PORTLAND, Ore. - With the final conference standings at stake this weekend, the Portland State softball team is set to take on Northern Colorado in its last series of the 2023 season in Greeley, Colo. The series will begin with a doubleheader on Friday, April 28 (2:00 & 4:30 pm PT) followed by a single game on Saturday, April 29 (12:00 pm PT) at the Gloria Rodriguez Softball Field.

The Vikings enter the weekend 15-22 overall and 6-6 in Big Sky action, while the Bears are 18-20 overall and 6-6 in conference play. The conference standings are far from decided with the exception of the top spot. Sacramento State secured the regular season title last weekend with a sweep of the Vikings. The Hornets head into the final weekend with a 10-2 conference record as the remaining teams battle for second place.

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GAME NOTES: AT NORTHERN COLORADO - APRIL 28-29
Greeley, CO – Gloria Rodriguez Field
Live Stats |  ESPN+ 
 
Portland State (15-22, 6-6 BSC) at Northern Colorado (18-20, 6-6 BSC)
All-time series: Vikings lead 27-14
Last meeting: May 13, (W, 6-2) - 2022 Big Sky Tournament 
 
Northern Colorado heads into its final series of the season with an 18-20 overall record, looking to build on a 6-6 Big Sky mark. After dropping its first two conference series of the season to Sacramento State and Idaho State, UNC turned things around, winning their last two, 2-1 over Montana and Weber State. The Bears are hitting .267 entering the weekend, while their pitching staff carries a 4.22 ERA. Senior Erin Caviness leads the staff with a 12-7 record and 3.21 ERA.

Portland State has won four of its last five games against the Bears, two of those victories coming in the conference tournament. PSU took the series in 2022, taking two of three games over UNC at home. The Vikings' last trip to Greeley ended in a 2-1 series loss in 2021. 
 

LAST TIME OUT – SACRAMENTO STATE SERIES
 
For the first time since 2021, the Vikings were swept in a league series last weekend, dropping three games to the regular season champion Hornets. Sacramento State opened the series with 9-0 and 4-1 wins on Friday, April 14 followed by a 5-1 win on Saturday, April 15. The Hornets held a hot Vikings' offense to just two runs and 11 hits over three games. 
 

BIG SKY PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The Vikings have had five Player of the Week honors so far this season, the most in a single-season since joining the conference in 2013. Johansen was the most recent honoree, earning her third nod of the season on Tuesday, April 17.

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. Emily Johansen (April 17) – Johansen was once again tabbed the Big Sky Player of the Week following her performance against Idaho State. She hit .500 (5-for-10), recording two home runs, 6 RBI and 11 total bases. 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.
 

VIKING BATS
 

• The Vikings are hitting .333 in conference action, recording 103 hits, 17 doubles and 7 home runs over 12 games 
• The Vikings' .295 overall team batting average ranks second in the conference, one point behind Sacramento State (.296)
• PSU leads the conference in five offensive categories (slugging pct, OBP, runs scored, RBI and total bases)
• Emily Johansen (1st, .371), Olivia Dean (6th, .345) and Bailee Noland (8th, .333), all rank among the top ten in the conference in batting average
• Noland ranks second in the conference with 7 home runs. Earlier this season she hit a home run in three consecutive games at the Trailblazer Tournament (March 4-5)
• Johansen leads the conference in eight categories: Batting avg. (.371), RBI (36), Runs scored (30), slugging pct. (.676) on base pct. (.466), doubles (12), walks (21) and sac flies (4)

 
KEYS TO VICTORY
The Vikings are…

12-2 when out-hitting opponents and 1-19 when out-hit by opponents
9-3 when recording 10+ hits
12-5 when holding opponents to five or less runs
11-5 when scoring in the first inning
11-1 when leading after the fourth inning
7-5 at home
3-6 on the road
 

ERRORLESS STREAK
 
Junior outfielder Logan Riggenbach hasn't committed an error in 97 starts, tallying 158 putouts without a single error. Rigggenbach has only one error in her 2.5 year career with the Vikings. Her steak dating back to February 27, 2021, is the longest-known current streak in NCAA DI softball.
 

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 – 2nd all-time (Crysta Conn holds record with 12)
27 home runs – 3rd all-time (Jackie Heide holds record with 32)
119 RBI – 4th all-time (Mandy Hill holds record with 135)
65 walks – 4th 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.
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 111-184 (.368) at PSU and 579-330 (.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