiting class, McWhorter has the program moving in the right direction.   

"Our returners really set the tone for this season early in the fall. While last year was tough, there were a lot of successes that weren't measured in the win column and we felt that as a team," McWhorter said. "There was a lot of excitement and anticipation about this season from our returners and that showed with how hard they worked during the summer. Their performances this fall turned a page for us and they know what to expect from us as a staff."

McWhorter had a young team in year one and that is the case again in year two. Portland State has 18 underclassmen on its 22-player roster, which is the most of any Big Sky Conference team. Even out of their four upperclassmen, only three have played in more than 50 career games at PSU with SR IF Kortney Craker leading the way with 81 career games. 

"At the end of last season, we talked to the freshmen about what a significant role they would play when they got back," McWhorter added. "There will be times when the entire starting lineup with be freshmen and sophomores. We expect our juniors and seniors to play significant roles but there are only four of them. There is a lot of hope and looking to the future with so many freshmen and sophomores playing such big roles this year." 

With the abundance of youth, there is an abundance of talent and willingness to do what it takes to get better every single day. That is what McWhorter and her staff demand and that is what will make the 42nd incarnation of the Portland State softball team so much fun to watch in 2018. 

PITCHING STAFF
The Vikings go into the season with its largest pitching staff in recent years. Portland State returns two letterwinners from a year ago, while welcoming two true freshmen into the circle. 

Alyssa Burk, a Fontana, Calif. native, returns as the most experience pitcher on the young roster. She went 5-16 with a team-bets 4.80 ERA as a sophomore. After an injury on the pitching staff, Burk put the team on her back over the final eight Big Sky Conference games. She threw eight-straight complete games, including one shutout, going 3-5 with a 1.45 ERA after allowing just 12 earned runs over 58 innings pitched. Opponents hit just .172 off her over that stretch. 

"Alyssa had an exception fall. She worked harder this summer than she ever has," McWhorter said. "It's been really nice to see her step into more of a leadership role. Her mentality and her competitiveness is something that this team really needs. When the game is on the line, she wants the ball. She doesn't shy away from that opportunity."

Emma Detamore is the only other returning pitcher on the Vikings' staff. The sophomore from Woodland Hills, Calif. threw 111 1/3 innings during her freshman season before missing the last three weeks of the year due to an injury. She picked up four wins in her first year on the Park Blocks and had a 6.98 ERA. 

Burk and Detamore will get some help in the circle this season with the addition of freshmen pitchers Serafine Parrish and Haley Schimmel. 

THE BACKSTOPS 
Portland State added more depth behind the plate in 2018 with three viable catchers on the roster. Leading the way with her experience and leadership will be junior Kaela Morrow from Santa Clarita, Calif. 

Morrow played in 33 games, making 27 starts, behind the plate as a sophomore in 2017. She hit .284 with 10 runs scored and 10 runs batted in. She threw out four runners a year ago but allowed 42 stolen bases, which has been a point of emphasis for Morrow and McWhorter this offseason. 

Right behind Morrow on the depth chart is true freshman Rachel Menlove. Menlove, an Eagle, Idaho native, will see time on the field this season either behind the plate or as the designated player. She has a strong arm and a lot of power in her bat, which will make it hard to keep her out of the lineup. She was a four-year letterwinner at Eagle High school where she hit .440 for her career with 141 RBIs and 87 runs scored. 

Sophomore Hannah Self could also see time behind the plate but has been working out in the outfield for most of the preseason. 

AROUND THE HORN
With the infusion of new young talent, there will be several new faces appearing around the infield this season for Portland State. The Vikings return one player who made more than 30 starts on the infield a year ago in senior Kortney Craker. 

Craker, a San Marcos, Calif. native, played in 33 games, making 32 starts at first base a year ago. She hit .209 with 13 runs scored and 10 driven in. She was second on the team in doubles with six and had one of the team's four home runs on the year. She has seen quite a bit of time at third base during the preseason and could make the switch to the hot corner for 2018. 

