PORTLAND, Ore. -  After opening the season with 25 non-conference games, the Portland State softball team will begin Big Sky action this weekend, as they host Montana for a three-game series at Gordon Faber Recreation Complex. The series will open with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 1 (1:00 pm pt), followed by a single game on Sunday, April 2 (noon).
 
Despite a rainy forecast, the games are set to be played at Gordon Faber Field 4. The turf field at Hillsboro Stadium will be used as a backup. Check goviks.com throughout the weekend for further updates. The games played at Gordon Faber will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Riding a three-game win streak, Portland State enters the series at 9-16 overall. The Grizzlies are 6-23 entering the conference opener.
   
GAME NOTES: vs. Montana – April 1-2
Hillsboro, Ore. – Gordon Faber Recreation Complex.   
Live Stats | ESPN+
 
Montana (6-23) at Portland State (9-16)
All-time series: Montana leads 18-7
Last meeting: May 11, 2022 (L, 5-4) – 8 Inn.
 
After a slow start to the season, the Grizzlies have found their groove as of late, entering the weekend 6-23 overall. Five of those six wins have come in their last seven outings. Montana is hitting .229 on the year, which ranks last in the Big Sky. with junior Elise Ontiveros's .3-7 batting average leading the way. Montana's pitching staff holds a 6.46 ERA. Junior Allie Brocks has a team-best 4.59 ERA and a 2-8 record in the circle. The Grizzlies are led by sixth-year head coach Melanie Meuchel.

 LAST TIME OUT –  PACIFIC (Ore.)  
The Vikings played a single game on Tuesday, March 28 against Pacific (Ore.), beating the Boxers 10-2 in five innings. Tuesday's second game was called in the third inning due to inclement weather. The Vikings were solid in game one, tallying 11 hits. Starting in the circle for the first time since Feb. 26, Olivia Grey earned the win after striking out seven of nine batters in her three innings of work. 

BIG SKY PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 
Trinity Holden (March 27) – Holden was named the Big Sky Player of the Week following her performance against the Saints on Thursday. The freshmen hit two home runs and led the Vikings with five RBI. The honor was the first of her career.
Paetynn Lopez (March 6)- Lopez went 7-for-14 (.500) at the Trailblazer tournament with two home runs, two doubles and five RBI. The junior catcher went 3-for-3 against UV,  hitting two home runs in the contest. She finished the weekend with a .611 on-base percentage, 1.071 slugging percentage and 15 total bases, recording a hit in four of the Vikings' five games. 
Emily Johansen (Feb. 20) - Johansen was named Big Sky Player of the Week for the second time in her career following her performance at the Littlewood Classic. Over five games, the senior first baseman hit .615 (8-for-13) with three doubles, two home runs, and ten RBI.
 
 
NOLAND NOTABLES  

• Bailee Noland leads the Vikings in five offensive categories (batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, total bases and home runs)
• Noland leads the Big Sky in slugging percentage (.719) and home runs (7)
• Her .359 batting average ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference 
• Noland led the Vikings' offense at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic going 7-for-11 (.636) with four RBI, two doubles and two home runs and a .692 on-base percentage
• Noland hit a home run in three consecutive games at the Trailblazer Tournament (March 4-5)

QUICK HITS

• The Vikings' 19 home runs this season ranks first in the Big Sky
• They've hit 12  home runs in their last nine games, recording at least one in eight of their last nine
• Four Vikings are hitting above .300 (Bailee Noland, Logan Riggenbach, Emily Johansen, Olivia Dean)
• Trinity Holden heads into the weekend on an eight-game hitting steak
• Paetynn Lopez has reached base in 11 straight games
• The Vikings have recorded double-digit hits in six games this season, winning four of those contests
• PSU had a season-high 13 hits in its 6-5 extra-inning win at Utah Tech on March 4
• The Vikings are 6-1 when out-hitting opponents and 1-14 when out-hit by opponents
• The Vikings are 6-1 when holding opponents to less than five runs  
• The Vikings' defense has recorded just three errors in their last ten games

ERRORLESS STREAK
Junior outfielder Logan Riggenbach hasn't committed an error in 86 starts, tallying 139 putouts without a single error. Rigggenbach has only one error in her 2.5 year career with the Vikings. Her steak dates back to February 27, 2021.

RECORD CHASING

• Senior Emily 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 all-time in home runs with 25 and is just seven behind Jackie Heide, the Vikings all-time leader (32).
• Her 105 RBI ranks fourth all-time and fourth 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 conference with 20. Both are on track to break the current DI era record of 41 career stolen bases, set by Marissa Bruno in 2021. Dean's 39 stolen bases rank second in the DI era and fourth all-time. Thompson has 33, tied for third in the D1 era and seventh all-time. Cynthia Macom holds the all-time record with 68.

HIGHLIGHTS IN THE CIRCLE
Olivia Grey -  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.
Marisol Gaona - In her first start in over a year, Gaona recorded her first victory of her senior season in the Vikings' 5-2 victory over Utah Valley on Friday, March 3
Annie Lemos - Lemos led the Vikings to an extra-inning win over Utah Tech on Saturday, March 4, holding the Trailblazers to four hits and one earned run in 7.2 innings of work.
Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung – Nakoa-Chung earned her first career victory in the Vikings' 11-2 win over Saint Martin's on Thursday, March 23. The freshman right-hander struck out nine batters, allowing just one hit in 4.2 innings of work.
 
WALK-OFF WINNERS
Three of the Vikings' nine wins have come in walk-off fashion.
Feb. 18 (Littlewood Classic) - Olivia Dean clinched the Vikings' 9-8 win over 2022 Women's College World Series participant, Oregon State with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh.
Feb. 19 (Littlewood Classic) - Logan Riggenbach led the Vikings to a thrilling victory over DePaul, clinching the 7-6 win with a two-out walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh. 
March 4 (Trailblazer Tournament) - Maddie Thompson was the hero against Utah Valley at the Trailblazer Tournament, securing the 6-5 win with a two-out bases loaded single in the bottom of the eighth. 
 
MCWHORTER'S 100TH WIN
Seventh-year head coach Meadow McWhorter earned her 100th win at Portland State on Feb. 19 as the Vikings beat DePaul 7-6 in the bottom of the seventh inning. McWhorter is now 105-178 (.369) at PSU and 573-324 (.638) after becoming just the third coach in the program's history to reach the 100-win mark.
 
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 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 31st 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 

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