TEMPE, Ariz. – The Portland State softball team dropped both games of its doubleheader on the opening day of the Littlewood Classic, falling to BYU 7-5 before dropping the nightcap 8-0 to No. 22 Arizona State at the Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium on Friday.
The Vikings fell to 2-5 while the Cougars and Sun Devils both improved to 5-2 on the year.
Game 1: BYU 7, Portland State 5
Starting hot against the Cougars, PSU held a lead for the majority of game one. An RBI double from Emily Johansen got the Vikings rolling in the first, followed by a two-RBI single from Trinity Holden that scored Johansen and Paetynn Lopez to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. An inning later, Lopez added to the lead, bringing home Maddie Thompson with an RBI Sac bunt.
Olivia Grey held the Cougars to just a single hit through three innings before their bats got going in the bottom of the fourth when BYU cut the Vikings' lead to a single run thanks to a two-hit, three-run inning. The Cougars' bats struck again in the fifth inning as a two-run home run gave them their first lead of the day.
With the Vikings' trailing by one, Paetynn Lopez led off the top of the seventh with a leadoff double, setting up pinch-hitter Bailee Noland for a game-tying single through the left side that scored Neveah Smith.
One out away from an extra-inning game, the Cougars ended things with a two-run walkoff in the bottom of the seventh to secure the 7-5 victory.
The Vikings tied their season-high of 11 hits in the contest as Johansen, Lopez, Holden and Logan Riggenbach each recorded multi-hit games. Grey took the loss in the circle, falling to 2-2 on the year.
Game 2: No. 22 Arizona State 8, Portland State 0 (5 Inn.)
Facing their first ranked opponent of the 2023 season, the Vikings had their hands full in the nightcap.
Allicitie Frost got the start for Portland State before Annie Lemos took things over in the bottom of the fourth. The Sun Devils tallied three runs in their opening two at-bats before extending their lead to four in the bottom half of the fourth. After holding the Vikings scoreless through five frames, ASU put an end to things early with a four-run fifth inning to secure the 8-0 win.
Olivia Dean, Alexa Cepeda and Johansen each recorded a hit for PSU. Frost took the loss in the circle, falling to 0-1 on the year.
UP NEXT:
The Vikings will head to the GCU Softball Stadium tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 18) in Phoenix for its second doubleheader in two days. They'll open the day against Oregon state (10 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. MT), followed by Grand Canyon (3 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. MT).