Sophomore transfer Ashley Doyle is a natural first baseman and will see significant time at first this season. She will also bring power to the lineup. She played her freshman season at Western Oregon where she hit .324 with nine multi-hit and seven multi-RBI games. She slugged .441 with an on base percentage of .375. She posted a .990 fielding percentage, committing just two errors in 193 chances. 

Second baseman Riley Casper is the only other returner on the infield for the Vikings. The Encinitas, Calif. native played 24 games, making 11 starts, at second base. She tallied just five hits in 37 at bats a year ago but was productive, with three doubles and six runs driven in. She is expected to see her role expand dramatically this season. 

Joining Casper up the middle for the Vikings are a pair of transfers along with a true freshman. Sophomore transfer Darian Lindsey has seen quite a bit of action at short stop and at third. 

Lindsey, the sister of former Viking SheaLee Lindsey, played for McWhorter at Mt. Hood Community College in 2015 before redshirting the 2016 season due to an injury. As a true freshman she hit .477 with 73 hits in 153 at bats. She hit 14 home runs, drove in 46, walked 20 times, and scored 68 runs. She tallied 25 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games in 44 games played. She is a true all-around athlete and will make an immediate impact on the Vikings' lineup. 

Seeing time behind Casper and Lindsey up the middle will be sophomore transfer Jessica Flanagan and freshman Sydnee Machado, Flanagan hit .314 in 31 games at Seattle University as a freshman in 2017. Machado played softball for four years at Orestimba High School in Newman, Calif. She hit .636 with an on base percentage of .674. 

Manning the hot corner along with Craker this season will be freshman Ariana Abalos. She was a three-time team captain of her Arcadia High School softball team in Phoenix, Ariz. She has tremendous reflexes at third, the range to cover the 5-6 gap, and the arm to make all the throws. 

Sophomore Sierra Boyajian could see time at third as well for the Vikings. Freshman Kayla Kappmeyer will also be in the mix at first but has seen limited action during the preseason due to an injury. 


ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD
With all the movement and new faces on the infield, there will be more familiar faces in the outfield in 2018. The Vikings return two of their three starters from a year ago in Tayler Gunesch and Marissa Bruno. Three infielders, who have moved their way into the outfield, and a true freshman make up the outfield corps this season. 

Gunesch played in 44 games, making 39 starts, as a true freshman a year ago. She hit .296 with 11 runs scored and was 8-for-10 in stolen base attempts. She has true speed and is one of the fastest players on the roster. She will be roaming center field this year. 

Bruno played in 36 games, making 34 starts in the outfield as a true freshman. She hit .266 with 11 runs scored, six extra-base hits, and six runs batted in. Bruno went 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts. Her combination of speed, accuracy, and arm strength is why she will see a lot of time in right field. 

Battling it out for the starting spot in left field will be Alexis Morrison and Alexxis Ponce. Both started their Portland State careers on the infield, through Morrison started four games in the outfield a year ago. 

Morrison hit .279 with 19 hits, eight runs scored, six doubles, a home run, and was second on the team with 16 RBIs a year ago. She has seen a lot of growth between her freshman and sophomore years. She has developed into one of the Vikings more powerful hitters and looks to be somewhere in the middle-third of the lineup. 

Ponce saw limited action in her first season on the Park Blocks. She tallied three hits, scored a run and drove in a run in just 14 games. She has become a more consistent hitter at the plate and her strong arm has transitioned well to the outfield. Ponce and Morrison will not only be in the mix for the final outfield position but also for the role as designated player.

Senior Mariah Gonzalez has battled through injury over the past two years and could see time in the outfield as could freshman Ashlyn Monroe. Self has also transitioned to the outfield and could be the first batter off the bench in a pinch-hitting role if she is not already in the lineup. She had a pair of pinch hits a year ago, including a two-out home run in a win at Idaho State last season.