LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. – The Portland state softball team split day one of the Golden State Classic, opening the tournament with a 4-2 victory over San Diego before falling to Utah State 5-1 on Friday at Rosetta Canyon Sports Park.
The Vikings (2-5) opened up their second straight tournament with a win, starting the Kajikawa Classic with a 13-2 win over Western Michigan.
Emily Johansen hit her second home run of the season, leading the Vikings with two hits and four RBIs on the day while
Tayler Gunesch collected two hits and scored two runs.
GAME ONE: PORTLAND STATE 4, SAN DIEGO 2
The Vikings jumped ahead early in the first inning as Gunesch led off with a triple before
Marissa Bruno doubled to get Portland State on the board.
Darian Lindsey forced a walk followed by a three RBI home run by Johansen to give the Vikings a 4-0 lead.
San Diego cut into the lead in the third inning, hitting an RBI double while Kelli Kufta scored the second run with a single before being thrown out running to second.
Olivia Grey tossed her first complete game, giving up two runs off of three hits with five strikeouts and only two walks.
The Vikings hit .227 on the day while Bruno tallied her fifth run scored on the season. Portland State has now won the last two meetings against the Toreros.
GAME TWO: UTAH STATE 5, PORTLAND STATE 1
Portland State scored in the first inning in game two as Gunesch led off with another hit, singling down the left side. After advancing to second on a ground out, Gunesch scored her second run of the day as Johansen singled down the left field line.
Utah State tied the game in the third inning, hitting a solo home run to right field. In the bottom of the fourth, the Aggies tallied three runs collecting four straight hits to go up 4-1.
The Aggies added an insurance run in the fifth inning, hitting their second solo home run on the game.
Katie Schroeder tossed six innings of work as she moved to 1-1 on the season. Schroeder gave up five runs off of eight hits while collecting three strikeouts and forcing 10 groundouts on the day.
The Vikings continue action at the Golden State Classic tomorrow, playing two more games starting with Army at noon and UC Davis at 4:30 p.m.
