PORTLAND, Ore. – After a 2-3 weekend at the UO/OSU Invitational, the Portland State softball team will return to action on Wednesday, March 16, for a non-conference doubleheader against Corban University at Gordon Faber Field 4 (3 & 5 p.m.). The Vikings enter Wednesday at 13-10 overall, while the Warriors are 11-14. 

Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available on vikslive.com.

LAST TIME OUT: UO/OSU INVITATIONAL

Portland State had a pair of impressive performances this past weekend at the UO/OSU Invitational. On Friday, they began the weekend with a 2-0 nine-inning victory against North Dakota State, before handing twenty-third ranked Oregon State a 6-1 loss on Saturday in Corvallis. The Vikings dropped the remainder of their games to No. 11 Oregon (7-0), No. 23/24 Oregon State (9-1), and North Dakota State (9-0). 

ROSTER RUNDOWN

Despite losing a handful of upperclassmen in 2021, the Vikings return a core group of starters from a year ago. Honorable Mention All-Big Sky selections Olivia Grey, Emily Johansen, Maddie Thompson, Olivia Dean, and Paetynn Lopez are among the returners.

The roster features seven new faces, including six freshmen. Playing the final season of her career at Portland State is senior catcher Jenny Marnin, a transfer from Southwest Oregon Community College. Marnin is the Vikings' lone senior in 2022. Freshmen outfielders Neveah Smith (Medford, Ore.), Kiara McCrea (Hillsboro, Ore.), and Grace Johnson (Roseville, Calif.), infielders Ellie Babbitt (Albany, Ore.), Natalia Martinez (Salinas, Calif.), and pitcher Annie Lemos (Roseville, Calif.) are making their collegiate debuts this season.

PRESEASON POLL

The Vikings were picked second in the 2022 Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll released on Jan. 31. Totaling 28 points and two first-place votes, PSU was chosen below defending regular-season Champion Weber State, who received 34 points and four first-place votes.

STRONG START

Sixth-year head coach Meadow McWhorter and the Vikings are off to the program's best start since 2011.

The Vikings began the 2022 campaign outscoring its opponents 48-13 at the Lynn Russell Miller Classic in Riverside, Calif. The 48 runs were the most to start a season in program history. They hit .387 over three days, totaling 58 hits and 70 total bases en route to a 4-1 start.

The following weekend, the Vikings claimed their first win over a Pac-12 opponent since 2015 with a dominant 7-1 victory over Cal at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 

This season, Portland State has earned four Player of the Week honors, three of those awarded to starting Pitcher, Olivia Grey. Following the Lynn Russell Miller Classic, Maddie Thompson picked up the first Player of the Week nod of her career after hitting .619 and leading the nation in hits (13). Grey picked up back-to-back Pitcher of the week honors after going 5-0 during the opening two weeks. On Tuesday, she added another to her list of accolades after a pair of wins at the UO/OSU Invitational.

LEADING THE BIG SKY 

The Vikings lead the Big Sky in on-base percentage (.362) and stolen bases (31). Maddie Thompson leads the conference in stolen bases with 14. Olivia Dean ranks third with eight. 

Defensively, PSU leads the Big Sky with a .981 fielding percentage, ranking tenth in the nation. The defense has recorded fifteen errorless games this season, including four this past weekend. 

OWNING THE CIRCLE

Olivia Grey holds a 10-1 record in the circle, tossing nine complete games, including three shutouts, while holding her opponents to a .195 average at the plate. The Woodland, Wash. native ranks second in the Big Sky with a 1.68 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 80.1 innings of work.  

Grey had a career performance against North Dakota State on March 11. She struck out a career-high fifteen batters while pitching nine shutout innings. She followed that up with another complete-game performance on March 12, this time against No. 23/24 Oregon State, allowing six hits and one earned run.  

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Maddie Thompson and Olivia Dean are leading the Vikings' offense. Thompson is hitting .315 after recording five hits over the weekend, while Dean sits at .310 following a four-hit weekend. The two have combined for 47 hits on the year, nearly a third of the Vikings' total hits. 

Paetynn Lopez has hit four home runs, leading the offense with a .574 slugging percentage. Emily Johansen leads with a team-high 14 RBIs. 

SCOUTING CORBAN 

The Warriors enter Wednesday at 11-14 after winning three of their last four games, all against Warner Pacific over the weekend. They're hitting .295 as a team with 14 home runs. Holly Gonzales leads the pitching staff with a 3.68 ERA and 4-4 record. Corban is led by first-year head coach Danyelle Huber. 

Wednesday will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.