PORTLAND, Ore. - Riding a seven-game winning streak, their longest in over a decade, the Portland State softball team looks to maintain their success away from home as they head to Stockton, Calif., for a three-game series at the University of the Pacific this week. The series kicks off with a single game on Thursday, March 21st (3:00 p.m.), followed by a doubleheader on Friday, March 22nd (12:00/2:30 p.m.) at Bill Simoni Field.
 
The series between the Vikings (10-14) and the Tigers (8-21) was initially planned for Friday and Saturday. However, due to Saturday's unfavorable weather forecast, the games were moved up one day.

All three games will stream live on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.
 

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SERIES NOTES – PORTLAND STATE (10-14) at PACIFIC (8-21) | March 21-22 - Stockton, Calif. (Bill Simoni Field)
GAME LINKS: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
The Tigers will face a quick turnaround after playing a mid-week doubleheader at Fresno State on Wednesday, March 20. The Tigers fell 3-2 to the Bulldogs, falling to 8-21 on the year. They've now lost six straight heading into their series against the Vikings. They'll aim to win their first game since March 10, when they completed a three-game sweep of CSU Bakersfield. The Tigers are 4-9 at home, having played eight of their last nine games in Stockton. 

SERIES HISTORY 
Pacific leads the all-time series 16-4, making Thursday the 21^st matchup between the programs. The teams met twice in 2022, with Pacific winning the last game 6-5 in eight innings. Despite the Tigers' dominance overall, Portland State has earned wins in two of the last three contests. The Vikings are 1-11 when playing the Tigers on their home field, which they haven't done since 2017. Viking Head Coach Meadow McWhorter will look to improve on a 2-3 record against Pacific since taking over at PSU.

LAST TIME OUT – IN-STATE SWEEPS
The Vikings are coming off a stellar 4-0 week, with doubleheader sweeps of Oregon State and Western Oregon at Gordon Faber Field 4. They opened the week with a pair of 1-0 victories over OSU, earning a seven-inning shutout victory in game one before winning game two on an 11th-inning walkoff single from Lorraine Alo. On Friday, the Vikings added to their winning streak with a pair of victories over Western Oregon. They opened with a 2-1 win before completing their third shutout of the week, 4-0 in game two. 
 
SEVEN IN A ROW

• The Vikings head to Stockton on a seven-game win streak, their longest since 2013
• A win on Thursday would surpass the Vikings' 7-game win streak in 2013 and would become the program's longest streak since winning 11 consecutive in 2011
• The streak includes seven straight home wins over Seattle (3), Oregon State (2) and Western Oregon (2)
• The Vikings have outscored their opponents 21-9 over those seven games, recording four shutouts

DOMINANT IN THE CIRCLE

• In their last seven outings, the Vikings' pitching staff has tallied a phenomenal 0.53 ERA, allowing just four earned runs while holding opponents to a .168 batting average
• Allicitie Frost and Grace Kimball have pitched 49.2/53.0 innings of the last seven games
• Last week, they combined for three shutouts and a 0.22 ERA in four games against OSU and WOU
• The duo has combined for 42 strikeouts in 49.2 innings pitched over the last seven games, both tallying career-high strikeouts in complete-game performances against WOU on Friday (3/15)
• Frost leads the Vikings with a 2.78 ERA, recording four straight complete-game performances and two consecutive shutouts
• Kimball has pitched complete games in her last three starts, limiting all three opponents to five or fewer hits
• In her last four outings, which included three starts, Kimball has only allowed a single earned run and one extra-base hit, holding her opponents to a .151 average across 24.2 innings of work

