PORTLAND, Ore. – Seeking a third straight conference series victory this weekend, the Portland State softball team will host Idaho State for a three-game slate at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15. The series will begin on Friday with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader, followed by a single game on Saturday at noon. 
 
The Vikings are riding high following a series victory over Weber State last weekend. They took two of three games from the Wildcats in Ogden, Utah. PSU will look to continue that momentum into the weekend, carrying a 13-18 record and a 4-2 record in Big Sky play. With only one conference series played so far, the Bengals enter the series 10-19 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
 

---

GAME NOTES: VS. IDAHO STATE - APRIL 14-15
Hillsboro, Ore. – Gordon Faber Recreation Complex
Live Stats | ESPN+

Idaho State (10-19, 2-1 BSC) at Portland State  (13-18, 4-2 BSC) 
All-time series: Portland State leads, 26-18
Last meeting: May 12, 2022 (W, 1-0) - Big Sky Conference Tournament
 
Idaho State is looking for its first series win over the Vikings since 2019. The Bengals haven't taken a series from the Vikings in Portland since 2016. Following a mid-week game against Utah Valley on Wednesday, ISU enters the weekend 10-19 overall and 2-1 in conference action. After their Big Sky opener against Weber State was snowed out earlier this season, the Bengals finally got their conference slate started last weekend, going 2-1 against Northern Colorado. With a team batting average of .274, the Bengals are led by freshman outfielder Alyssa Yee who has a team-high .352 average entering Friday's doubleheader. Junior pitcher Jordan Schuring leads the pitching staff with a 5-7 record and 2.78 ERA. The Bengals are led by second-year head coach Andrew Rich.


LAST TIME OUT –  WEBER STATE SERIES
  
The Vikings claimed their second conference series of the season against Weber State last weekend (April 7-8), taking two of three games from the Wildcats on their home field. PSU handed Weber State its first Big Sky series loss since 2018, winning the opening two games 12-8 and 6-4 before falling in the series finale 4-2. The Vikings were stellar at the plate, recording double-digit hits in all three games and finishing the weekend with a .355 team batting average. The Vikings improved to 4-2 in Big Sky action as they snapped the defending Big Sky Champions' 18-series win streak.


BIG SKY PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 

The Vikings have had four Player of the Week honors so far this season, the most in a single-season since joining the conference in 2013. Trinity Holden (March 27) – Holden was named the Big Sky Player of the Week following her performance against Saint Martin's. 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 UVU, 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. Emily Johansen (April 3) - Johansen picked up her second weekly nod of the season following a big week against Pacific and Montana. She finished the week with a .556 average (5-for-9), tallying a team-high 6 RBI and a .643 on-base percentage over four games.


HOT BATS

• 10 different Vikings recorded 2+ hits against Weber State last weekend. Paetynn Lopez led the way going 5-for-10 (.500) with one home run and four RBI
• The Vikings are hitting .359 in conference play, with three players hitting above .400 (Emily Johansen, Maddie Thompson and Olivia Dean)
• PSU leads the conference in eight offensive categories (slugging pct, OBP, runs scored, RBI, total bases, home runs, walks and solen bases)
• The Vikings' .293 team batting average ranks second in the conference
• Bailee Noland (4^th), Johansen (5^th) and Dean (6^th), rank among the top ten in the conference in batting average
• Noland leads the conference with a .654 slugging percentage and home runs (7). Earlier this season she hit a home run in three consecutive games at the Trailblazer Tournament (March 4-5)
• Johansen leads the conference in five categories: Runs scored (28), on base pct. (455), doubles (10), walks (19) and sac flies (4)

OFFENSIVE STREAKS

• Olivia Dean heads into the weekend with an 8-game hitting streak and has reached base in 12-straight games
• Emily Johansen is looking to extend a 7-game hitting streak, having reached base in 11-straight contests
• Maddie Thompson has reached base in 8-straight games

KEYS TO VICTORY

The Vikings are…

• 10-2 when out-hitting opponents and 1-15 when out-hit by opponents
• 7-3 when recording 10+ hits
• 10-3 when holding opponents to five or less runs
• 10-3 when scoring in the first inning
• 9-1 when leading after the fourth inning
• 5-1 when playing at home

ERRORLESS STREAK

Junior outfielder Logan Riggenbach hasn't committed an error in 91 starts, tallying 146 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.


CHASING RECORDS

Senior Emily Johansen ranks in the top 10 of 11 career offensive records at Portland State (batting avg., OBP, runs scored, total bases, doubles, home runs, RBI, sacrifice flies, slugging pct, walks and hit by pitch). She ranks in the top five of four all-time career record categories:

11 Sac Flies – 2^nd all-time (Crysta Conn holds record with 12)
25 home runs – 3^rd all-time (Jackie Heide holds record with 32)
113 RBI – 4^th all-time (Mandy Hill holds record with 135)
63 walks – 4^th all-time (Jackie Heide/Brittany Hendrickson hold record with 84)


QUEEN OF THE BASE PATHS
 
Olivia Dean entered her final season with 30-career stolen bases after leading the Big Sky with 20 last season. On April 8 against Weber State, Dean broke the program's DI-era record ('00-current) for stolen bases with 42. Dean now ranks second all-time behind Cynthia Macom's record of 68 set in 1991.


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.
Allicitie Frost – Frost had her best performance of the season thus far in the Vikings' 9-1 run-rule victory over Montana on April 1. She allowed just three hits and one earned run while striking out three batters in the complete-game performance.


WALK-OFF WINNERS

Three of the Vikings' 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 109-180 (.369) at PSU and 577-326 (.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 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• Olivia 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 set a single-season Big Sky record with 214 strikeouts, which ranked 31st in the nation.
• Logan 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 
• 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