Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 TEMPE – Following a victory over Grand Canyon University on Friday, the Portland State softball team was unable to solve a pair of powerful offenses in No. 25 Iowa and No. 11/13 Arizona State this afternoon, falling to the Cyclones 13-2 and the Sun Devils 8-0.
Portland State began the day in a rematch with Iowa State, hoping to repeat the early innings of yesterday's contest in which the Vikings led for the opening 3.5 innings before eventually falling 10-6.
Doing just that, the Vikings pushed one run across in the top of the first thanks to an Emily Johansen RBI scoring Marissa Bruno. ISU shutdown the Vikings until the fourth when Bruno knocked one through the right side to bring home Hannah Sisul, cutting the Cyclones' lead to two (4-2).
Senior Katie Schroeder got the start for PSU in the circle, keeping the Vikings well within reach for the opening three innings. Iowa State came alive in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs to open the frame.
Haley Schimmel took things over in the circle but was unable to tame the Cyclones' fourth-inning rally. Entering the fifth inning with a 13-2 lead, ISU held the Vikings' scoreless to lock in the five-inning victory.
Bruno, Johansen, Ariana Abalos and, Logan Riggenbach each recorded hits for the Vikings.
Portland State turned to game two facing No. 11/13 Arizona State.
Serafine Parrish started in the circle for PSU, holding her own through the first few innings. Marisol Gaona took things over in the fourth following an ASU rally. Gaona escaped the inning without further damage as ASU held a 5-0 lead.
The Sun Devils pushed three more runs across in the following two innings to take an 8-0 advantage. Allicite Frost and Maria Rodriguez strung together a pair of hits to keep the game alive in the top of the fifth but the Sun Devils managed to shut down the final three batters, clinching the 8-0 win. Â
The Vikings recorded five hits in the contest, led by Frost who knocked two base hits in her collegiate debut.
Portland State will face the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to close out the GCU Purple Classic on Sunday (9 AM MT).