BACK-TO-BACK BIG SKY PITCHERS OF THE WEEK

• Allicitie Frost and Grace Kimball's stellar performances in the circle have landed consecutive Big Sky Pitcher of the Week honors, each earning the nod for the first time of their careers
• (March 11th) - Kimball earned the weekly honor after playing a pivotal role in the Vikings' sweep of Seattle two weeks ago, boasting a 2-0 record, one complete-game shutout, a 0.00 ERA and eight strikeouts. She held the Redhawks to a .154 average across 10.2 innings pitched.
• (March 18th) - Frost earned the honor after delivering a pair of complete-game shutouts against OSU and WOU last week. She tossed an 11-inning complete game performance against the Beavers before striking out a career-high 13 batters in her shutout against WOU, including the first nine she faced. She finished the week with 18 scoreless innings and 18 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to a mere .117 batting average.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Maddie Thompson's team-high .397 batting average ranks fourth in the Big Sky. She enters Thursday on a 12-game hitting streak while hitting .435 (10-for-23) over the last seven games. She has tallied at least one hit in 17 of 20 starts, recording multi-hit games in 8 of those starts. Thompson has struck out just three times in 73 plate appearances
• Lorraine Alo's .360 (18-for-50) average ranks second on the team and ninth in the Big Sky. She heads into Thursday with a team-best .439 on-base percentage. Last week, she led the Vikings with a 6-for-13  (.462) performance at the plate against the Beavers and Wolves, recording two hits in three of those four games. Her team-high 5 RBI on the week included an 11^th inning walk-off RBI single against the Beavers on Tuesday
• Logan Riggenbach has eight doubles on the year, the fourth most in the conference
• Paetynn Lopez has a team-high ten RBI, five of those coming at the Silicon Valley Classic. Her five extra-base hits ranks second on the team behind Riggenbach. Lopez also leads the Vikings with 10 walks

CHASING (& BREAKING) RECORDS
Fifth-year senior Emily Johansen currently holds top-ten positions in ten of the program's all-time offensive categories. Earlier this season, she tied the program's career record for sac flies (12), joining Crysta Conn who set the mark back in 2014. Her three-run home run against Seattle two weeks ago tied Mandy Hill for the program's all-time career RBI record (135). She's on the verge of breaking Hill's record from 2008, needing just one more RBI to become the sole record holder.

• Current Numbers: Home runs: 29 (Rec. 32)  | RBI: 135 (Rec. 135) | Doubles: 30 (Rec. 44) | Walks: 77  (Rec. 84) | Runs scored: 102 (Rec. 133)

RECORD ANALYSIS 

• The Vikings are 9-0 at home, outscoring their opponents 41-9 at Gordon Faber Field 4
• Away from home, the Vikings are 0-8 in road games and 1-6 in neutral-site games
• Half of the Vikings' losses (7-of-14) have occurred by two runs or less
• The Vikings have scored nearly half of their runs (38-of-81) in the fourth and fifth innings
• The first inning is crucial for the Vikings defensively, who hold a 1-8 record when their opponent scores in their opening at-bat. They've allowed 20 runs in the first and are 1-7 when trailing after the first inning
• The Vikings are 7-4 when scoring first, 6-3 when out-hitting their opponent and 7-0 when holding a lead after three innings of play

ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNERS
The Vikings landed five All-Big Sky honors last season. For the second consecutive season, three Vikings were named to the first team, including returners Maddie Thompson and Emily Johansen. In addition to her first team nod, Johansen became the Vikings' first-ever Big Sky Player of the Year. Second Team pitcher Allicitie Frost is also among the all-conference returners from last season.  
 
DYNAMIC DUO
Two 2023 first-team members are manning the Vikings' right side of the infield this season, first baseman Emily Johansen and second baseman Maddie Thompson. The duo was exceptionally outstanding last year in conference action, both hitting above .400. Thompson finished with a .345 overall average while hitting a conference-best .477 (21-for-44) during Big Sky play. Johansen hit .344 on the season (.435 BSC) and produced d a team-high 44 RBI and 13 doubles. Thompson's .441 and Johansen's .460 on-base percentages were the top two in the Big Sky. Defensively, they combined for 104 putouts and 33 assists with just a single error across 15 conference games.  
 
NINE STRONG: VIKING SENIOR CLASS
The Vikings have nine seniors on their roster this season, eight of whom have played their entire careers at Portland State. Emily Johansen and Marisol Gaona are the oldest of the group, using their fifth year of eligibility offered due to COVID-19. Also in her fifth season is transfer Makayla Romeo. This is her first season at Portland State following two seasons at both LMU and Tarleton State. Maddie Thompson, Paetynn Lopez, Alexa Cepeda, Logan Riggenbach, Shea Garcia and Allicitie Frost all began their careers at PSU as freshmen in 2020 (ahead of '21 season). This class has had a lasting impact on the program, winning 61 games, 24 Big Sky contests and nine postseason wins over three years. In three consecutive Big Sky tournament appearances, they've clinched one conference title and secured two top-three finishes. Their impressive achievements have been complemented by notable accolades. Among them, five players have earned at least one all-conference honor, totaling nine honors collectively. Four players have been named first-team All-Big Sky and two have earned All-Region honors.