OGDEN, Utah – Portland State's winningest softball season in a decade ended at the Big Sky Championship Tournament on Friday. The Vikings advanced to the semifinals with a thrilling 6-2 win over four-seed Northern Colorado on Friday morning before falling to No. 2 Sacramento State, 4-3 in extra innings.
The Vikings finished the season 28-18 overall, earning the three seed in the tournament after a 10-5 mark in conference play.
For the Vikings, close games and comebacks have been the story of the tournament so far. Friday was no different.
With
Olivia Grey in the circle for game one, the Bears took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the second before extending their lead to two in the fourth.
The Vikings were held scoreless until the fifth, when a hot
Emily Johansen put them on the board with a solo shot to cut into the Bears' lead.
With their season on the line, the Vikings found some late-inning magic in the bottom of the sixth.
Allicitie Frost came through big for Portland State with a runner on third and two outs, knocking a clutch RBI double to right field to tie the game at two. The Vikings didn't stop there, drawing a trio of walks to take the lead before Johansen continued her stellar day at the plate with a three-RBI triple to put the Vikings ahead 6-2.
Frost, who entered the circle for the Vikings in the fourth inning, finished things off on the rubber to send her team to the semifinals. Allowing just one hit in 2.2 innings of work, the sophomore earned the win, improving to 8-5 on the year.
Johansen went 4-for-4 at the plate as she hit for the cycle, a feat few have achieved this season in college softball.
The Vikings found themselves trailing again in game two after Sacramento State took a 1-0 lead in the first. Portland State's
Natalia Martinez tied things up in the third with a two-out RBI single to left field.
Sacramento State took a 2-1 lead in the fourth, where the score remained until the seventh. With one out in the top of the seventh, Freshman
Ellie Babbitt came off the bench, launching her first career collegiate home run to keep the Viking's season alive. Grey and the PSU defense held the Hornets scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extras.
None other than Johansen put Portland State ahead in the top of the eighth, blasting her second home run of the day over the right center fence. Just three outs separated the Vikings from the Championship game, but the Hornets came back with two runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn the 4-3 victory.
Grey took the loss in the circle, ending the season with an impressive 18-8 record. Her .692 winning percentage is the second best single-season percentage in the program's Division I era.
