PORTLAND – The Portland State softball team is set for its second consecutive Big Sky road series this weekend as they head to Cedar City to take on Southern Utah.
The Vikings and Bears will open the series on Friday in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. PT and will close out the weekend on Saturday with a single game slated for 10 a.m. PT.
The series will be held in Cedar City, Utah at Kathryn Berg Field. All three games will be broadcasted live on Pluto TV.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings dropped two of their three games against Northern Colorado last weekend, as they moved to 4-19 overall and 1-5 in conference action.
Despite falling in the opening two contests, the Portland State offense had a strong showing in Greeley, totaling 38 hits, 18 RBI, and seven doubles over three games. PSU pulled off its first Big Sky victory of the season in game three of the series after securing a 9-6 eight-inning win.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Senior Marissa Bruno enters the weekend leading the Vikings in several offensive categories including, batting average (.363), hits (29), on-base percentage (.409), total bases (42), and stolen bases (12). Bruno, alongside Rachel Menlove, holds a team-high 15 RBI on the season. Menlove follows closely behind Bruno with a .349 average to go along with a team-best five home runs and a .651 slugging percentage.
HOT BATS
Totaling 38 hits as a team against the Bears, the Vikings saw several different players produce at the plate. Olivia Dean was 5-9 (.556) scoring five runs, three doubles, and a trio of RBI while Paetynn Lopez was 5-10 (.500) in the three-game series scoring two runs in addition to a pair of RBI.
The top of the lineup has been unstoppable all season for Portland State and last weekend was no different. In the leadoff spot, Bruno was 7-14 (.500) with five RBI against Northern Colorado, while Maddie Thompson was equally as impressive in the two spots, going 7-13 (.538) to go along with 2 RBI. Bruno has reached base in 13 consecutive games while holding a five-game hit streak.
BREAKING RECORDS
Bruno slammed her 12th career triple against the Bears on Saturday, breaking the program's all-time (division I era) career triples record. The redshirt senior now sits at the top of the list just one spot above previous record holder, Kiauna Anderson who held the record for 20 seasons.
Bruno is just one steal away from breaking the program's all-time (division I era) career stolen bases record (34). The redshirt senior recorded the 12th stolen base of the season to join Whitney Olsen at the top of the list. Olsen has been the lone record holder since 2005.
BASE THIEVES
Portland State is an astounding 36-38 stealing bases this season. Prior to their series against UNC, the Vikings went seven-straight games without getting thrown out while tallying 18 stolen bases. Bruno leads the way with 12 on the year while Thompson has 11. The Vikings will look to build on an 18-game stolen base streak against the Thunderbirds.
BIG SKY LEADERBOARD
- PSU leads the Big Sky in two offensive categories – batting average (.296) and stolen bases (38)
- Bruno (12), Thompson (11), and Dean (7) are ranked as the top three base stealers in the conference
- Bruno is fourth in the Big Sky with a .363 batting average
- Menlove's .651 slugging percentage sits at sixth in the conference
- Allicitie Frost ranks third in the conference with a 3.72 ERA and currently ranks second after holding her opponents to a .240 batting average
- The Vikings pitching staff has accumulated 124 strikeouts this season which ranks second in the Big Sky
BY THE NUMBERS – SEASON TOTALS
Team Batting Average: .296 (180-608)
Opponent Batting Average: .331 (203-613)
Errors/Fielding Percentage: 25 (.957)
ERA/Strikeouts/Walks: 6.74 ERA, 124 strikeouts, 74 walks
SOUTHERN UTAH
The Thunderbirds are coming off a 7-5 loss to Utah this past Wednesday which dropped them to 11-18 overall. SUU was picked sixth in the Big Sky entering the season and currently holds a 3-0 conference record after sweeping Idaho State to open conference action. The Thunderbirds have been on a roll at the plate so far this year as they lead the conference with 38 total home runs and are home to the Big Sky batting average leader in Josey white (.427).
SERIES HISTORY
The Vikings last saw the Thunderbirds in 2019 as they took care of business with three-straight wins improving to 24-15 all-time against SUU.
