PORTLAND – The Portland State softball team will return to action this weekend at the University of Oregon Invitational in Eugene. The Vikings will play Oregon and Boise State University in a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.  

The three-team tournament was originally scheduled for Friday and Saturday (March 5-6) but was postponed on Wednesday due to weather concerns.

OREGON INVITE SCHEDULE

Saturday, March 6

11 a.m. – Portland State vs. Boise State

1:30 p.m. – Oregon vs. Portland State

4 p.m. – Oregon vs. Boise State

Sunday, March 7

10 a.m. – Boise State vs. Portland State

12:30 p.m. – Oregon vs. Boise State

3 p.m. – Oregon vs. Portland State

LAST TIME OUT 

Portland State started its 2021 campaign last weekend (Feb. 26-28) at the Grand Canyon Purple Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. The Vikings went 1-4 on the weekend, clinching its one victory over Grand Canyon University 5-4. PSU fell in a pair of games to then-No. 25 Iowa State, No. 11 Arizona State, and the now top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
 

RANKED OPPONENTS

Eight of the Vikings' opening 13 games will be played against ranked opponents this season. Following a trio of contests against ranked teams last weekend (Arizona State, Oklahoma, and Iowa State) the Vikings gear up to face No. 6 Oregon this coming weekend. The Vikings will then travel to Seattle for the Husky Invitational on March 12-14 where they will battle the eighth-ranked Huskies. 

The Vikings' last victory over a ranked opponent came in 2011 as they took down 16th ranked BYU 4-3.

BY THE NUMBERS – VIKING STAT LEADERS

Seniors Rachel Menlove and Marissa Bruno led the Vikings with four hits at the Purple Classic. Seeing fewer at-bats than the senior duo, a pair of freshmen in Shea Garcia and Logan Riggenbach lead the way tied for a team-best .375 average at the plate (3-8). The Vikings have a team batting average of .245 following opening weekend. 

Redshirt freshman Olivia Grey earned the win in the circle for the Vikings last Friday after tossing a complete game, recording 11 strikeouts. She leads the pitching staff with a 1-1 record and 15 strikeouts.

VIKS STRIKE FIRST

Portland State scored 10 of its 13 runs in the opening two innings last weekend, jumping out to an early lead in three separate games. On the flip side, the Vikings' were held scoreless after the fourth frame in all five contests. 

FRESHMAN? NO PROBLEM…

A slew of true freshmen played big roles in the Vikings' opening weekend. Logan Riggenbach, Alexa Cepeda, Mariah Rodriguez, Maddie Thompson, Shea Garcia, Allicitie Frost, and Bailey Rose all saw starting roles in the opening days of their collegiate careers. The true freshman class totaled nearly half of PSU's 27 hits (13) and combined for 29 putouts in the field.

LOTS OF OPTIONS

18 different Vikings saw a starting role through the five-game affair in Phoenix, four of them starting in the circle for the Vikings.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE

Boise State enters Saturday with a 3-7 overall record. The Broncos are coming off a 1-4 weekend in Fullerton, Cali. where they went 1-1 against Cal Poly before falling to Cal State Fullerton in three consecutive contests.

Boise State holds a .222 team batting average, totaling six home runs and eight doubles for a .327 slugging percentage. The Broncos have struck out a total of 54 times while going 4-6 on the base paths.

The Broncos have been impressive defensively playing solid defense through ten games, suffering just one error. Hannah Bailey leads the pitching staff with a 1-0 record, 2.38 ERA, and 20 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched.

SERIES HISTORY

Head Coach Meadow McWhorter and the Vikings will have the opportunity to take the all-time series lead over the Broncos as the girls in blue currently hold a 5-4 lead over PSU. The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a pair of Bronco wins in 2018.  
 

SCOUTING NO. 6 OREGON 

Oregon enters the tournament with a. 9-1 overall record, their one loss coming against then-No. 1 UCLA 9-3. The Ducks returned 19 of their 21 players from their stacked 2020 roster, including big names Haley Cruise and Samaria Diaz.

The Ducks have been dangerous at the plate, holding a .306 team batting average while slamming 12 home runs in the last six games. Oregon has thrived under pressure so far, notching 61% of its runs with two outs.

The Ducks pitching staff has combined for 78 strikeouts led by Brooke Yanez who holds 46 of those in 28 innings pitched.
 

SERIES HISTORY

In a series dating back to 1977, the Ducks hold a commanding 49-117-1 all-time series lead over the Vikings, their most recent victory occurring in 2020 following a 12-2 defeat.