PORTLAND, Ore. - With a second-place position in the Big Sky standings, the Portland State softball team is set to conclude their regular-season road schedule this weekend with a Saturday-Sunday series against the University of Montana. The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 20th, starting at 12:00 p.m. PT/1:00 p.m. MT, followed by a single game on Sunday, April 21st, at 11 a.m. PT/Noon MT at the Grizzly Softball Field.

The Vikings (16-19, 5-3 BSC) and the Griz (16-26, 0-9 BSC) will clash for the 30th time on Saturday, with the Vikings looking to secure their third consecutive series victory over UM. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats also available.
 

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SERIES NOTES – PORTLAND STATE (16-19, 5-3 BSC) at MONTANA (16-26, 0-9 BSC)  - Missoula, Mont. (Grizzly Softball Stadium)

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1 - Sat., April 20 - Portland State at Montana - 1:00 pm MT – ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
Game 2 - Sat., April 20 - Portland State at Montana - 3:30 pm MT – ESPN+ | LIVE STATS
Game 3 - Sun., April 21 - Portland State at Montana - Noon MT – ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

SCOUTING THE GRIZ
Montana comes into the weekend with a 16-26 overall record and a 0-9 conference standing. They ended a six-game losing skid earlier this week, securing victories of 8-0 and 9-1 against Carroll on Tuesday. They'll face the Vikings after suffering sweeps by Weber State, Northern Colorado, and Idaho State to open conference play. They carry a .266 team batting average, hitting .219 against conference opponents. Led by freshman Rylee Rehbein with a 4.91 ERA and a 6-5 record, their pitching staff has a season ERA of 5.22.

SERIES HISTORY 
The Griz lead the all-time series, 19-10. In 2023, the Vikings beat Montana in three out of four games, including a no-hit 13-0 victory at the Big Sky Tournament. During their last visit to Missoula in 2022, PSU secured a 2-1 series win, improving its series road record to 4-8. This weekend, the Vikings look to clinch their third consecutive series over the conference foe. Since taking over in 2017, Viking Head Coach Meadow McWhorter has a 14-8 record against UM.

LAST TIME OUT – SACRAMENTO STATE SERIES
The Vikings' series against the Hornets last weekend was cut short due to rain. The teams split a doubleheader on Friday before the series final was canceled on Saturday. The Vikings dropped game one 2-1 before responding with a 5-0 win in game two. The series finale will not be rescheduled.

BIG SKY STANDINGS
1. Northern Colorado (7-2 BSC)
2. Portland State (5-3 BSC)
3. Weber State (6-4 BSC)
4. Sacramento State (3-3 BSC)
5. Idaho State (3-3 BSC)
6. Montana (0-9)

KIMBALL(IN)'
Redshirt junior right-hander Grace Kimball has been a huge part of the Vikings' recent success, tossing eight complete games in her last 9 starts in the circle. During those starts, she's notched an 8-1 record and 53 strikeouts, holding opponents to just 14 runs over 60.2 innings pitched. She carries a 4-1 conference record, limiting Big Sky opponents to a .190 batting average while compiling an impressive 0.97 ERA. 

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Freshman Lorraine Alo leads the Vikings with a .416 batting avg., .584 slugging pct., .475 OBP, two home runs, 22 RBI and 52 total bases. She has knocked 19 RBI over the last 18 games while knocking at least one hit in 13 of her last 15 starts. Her .416 average ranks third in the Big Sky. In conference play alone, Alo is hitting .517 (15-for-29) with 10 RBI. 
• Maddie Thompson has been stellar in the lead-off spot all season for PSU, tallying a hit in all but seven of 29 starts. She has tallied at least one hit in 18 of her last 23 games, which included ten multi-hit performances and a 12-game hitting streak spanning from Feb. 29th to March 21st

BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Lorraine Alo was named the Big Sky Player of the Week two weeks ago following a dominant weekend at the plate against Idaho State. She recorded three multi-hit games during the series, hitting .583 (7-for-12) with a double, home run and a team-high four RBI. 

HOT BATS AGAINST THE BENGALS

• The Vikings had a breakthrough weekend at the plate against the Bengals three weekends ago, recording a .398 team batting average and a .450 on-base percentage across three games, raising their season average by 19 points
• They tallied 39 hits in the series, notching double-digit hit totals in all three games which included a season-high 15 hits in the series finale
• Maddie Thompson, Emily Johansen, Natalia Martinez and Lorraine Alo all hit at or above .500 on the weekend
• The Vikings more than doubled their season home run total in Boise, hitting four against the Bengals despite entering the series with just three total

THE TURNAROUND

• After opening the season 3-14, the Vikings finally hit their stride, winning 11 of 13 games over 23 days in March (beginning with the Seattle series on March 7th)
• During that 13-game stretch, the Vikings scored 54 runs and tallied five shutouts while out-hitting opponents 101-82
• The turnaround included eight consecutive wins, the program's longest winning streak since 2011 which included victories over Seattle, Oregon State, Western Oregon and Pacific (CA)

BACK-TO-BACK BIG SKY PITCHERS OF THE WEEK

• Allicitie Frost and Grace Kimball landed consecutive Big Sky Pitcher of the Week honors last month, 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, 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 two weeks ago. 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

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Vikings have compiled an impressive .322 team batting average in conference play
• They've scored 42% of their runs this season in the fourth and fifth innings
• 51% of the Vikings' RBIs have come with two outs
• The Vikings are 13-1 when leading and 2-18 when trailing after four innings
• They hold a 2-13 record when their opponent scores in the first inning
• 70% of the Vikings' active roster has recorded at least one RBI

RECORD CHASING
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) before becoming the all-time RBI leader with her 136th career RBI against Pacific. Fellow senior Maddie Thompson is also approaching a record as she sits just six stolen bases behind the program's DI-era stolen base record of 48 set by Olivia Dean in 2023. Additionally, senior Paetynn Lopez's 18 career home runs is tied 7th all-time.

• JOHANSEN RECORD WATCH: HOME RUNS: 29 (Rec. 32) | DOUBLES: 32 (Rec. 44) | WALKS: 82 (Rec. 84) | RUNS SCORED: 108 (Rec. 133) 
• THOMPSON RECORD WATCH: STOLEN BASES: 42 (Rec. 48 - D1) | RUNS: 99 (Rec. 133)

HOME SWEET HOME
The Vikings are 10-2 at home this season after opening 9-0 at Gordon Faber Field. During those 12 games, they've out-scored opponents 53-23 while recording four shutouts.

TIGHT BALLGAMES
12 of the Vikings' 33 games this season have been decided by a single run. They enter the weekend with a 6-6 record in those games. Additionally, nearly half of their losses (9-of-19) have occurred by two runs or less.

600TH CAREER WIN
Viking Head Coach Meadow McWhorter claimed her 130th victory at Portland State against the Hornets last weekend, moving her career total to 598 wins. 468 of those wins came during her 14-year career at Mt. Hood Community College where she held her only head coaching position prior to PSU. She is just two wins away from reaching the 600-collegiate win milestone.

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.