OGDEN, Utah - The third-seeded Portland State softball team begins its quest for a second-straight Big Sky championship on Wednesday, riding its best regular-season record since 2011. Weber State's Wildcat Softball Field will host the four-day championship tournament featuring the top six teams in the Big Sky. 

The Vikings (26-16, 10-5 BSC) will open the double-elimination tournament against No. 6 seed Montana on Wednesday, May 11 (11 am PT). The winner will face No. 2 Sacramento State later that afternoon (4 pm PT), while the loser will return to action in an elimination game on Thursday (11 am PT).

Also vying for the trophy is No. 1 seed Weber State, No. 4 seed Northern Colorado, and No. 5 seed Idaho State. The Champion will earn the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 
 

2022 Big Sky Softball Championship - Ogden, Utah - May 11-14

Watch on ESPN+ | Championship Bracket | Championship Program 

VIKING'S TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Appearances: Six (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• Tournament Record: 9-5
• Championships Won: Two (2013, 2021)

This week will mark sixth-year Head Coach Meadow McWhorter's fourth tournament appearance. Portland State is 6-3 at the tournament with McWhorter at the helm. The Viking's No. 3 seed is the second highest in program history, behind their No. 1 seed in 2013. The Vikings have at least one tournament win over four of the five opponents in this year's field as they head into Wednesday searching for their first postseason win over Montana since joining the Big Sky in 2013.

Portland State had a historic run in 2021, becoming the first five seed in tournament history to win the title, doing so with a 4-0 record.

LAST TIME OUT 

Weather caused the Vikings to cancel their scheduled three-game home series against Weber State last weekend. One week earlier, the Vikings secured their fourth Big Sky series of the season with a pair of wins over Idaho State in Pocatello, thanks to an offense that yielded 35 runs and a batting average of .370 over three games.

REGULAR-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Feb. 11-13: The Vikings went 4-1 to begin the season, the best start in program history, by outscoring opponents 48-13 at the Lynn Russell Miller Classic.

Feb. 18: PSU won its first Pac-12 game since 2015 by defeating Cal 7-1 at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

March 11: Olivia Grey pitched nine shutout innings in the Vikings' 2-0 victory over North Dakota State, striking out a career-high 15 batters

March 12: Portland State defeated No. 23/24 Oregon State 6-1 in Corvallis, its first win over a ranked opponent since 2011

April 16: The Vikings swept Southern Utah at Gordon Faber Field, completing their only conference series sweep of the season

April 30: The Vikings won their final series of the year with a 19-15 victory over Idaho State, the highest scoring game in program history

KEYS TO VICTORY

The Vikings are...

• 9-2 at home
• 20-1 when holding their opponents to less than three runs
• 23-3 when surrendering four runs or less  
• 20-4 when they score the first run of the game
• 12-3 when they score in the first inning
• 21-1 when leading after four innings
• 15-4 when recording eight hits or more

HITTING STREAKS

Emily Johansen (9 games)

Kiara McCrea (6 games)

Logan Riggenbach (4 games)

Alexa Cepeda (3 games)

LEADOFF MAGIC

Leadoff hitter Olivia Dean has reached base in 16-straight games, a streak dating back to March 16. The redshirt junior has recorded a hit in ten of those games while tallying at least one hit in seven of her last nine appearances. Dean's 19 stolen bases ranks second in the Big Sky.

RIGGENBACH ON A ROLL 

Sophomore outfielder Logan Riggenbach leads the Vikings in six offensive categories (hits, doubles, RBIs, home runs, total bases, and slugging percentage). She enters the postseason with the second highest batting average in the Big Sky (.394) while hitting .518 against conference opponents. With ten multi-hit games this season, Riggenbach recorded at least one home run in four of the five conference series while hitting .440 with runners in scoring position. She also holds an impressive 1.000 fielding percentage after tallying 66 putouts in left field.

OWNING THE CIRCLE

Olivia Grey finished the regular season with a 17-6 (.739) record. The right-hander tossed 17 complete games, including four shutouts, while holding her opponents to a .195 average at the plate. She leads the conference in strikeouts (197), opposing batting average (.195), and ranks second with a 2.05 ERA.  

CHASING HISTORY

Averaging 8.76 strikeouts per game, Grey has a chance to break the program's Division I era single-season strikeout record by the end of the season. Anna Bertrand holds the current record at 229. Grey currently ranks sixth in the record book with 197.

BIG SKY PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Olivia Grey – Grey picked up back-to-back Pitcher of the week honors after going 5-0 during the season's opening two weeks. She picked up her third weekly honor after leading the Vikings to a pair of wins at the UO/OSU Invitational.

Maddie Thompson – Thompson earned the first Player of the Week nod of her career during week one after hitting .619 and leading the nation in hits (13) at the Lynn Russell Miller Classic.

Logan Riggenbach – Riggenbach notched her first Player of the Week honor in April after hitting .714 over four games, leading the Vikings to a 3-1 record against Warner Pacific and Montana.

Emily Johansen – Johansen landed her first Player of the Week honor after blasting four home runs and going 5-for-9 at the plate against Idaho State.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN 

No. 1 Weber State (35-10, 13-1 BSC)

• All-Time Series: Vikings lead 23-17
• At the Tournament: The Vikings are 2-1 against the Wildcats
• 2022 Series Result: Rained out
• Last Tournament Meeting: The Vikings defeated the top-seeded Wildcats 2-1 in the 2021 quarterfinals

No. 2 Sacramento State (28-23, 12-6 BSC)

• All-Time Series: Hornets lead 54-28
• At the Tournament: The Vikings are 1-0 against the Hornets
• 2022 Series Result: Sacramento State, 2-1
• Last Tournament Meeting: PSU earned a 2-1 eleven-inning victory over Sacramento State in 2019

No. 4 Northern Colorado (22-28, 10-8 BSC)

• All-Time Series: Vikings lead 26-14
• At the Tournament: The Vikings are 1-0 against the Bears
• 2022 Series Result: Portland State, 2-1
• Last Tournament Meeting: The Vikings picked up a 4-0 win over the Bears in the opening round of the 2021 Tournament

No. 5 Idaho State (24-15, 8-10 BSC)

• All-Time Series: Vikings lead 25-18
• At the Tournament: The teams are 1-1 in tournament action
• 2022 Series Result: Portland State, 2-1
• Last Tournament Meeting: The Bengals dropped Portland State 12-0 in five innings in the opening game of the 2016 Championships

No. 6 Montana (19-25, 6-11 BSC)

• All-Time Series: Montana leads 17-7
• At the Tournament: The Grizzlies are 3-0 against the Vikings  
• 2022 Series Result: Portland State, 2-1
• Last Tournament Meeting: Montana ended the Viking's run at the 2019 tournament with an 11-5 victory