PORTLAND, Ore. - After a hectic tournament schedule, the Portland State softball team will play its first three-game series of the season this weekend at Boise State. The Vikings (6-13) and Broncos (9-10), will open the weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 11 (11 a.m. PT/12 p.m. MT) followed by a single game on Sunday, March 12 (11 a.m. PT/12 p.m. MT) at Huber Field. 

GAME NOTES: At Boise State – March 11-12
Boise, Idaho - Huber Field at Dona Larsen Park 
Live Stream (Mountain West Network) | Live Stats

The Broncos are 9-10 entering the weekend, following a 2-1 weekend at the Sun Devil Classic. Boise State picked up wins over Houston (5-2) and Michigan State (3-2). Their only loss of the weekend came against No. 23 Arizona State, 8-0, in five innings. The Broncos are hitting .252 this season, totaling 18 home runs and 84 runs over 19 games. Junior pitcher Taylor Caudill leads the pitching staff with a 3.81 ERA, while fifth-year senior Lindsey Walljasper leads the Broncos with a 4-3 record. Head coach Justin Shults led the Broncos to a 40-10 record last season in his first year at the helm. 
 

LAST TIME OUT - TRAILBLAZER TOURNAMENT

The Vikings went 2-3 last weekend at the Trailblazer Tournament in St. George, Utah. Hoping to snap a four-game losing streak, the Vikings did so in the first game of the weekend, defeating Utah Valley 5-2. They earned their second win of the weekend in thrilling fashion, topping Utah Tech on its home field, 6-5, in extra-innings. PSU's losses came against BYU, Utah Valley and UNLV. 
 

NEW SEASON-HIGHS

• The Vikings recorded a season-high 39 hits, 8 doubles, 3 triples and five home runs over five games at the Trailblazer Tournament
• PSU recorded a season-best 13 hits in its extra inning victory over Utah Valley 
• The Vikings' defense was nearly flawless in Utah, recording just one error over five games

WALK-OFF WINNERS

The Vikings have been strong under pressure, winning three games in walk-off fashion so far this season. 

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 this past weekend, 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 102-175 (.368) at PSU and 570-321 (.640) after becoming just the third coach in the program's history to reach the 100-win mark.
 

BIG SKY PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 

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. 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).
Paetynn Lopez (March 6) - At the Trailblazer Tournament this past weekend, Lopez went 7-for-14 (.500) with two home runs, two doubles and five RBI. The junior catcher went 3-for-3 against UVU on Saturday, 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. 
 

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 (.841) and home runs (6)
• Her .386 batting average ranks fourth in the 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 this past weekend

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. 
 

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 in all-time home runs with 23 and is just nine behind Jackie Heide, the Vikings all-time leader (32).
• Her 98 RBI ranks fifth 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 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. Dean's 35 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.
 

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 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