PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland State softball team will continue its grueling non-conference schedule this weekend as they take part in one of the most anticipated softball tournaments in the country, the Mary Nutter Classic, held at the Big League Dreams Sports Park in Cathedral City, Calif. For the third consecutive weekend, the Vikings will play five games over three days, with matchups against No. 19 Northwestern, UC San Diego, Utah Valley, Arizona State, and LMU.

Entering Friday at 4-6 overall, the Vikings will face Northwestern in the tournament opener, their second ranked opponent of the season. On Saturday, PSU will play Arizona State for the second time in two weeks, following an 8-0 loss to the No. 22 Sun Devils at the Littlewood Classic last weekend. All five games will stream live on FloSoftball. 
 

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TOURNAMENT NOTES: Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic – Feb. 24-26
Cathedral City, Calif. - Big League Dreams Sports Park
 
Tournament Page | Full Schedule | FloSoftball Live Stream | Tickets 
 
GAME #1
PORTLAND STATE (4-6) vs. No. 19 NORTHWESTERN (4-4)
Friday, Feb 24 | 10:00am PT
Cathedral City, CA  (Big League Dreams - Yankee)
All-Time Series: Northwestern leads, 5-0
Last Meeting: Feb. 9, 2020 (L, 8-3)
Live Stats

GAME #2
PORTLAND STATE (4-6) vs. UC SAN DIEGO (6-5)
Friday, Feb 24 | 1:00pm PT
Cathedral City, CA (Big League Dreams - Pawtucket)
All-Time Series: PSU leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: 1991 (W, 2-0)
Live Stats 
 
GAME #3
UTAH VALLEY (3-7) vs. PORTLAND STATE (4-6)
Saturday, Feb 25 | 5:30pm PT
Cathedral City, CA (Big League Dreams - Des Moines)
All-Time Series: PSU leads, 16-8
Last Meeting: Feb 13, 2022 (W, 8-2)
Live Stats

GAME #4
ARIZONA STATE (8-2) vs. PORTLAND STATE (4-6)
Saturday, Feb 25 | 7:30pm PT
Cathedral City, CA (Big League Dreams - Pawtucket)
All-Time Series: ASU leads, 17-0
Last Meeting: Feb 17, 2023 (L, 8-0 (5))

GAME #5
LMU (4-8) vs. PORTLAND STATE (4-6)
Sunday, Feb 26 | 11:30am PT
Cathedral City, CA (Big League Dreams - Fenway)
All-Time Series: PSU leads, 11-9
Last Meeting: March 8, 2020 (L, 6-5)
Live Stats
 

LITTLEWOOD CLASSIC - WALK-OFF WINNERS

The Vikings had an up-and-down weekend at the Littlewood Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. last weekend (Feb. 17-20). PSU ended the tournament with a 2-3 record, improving to 4-6 on the year. The Vikings pulled off victories over Oregon State and DePaul in walk-off fashion, claiming both victories with game-winning hits in the bottom of the seventh inning. Olivia Dean clinched the Vikings' 9-8 win over 2022 Women's College World Series participant, Oregon State on Saturday with a walk-off single. Logan Riggenbach did the same against DePaul on Sunday, clinching the 7-6 win with a two-out walk-off double to end the weekend. 

JOHANSEN NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK

After her standout performance at the Littlewood Classic, Emily Johansen was named Big Sky Player of the Week for the second time in her career. Over five games, the senior first baseman hit .615 (8-for-13) with three doubles, two home runs, and ten RBI. Johansen now leads the Vikings in five offensive categories, including a team-high .407 batting average. Johansen enters this weekend leading the Big Sky in RBI (11).

MCWHORTER'S 100TH WIN

Seventh-year head coach Meadow McWhorter earned her 100th win at Portland State in walk-off fashion on Sunday as the Vikings beat DePaul 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning. McWhorter is now 100-169 (.372) at PSU and 568-315 (.643) after becoming just the third coach in the program's history to reach the 100-win mark.

