Complete Release in PDF Format

FIRST PITCH
     The Vikings hit the road again this week for five games at the DeMarini Invitational, February 15-17, hosted by Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. 
     Portland State (2-4 overall) opens the DeMarini Invitational with back-to-back games against the Pacific Tigers (2-3). The Vikings then take on host Stanford (4-1) before facing Iowa State (1-4). PSU is schedule to close out the invitational against Colorado State (3-1). 
     Portland State picked up a pair of wins, and had chances to win a couple more, over the opening weekend of the season in San Diego, Calif. After dropping the first two games, the Vikings tallied back-to-back wins against Cal Poly (6-4) and host San Diego (3-2). 
     PSU dropped the final two games of the weekend to finish 2-4 on the weekend. As a team, the Vikings hit .275 at the plate and had a 4.30 ERA in the circle. 
     Junior Darian Lindsey led the Vikings at the plate with a .471 batting average, en route to her first Big Sky Player of the Week honor of the season. She tallied eight hits, seven runs scored, three doubles, a triple, and two runs batted in. She slugged .765 and had an on-base percentage of .591 after being walked once and hit by a pitch four times. She closed out the weekend on a five-game hitting streak as well. 
     Kaela Morrow started her senior season off with a bang, recording four-straight multi-hit games. She finished with a .409 batting average with four runs scored and four driven in. 
     Juniors Alexxis Ponce and Riley Casper each hit over .300 for the tournament, hitting .316 and .313 respectively. 

INCLEMENT WEATHER: There is plenty of rain in the forecast for the Stanford area this weekend so there is the possibility of game times being changed. Check GoViks.com along with the PSU Softball social media accounts for updated info. 

GAME COVERAGE: All games at the DeMarini Invitational will feature Live Stats and all games played against the Stanford Cardinal will be live streamed through the Pac-12. Links for all can be found on the softball schedule page on 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

2019 NOTES
POTW HONORS: Portland State picked up the first Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honor thanks to junior Darian Lindsey. 
Lindsey earned her second career conference POTW honor (2/11/19), she earned the final honor of 2018, after hitting .471 (8-for-17) with seven runs scored and two driven in. She closed out the week hitting safely in five-straight games, including three-straight multi-hit games. 

GOING STREAKING: Jessica Flanagan came into the season riding and eight-game hitting streak. She extended that to 11 games before the streak ended against Marshall (2/9). Kaela Morrow opened the season with a four-game hit streak before having it broken. Darian Lindsey and Alexxis Ponce are each riding five- and four-game hitting streaks respectively. 

LAYING IT DOWN: The sacrifice bunt has been a particular point of emphasis for Head Coach Meadow McWhorter and the Vikings. In 2018 the Vikings laid down 46 sacrifice bunts in 52 games (.885 per game) with Darian Lindsey leading the team with 10. Through just six games, the Vikings have already dropped down 13 sac bunts (2.16 per game). Lindsey has two so far this season but it is sophomore Rachel Menlove who leads the team with four. 

EFFICIENCY: In her first start in a Portland State uniform, junior Katie Schroeder put together one of the most efficient pitching performances, despite picking up the loss. She threw 82 pitches over 6 2/3 innings against San Diego (2/8) with 61 strikes for a 74% strike percentage. 

PRESEASON NOTES
ALL-CONFERENCE: Four Vikings were named to the 2018 All-Big Sky Conference First and Second Teams, the most since 2013. Kaela Morrow earned first team honors as a non-pitcher utility player after hitting .346 with a team-high seven home runs. Morrow is the first Vikings to earn first team honors since Brittany Hendrickson in 2015. Darian Lindsey (SS), Rachel Menlove (C), and Alyssa Burk (P) all earned second team honors. 

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Darian Lindsey became the first Viking to be named the Big Sky Conference's Newcomer of the Year. Lindsey hit .324 overall and .431 in league play in her first season on the Park Blocks. She led the team with 31 runs scored and boasted a team-best .953 OPS. She was third on the team with five home runs and 25 runs batted in. She posted a team-high six multi-RBI games.

SERIES WINS: The Vikings won four Big Sky series in 2018, the most since they won five in 2013. Here's a list of the series wins this season:

• Portland State picked up its first conference series win of the year after defeating Idaho State, 2-1, at home. The Vikings took the first game 2-1 in 10 innings behind a tremendous pitching performance by Alyssa Burk. After dropping game two 5-4, Burk threw her first complete-game shutout in game three as the Vikings took the series with a 5-0 win in the rubber-match.
• Portland State earned its first series sweep of the season, albeit a weather-shorted two-game series, with a pair of wins at Northern Colorado (4/14). The Vikings took the first game 12-4 in five innings before plating two runs in the top of the seventh to take game two, 3-2. 
• Portland State picked up its third Big Sky series win of the season taking 2-of-3 at Montana. It is the first time since 2015 that the Vikings have tallied three series wins. PSU won five series in 2013, the first year of Big Sky softball.
• Portland State made it three-straight series wins, taking 2-of-3 from conference leading Weber State to close out its home schedule. Weber State took the first game 3-1 before the Vikings evened the series with a 2-1 win in game two behind an outstanding pitching performance by Emma Detamore. The Vikings needed a pair of home runs, including a two-run home run by Mariah Gonzalez, to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Portland State went on to win the rubber-match, 4-3 in eight innings, after a walk-off single by Marissa Bruno.