GREELEY, Colo. – In its 40th and final game of the regular season, the Portland State softball team fell to Northern Colorado 8-7 in the series finale on Saturday, April 29 at Gloria Rodriguez Field. The Vikings finished their regular season slate 15-25 overall and 6-9 in Big Sky action. The Bears capped their regular season at 21-20 overall and 9-6 in conference action.
On Friday, Northern Colorado swept its doubleheader over the Vikings to clinch the series.Â
Looking to avoid the sweep, the Vikings' bats were hot on Saturday, recording the second-highest number of hits this season with 15. However, they were unable to capitalize on many of those hits, as they stranded 15 runners on base over seven innings.
For the first time this series, UNC scored first, bringing across two runs in its opening at-bat. Maddie Thompson, who had a stellar weekend at the plate for the Vikings, singled home Natalia Martinez in the top of the third to cut the Bears' lead to one. Northern Colorado extended its lead to 5-1 after scoring two runs in the third before adding another in the fourth.
The Viking offense came alive in the fifth and sixth frames. Bailee Noland started things with an RBI double to center field to score Thompson. Two batters later, Allicitie Frost drove in Noland with an RBI single. The Bears escaped a bases-loaded jam to end the inning, keeping the score at 5-3.
An inning later, the Vikings loaded the bases again, this time with no outs. Logan Riggenbach was the first to bring in a run, doing so with a one-out single that scored Olivia Dean. The Vikings drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to take their first lead of the day at 6-5 before the Bears ended the threat.
UNC reclaimed momentum in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring three runs to take an 8-6 lead.
With its back against the wall, PSU strung together three one-out hits in the top of the seventh, including an RBI single from Noland. Facing another bases-loaded threat, UNC retired the Vikings' final batter to secure the 8-7 victory and series sweep.
Four different Vikings took the rubber on Saturday, but Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung took the loss, falling to 2-7 on the year. Seven Vikings notched multi-hit games, led by Thomspon with three. Noland finished with a team-high two RBI.
Portland State will now shift its focus to postseason play. Following a week off from competition, the Vikings will head to Ogden, Utah for the Big Sky Championship tournament (May 10-13). The Vikings sit fifth in the standings after finishing the regular season with a 6-9 conference record.