STRONG START IN THE CIRCLE 

Senior right-hander Olivia Grey had a stellar opening weekend at The Spring Games, picking up right where she left off in 2022. The Woodland, Wash. native pitched 16.1 innings without allowing a single earned run. Compiling a 2-1 record, Grey picked up a shutout win over Colgate to open the season, followed by a win over Butler. She finished the weekend holding Michigan to just one hit through five innings in the Vikings' 9-1 loss to the Wolverines. 

RECORD CHASING

• Johansen ranks in the top ten of nine career offensive records at Portland State (DI batting average, DI home runs, DI on base percentage, RBI, walks, sacrifice flies, slugging percentage, home runs, and hit by pitch) 
• She ranks third in all-time home runs with 23 and is just nine behind Jackie Heide, the Vikings all-time leader (32).
• Her 94 RBI ranks eighth all-time and sixth in the DI era. Mandy Hill holds the all-time and DI record with 135
• Entering the season, Johansen's .321 career batting average ranked sixth in the Vikings' DI era

SPEED KILLS

Olivia Dean and Maddie Thompson combined for 36 stolen bases in 2022. Thompson ranked third in the Big Sky with 16 stolen bases, while Dean led the Big Sky with 20. Both are on track to break the current DI era record of 41 career stolen bases, set by Marissa Bruno in 2021. Recording her 33rd career stolen base last weekend, Dean is third in the DI era and seventh all-time. Thompson has 32, ranking fourth in the D1 era and eighth all-time. Cynthia Macom holds the all-time record with 68.

CLUTCH HITTING

As a team, the Vikings are hitting .361 with runners in scoring position. Olivia Dean, Emily Johansen, Paetynn Lopez and Bailee Noland are all hitting above .500 this season with runners in scoring position. Dean's clutch hitting leads the way, going 4-for-7 (.571) in crunch time. 

2022 STAT LEADERS

• Grey returns for her fourth season after finishing 2022 with an 18-8 (.692) record in the circle, the second-highest single-season win percentage in program history. She held opponents to a .203 average and led the Big Sky in strikeouts (214), which ranked 31^st in the nation
• Riggenbach had a stellar season in 2022, leading the Vikings with a .380 batting average and 41 RBI. She recorded 82 putouts and 0 errors, finishing the year with a 1.000 fielding percentage
• Senior first baseman Emily Johansen led the Vikings in home runs (9) and on base percentage (.482) a season ago, hitting .615 with eight RBI at the 2022 Big Sky Tournament
•  Dean had a team-high 20 stolen bases in 2022, ranking first in the Big Sky  

VIKINGS' 2023 SCHEDULE

The Vikings' 2023 schedule consists of 44 regular season contests, four non-conference tournaments, 15 Big Sky matchups and 13 home games at Gordon Faber Field. The Vikings will open the season with four-straight road tournaments, playing 20 games over 24 days. Among those 24 games, four will be against teams ranked in the NFCA Preseason Top 25. The Vikings will open their Big Sky schedule at home on Saturday, April 1-2 against Montana. The regular-season slate will come to a close on April 28-29 at Northern Colorado. The Big Sky Championship tournament will take place from May 10-13 in Ogden, Utah.

2023 BIG SKY PRESEASON POLL

The Vikings were picked third in the Big Sky Preseason Poll released on Jan. 31. Weber State and Sacramento State topped the polls with 21 points each, while the Vikings followed with 20. The Defending Big Sky Champion, Weber State received three first-place votes, Sacramento State received two and the Vikings earned one. Montana (12), Idaho State (11), and Northern Colorado (5) rounded out the poll.

2022 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• The Vikings finished 2022 with a 28-18 record, the winningest season since 2011
• PSU went 10-5 in Big Sky action, finishing third in the Big Sky tournament as the No. 3 seed
• Six Vikings earned all-conference honors, including first team selections Olivia Grey, Paetynn Lopez and Logan Riggenbach
• Riggenbach (third team outfield) and Grey (second team pitcher) were NFCA All-Pacific Region selections