PORTLAND – The season has arrived for the Portland State softball team as the Vikings kick off the 2020 campaign at the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State in Temp, Ariz., Friday, Feb. 7-9.
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:

Friday. Feb. 7	vs.	Western Michigan	10 a.m. PT
Friday, Feb. 7	at	Arizona State	2:30 p.m. PT	Live Stats	Live Video
Saturday, Feb. 8	vs.	Arizona	8 a.m. PT
Saturday, Feb. 8	vs.	Utah	1 p.m. PT	Live Stats	Live Video
Sunday, Feb. 9	vs.	Northwestern	8 a.m. PT

 
The Vikings will play five games in three days, starting off with Western Michigan and Arizona State on Friday, followed by Arizona and Utah on Saturday, and Northwestern on Sunday. The Kajikawa Classic is one of six tournaments Portland State will play prior to the start of the Big Sky Conference schedule.
 
Portland State finished fifth in the Big Sky last season with a conference record of 8-9, going 20-31 overall. The Vikings return 15 total players from last year's roster including eight starters while adding seven newcomers.
 
The Vikings return a talented group of seniors including infielder Darian Lindsey who led the team in batting average at .404, which tied for the 48^th highest average in all of Division I. Five players hit above .300 for the season while Lindsey and Rachel Menlove collected 33 and 26 RBIs respectively.
 
In the circle, Katie Schroeder led the squad with nine wins and a 3.33 ERA followed by Serafine Parrish at 3.79.
 
ACTIVE STREAKS:
Senior outfielder Tayler Gunesch returned halfway through the season last year and made an immediate impact as she takes a streak of reaching base safely in 18 straight games into the 2020 season. She is also on a hitting streak after collecting a hit in the final eight games of the season.
 
PRESEASON POLL:
After a vote by the league's head coaches, the Vikings were selected to finish third overall in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll, collecting one of seven first-place votes.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN:
The Broncos finished the 2019 season with an 18-28 overall record, finishing eighth in the Mid-American Conference with a 9-11 conference record. Western Michigan returns 12 players from last season who finished with a team batting average of .276, combining for 353 hits and 184 total runs. The Broncos struggled a bit in the field, committing 74 errors in the season.
 
Sydney Stefanick leads the group of returners, both offensively and in the circle. At the plate, Stefanick finished with team-highs in batting average (.380), hits (54), total bases (99), RBIs (47), and home runs (12), while having the lowest ERA (3.05), most wins (10), and most strikeouts (97). She is a two-time First-Team All-MAC honoree and earned NFCA All-Region First-Team last season.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN:
Friday's game will be the first meeting between these two teams in program history.
 
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE:
Arizona State enters the first week of competition ranked 22^nd overall in the NFCA Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing last season with a 35-20 overall record and ranked 24^th in the final poll. The Sun Devils open their season against the Vikings on Friday afternoon.
 
Last season, Arizona State hit .319 as a team while combining for 437 hits, 378 RBIs, and 91 home runs, the second-highest tally in the Pac-12 behind Arizona. The Sun Devils struggled a bit in the circle, holding an ERA of 4.64 which ranked seventh out of the nine teams in the conference.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ARIZONA STATE:
ASU leads the all-time series against the Vikings, holding a perfect 13-0 record. Their last meeting took place in the 2017 season which the Sun Devils won 7-1.
 
SCOUTING ARIZONA:
Arizona ranks as the top team the Vikings will face this season, sitting at No. 5 in the preseason poll with one first-place vote. The Wildcats were selected to finish third overall in the Pac-12 poll behind Washington and UCLA. Arizona will take on Kansas and Seattle before facing the Vikings on day two of the tournament.
 
The Wildcats were a prolific offense last season, totaling 110 home runs which ranked second in Division I, only behind Oklahoma with 115. They collected the second-most hits in the Pac-12 with 527 and finished with 402 runs scored. Arizona returns 15 letterwinners including seven starters in the field and four pitchers. Of their returners, five were named to a Pac-12 All-Conference team last season.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ARIZONA:
Arizona holds an all-time record of 3-0 against the Vikings, winning the last match up 8-1 during the 2013 season.
 
SCOUTING UTAH:
Utah is coming off a down year, finishing seventh overall in the Pac-12 standings a season ago at 7-17, 19-35 overall. The Utes return seven starters in the field and three pitchers while adding eight newcomers to the squad.
 
Utah struggled from the circle, ranking last in the Pac-12 in ERA at 6.35, giving up 463 hits and 59 home runs on the season. Offensively, the Utes were seventh in batting average at .273 and collected 204 runs off of 365 hits and 38 home runs.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UTAH:
The Vikings are behind in the all-time series against the Utes, holding a record of 2-8 overall. The last meeting happened during the 2016 season as Utah took an 8-0 victory. Portland State earned a win over Utah back in 2012, winning 2-0.
 
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN:
Northwestern enters the season ranked 14^th overall in the NFCA preseason rankings after finishing 43-17 and hosting an opening regional round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are led by returning sophomore pitcher Danelle Williams who was named to the Collegiate Player of the Year watchlist by USA Softball. Last season she finished with 31 wins to lead the Big Ten, holding an ERA of 1.55 with 317 strikeouts. She also produced at the plate, hitting .306 with nine RBIs.
 
As a team, the Wildcats hit .267 with 403 hits, 284 RBIs, and 57 home runs while holding their opponents to a batting average of .190. Northwestern finished with a team ERA of 1.95, totaling 464 strikeouts.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NORTHWESTERN:
Northwestern holds an all-time record of 4-0 against the Vikings with the last meeting taking place during the 2018 season, a 7-4 win for the Wildcats.