OGDEN, Utah - After a disappointing end to the regular season, the Portland State softball team is eager to begin postseason play as it heads to Ogden, Utah this week for its fifth consecutive Big Sky Championship Tournament appearance (May 10-13).

The No. 4 seed Vikings (15-25, 6-9 BSC) will open the double-elimination tournament against fifth seeded Weber State (12-30, 6-9 BSC) on Wednesday, May 10 at 8:30 a.m. PT / 9:30 a.m. MT at Wildcat Softball Field. The winner of Wednesday's opening game will move on to face top-seeded Idaho State later that afternoon (1:30 PM PT/2:30 PM MT), while the loser will return to action in an elimination game on Thursday, May 11.

Also vying for the trophy this weekend is No. 2-seed Sacramento State, No. 3 Northern Colorado, and No. 6 Montana. The tournament champion will earn the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will advance to the NCAA Regional next week.
 

---

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT NOTES

2023 Big Sky Softball Championship - Ogden, UT – May 10-13

Watch on ESPN+ | Bracket | Championship Hub | Tickets

VIKINGS' TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Previous Appearances: Six (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)
• Tournament Record: 11-7
• Championships Won: Two (2013, 2021)
• Head Coach Meadow McWhorter: 5^th tournament appearance, 8-5 record, 1 Championship

HISTORY AGAINST OPPONENTS

NO. 1 IDAHO STATE (18-26, 10-5 BSC)
All-Time Series: Vikings lead, 28-19
At the Big Sky Tournament: Vikings lead, 2-1
2023 Series Result: Portland State, 2-1

NO. 2 SACRAMENTO STATE (27-18, 10-5 BSC)
All-Time Series: Hornets lead, 58-28
At the Big Sky Tournament: Series tied, 1-1
2023 Series Result: Sacramento State, 3-0

NO. 3 NORTHERN COLORADO (21-20, 9-6 BSC)
All-Time Series: Vikings lead, 27-17
At the Big Sky Tournament: Vikings lead, 2-0
2023 Series Result: Northern Colorado, 3-0

NO. 5 WEBER STATE (12-30, 6-9 BSC)
All-Time Series: Vikings lead 25-18
At the Big Sky Tournament: Vikings lead, 2-1
2023 Series Result: Portland State, 2-1

NO. 6 MONTANA (10-35, 4-11 BSC)
All-Time Series: Montana leads 19-9
At the Big Sky Tournament: Grizzlies lead, 4-0  
2023 Series Result: Portland State, 2-1
 

ALL-BIG SKY SELECTIONS

The Vikings had five players earn All-Conference honors on Tuesday, picking up three first team nods for the second consecutive season. First baseman Emily Johansen was tabbed the Big Sky Player of the Year after a stellar senior season, becoming Portland State's first player to earn the honor. Three of four first-team infield spots were awarded to the Vikings.  

Emily Johansen - Player of the Year / First Team All-Big Sky (First Base)
Olivia Dean - First Team All-Big Sky (Shortstop)
Maddie Thompson - First Team All-Big Sky (Second Base)
Bailee Noland - Second Team All-Big Sky (Non-pitcher/UTL)
Allicitie Frost - Second Team All-Big Sky (Pitcher)

BIG SKY PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The Vikings had five Player of the Week honors during the regular season, setting a single-season record single joining the Big Sky conference in 2013.

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.

LAST TIME OUT – NORTHERN COLORADO SERIES

The Vikings struggled to hold on to their late-inning leads against Northern Colorado in the regular season series finale two weekends ago, losing all three games to the Bears in Greeley on April 28-29. After a 6-3 loss to open the weekend, the Vikings lost the remaining two games to the Bears by a single run (5-6, 7-8). UNC faced four different Viking pitchers during the series, tallying 31 hits over three games. The Vikings were solid at the plate, recording 30 hits, but were hampered by 27 runners left on base over the weekend.
 

BIG BATS

• The Vikings finished the regular season with a conference-best .298 team batting average
• With five players hitting above .300, the Vikings hit .331 in conference action, scoring 82 runs over 15 games
• Emily Johansen (1st, .368), Olivia Dean (7th, .344) and Bailee Noland (10th, .337), all finished the regular season ranked in the Big Sky's top ten highest batting averages
• The Vikings rank second in the conference in home runs (26). Noland had the third-most with 7, while Johansen has the fourth-most with six
• Johansen leads the conference in six categories: total bases (76), RBIs (39), doubles (13) and slugging percentage (.650) walks (21) and sac flies (4)

KEYS TO VICTORY

The Vikings are…

• 12-3 when out-hitting opponents and 1-21 when out-hit by opponents
• 9-4 when recording 10+ hits
• 12-5 when holding opponents to five or less runs
• 11-7 when scored in the first inning
• 11-2 when leading after the fourth inning
• 7-5 at home
• 3-9 on the road
• 5-11 in neutral site games

ERRORLESS STREAK

Junior outfielder Logan Riggenbach hasn't committed an error in 100 starts, tallying 164 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)
• 122 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.

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 111-187 (.367) at PSU and 579-333 (.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 finished 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