OGDEN, Utah – The fourth-seeded Portland State softball team opened the Big Sky Championship Tournament on a high note Wednesday, earning an 11-7 win over No. 5 Weber State (12-31, 6-9 BSC) before dropping game two, 5-1 to top-seeded Idaho State (19-26, 10-5 BSC) at the Wildcat Softball Field. The Vikings, now 16-26 overall, are still alive in the double-elimination tournament and are set to face No. 6 Montana in an elimination game on Thursday, May 11 (11 AM PT/12 PM MT).

Game 1: Portland State 11, Weber State 7

Looking to end a six-game losing skid in the opener, the Vikings found themselves in an early hole against the Wildcats. Scoring in its first two at-bats, Weber State took a 5-0 lead in the top of the second. The Vikings began to chip away at that lead in the home half of the second inning, cutting the deficit to three with a two-out RBI single from Natalia Martinez followed by a bases-loaded walk by Maddie Thompson. 

Carrying momentum into the third, the Vikings rallied once again with two outs. A pair of RBI from Ellie Babbitt and Olivia Dean tied the game at five before Emily Johansen drew another bases-loaded walk to give PSU its first lead of the day.

WSU was quick to reclaim its lead, doing so with a two-run shot in the top of the fourth. However, the Vikings continued to do damage at the plate, bringing two across in the bottom of the fourth to take an 8-7 lead. An RBI triple from Dean and an RBI double from Thompson extended PSU's lead to 10-7 in the sixth. The Vikings capitalized on a two-out error to tack on one more insurance run before Weber State worked itself out of the jam.

Olivia Grey shut the Wildcats down in their final at-bat, striking out two in the top of the seventh to secure the 11-7 tournament-opening victory.

The Vikings out-hit WSU 10-9 in the win but stranded 14 runners in the process. Logan Riggenbach led Portland State's offense, going 3-for-5 at the plate. Dean and Thompson both notched season-highs in the contest, recording three RBI each.

Grey earned the win in the circle after taking things over in the second inning. The senior right-hander struck out six and held WSU to four hits and three earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.
 

Game 2: Idaho State 5, Portland State 1

The top-seeded Bengals came out hot in their tournament opener, putting up four runs against the Vikings in the opening three frames. Dean gave the Vikings some life in the fifth, knocking an RBI double off the wall to score Bailee Noland and cut the deficit to three at 4-1. However, Idaho State responded quickly, scoring in the bottom of the fifth to reclaim its four-run lead. 

Despite putting two runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, the Vikings couldn't bring anyone home, falling to the Bengals 5-1.

Viking starter Allicitie Frost threw two innings before Grey relieved her in the bottom of the third. Grey held the Bengals to just a single run over four innings while striking out six. The Bengals narrowly out-hit the Vikings 7-6. Riggenbach led the way once again, this time going 2-for-3 at the dish. 

All six teams remain in the tournament after day one but that will change on Thursday as four of six teams will face elimination. 


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