PORTLAND, Ore. – After three consecutive road tournaments to open the season, the Portland State softball team will open its home schedule this weekend with a three-game series against Robert Morris at Gordon Faber Field 4 (March 4-5).
The Vikings enter the weekend 9-6 overall after going 3-2 last weekend at the Mardi Gras Mambo in Youngsville, La. The Viking's 9-6 record is their best start since 2011.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Games 1 & 2: Friday, March 4 (2 & 4:30 p.m.)
Game 3: Saturday, March 5 (noon)
Live Stats Here
*If the field is not playable on Friday, the games will be moved up to 12 and 2 p.m. and will be played on the turf field inside Hillsboro Stadium*
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.
LAST TIME OUT: MARDI GRAS MAMBO
The Vikings went 3-2 at the Mardi Gras Mambo, earning wins over Louisiana Tech (4-1), Nicholls State (1-0) and Northwestern State (9-7) while falling to Southeastern Louisiana (3-0) and No. 20 Louisiana (11-6). The Vikings capped off the weekend by overcoming a four-run deficit to beat Northwestern State 9-7.
BIG OPENING WEEKEND: LYNN RUSSELL MILLER CLASSIC
Portland State began its 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. The Vikings finished the weekend 4-1, earning wins over Utah Valley, UC Riverside, and Pacific (Calif.). PSU hit .387 over three days, totaling 58 hits and 70 total bases.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Portland State has earned three Player of the Week honors so far this season. 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). PSU starting pitcher Olivia Grey picked up back-to-back Pitcher of the week honors after going 5-0 during the opening two weeks.
LEADING THE BIG SKY
The Vikings lead the Big Sky in on-base percentage (.403) and stolen bases (22). Sitting behind Weber State, PSU ranks second in hits (117) and RBIs (75).
Defensively, PSU leads the conference with a .980 fielding percentage which ranks 18th in the country. So far, they've played ten errorless games, committing only seven through fifteen contests.
IN THE CIRCLE
Olivia Grey, who led the Vikings to a Big Sky Championship last season, picked up right where she left off in 2021. Grey holds a 6-1 record in the circle, tossing four complete games while holding her opponents to a .192 average at the plate. The Woodland, Wash. native leads the Big Sky with a 1.42 ERA and 59 strikeouts through 47.2 innings of work.
Last weekend, Grey matched her career-high eleven strikeouts in the Vikings 1-0 win over Nicholls State. She held the Colonels to just one hit during the complete game shutout performance.
Sophomore Allicitie Frost improved to 3-1 in the circle at the Mardi Gras Mambo after earning wins over Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State. She pitched 16.1 innings, striking out nine batters and allowing just six earned runs.
OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Sophomore outfielder Alexa Cepeda leads the Vikings with a .355 batting average after going 3-for-4 against Northwestern State on Sunday. Cepeda is 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position and is hitting .600 with two outs in the inning.
Olivia Dean and Maddie Thompson lead the Vikings with 17 hits each while Dean and Kiara McCrea have a team-high 12 RBIs, tied for fourth in the conference.
With three home runs under her belt, Paetynn Lopez has a team-best .588 slugging percentage, ranking ninth in the Big Sky.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
RMU is off to the best start in program history, entering the series with a 9-1 record. Their one loss came against North Carolina A&T on Feb. 12 (4-1). Coming off a 5-0 weekend at the Winthrop Invitational last weekend, they're hitting .276 as a team with six players hitting above .300. Rachael Rhinehart leads the pitching staff with a 1.31 era. Both Rhinehart and Madison DeVault are 3-0 in the circle this season. The Colonials are led by fourth-year head coach Jexx Varner.
Friday will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
