PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland State softball team faces a crucial, highly-anticipated weekend as they vie for the Big Sky regular-season title against defending Big Sky tournament champion and fellow first-place team Northern Colorado. The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Friday, April 26th, starting at 4:00 p.m., followed by the series finale on Saturday, April 27th at 2:00 p.m.
 
While the games are slated for Gordon Faber Field 4, the forecasted rain may move Friday's doubleheader across the street to the turf field at Hillsboro Stadium. Check goviks.com Friday morning for updates.
 
Games played at Gordon Faber Field 4 will be streamed live on Twitter (X). Only play-by-play audio will be available for games moved to the turf field. Live stats will be accessible for all three games, regardless of the venue.
 
Amidst the high stakes, the weekend will feature a lineup of special events, including Alumni Day, Senior Day, and various fan promotions. Click Here for more information regarding this weekend's festivities and promotions. 
 

---

SERIES NOTES – NORTHERN COLORADO (22-21, 7-4 BSC) at PORTLAND STATE (18-20, 7-4 BSC) – Hillsboro, Ore. (Gordon Faber Field/Hillsboro Stadium)
LIVE STATS | TWITTER (X) STREAM | LIVE AUDIO 

SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1 - Fri., April 26 – Northern Colo. at Portland State - 4:00 pm PT
Game 2 - Fri., April 26 - Northern Colo. at Portland State - 6:30 pm PT  
Game 3 - Sat., April 27 - Northern Colo. at Portland State – 2:00 pm PT

BIG SKY STANDINGS
1. UNC: 7-4 (.636)
2. PSU: 7-4 (.636)
3. ISU: 5-3 (.625)
4. WSU: 7-5 (.583)
5. SAC: 4-4 (.500)
6. UM: 1-11 (.083)

REGULAR SEASON TITLE SCENARIOS 
Four teams are in contention for the regular season title entering the final weekend. 
1. ISU needs to sweep WSU to win the title and #1 seed
2. UNC/PSU needs to win at least 2 of 3 and hope that ISU or WSU doesn't sweep the other to win the title and #1 seed
3. WSU needs to sweep ISU and have PSU/UNC only win at most 2 of 3 to win the title and #1 seed

SCOUTING THE BEARS
The Bears enter the weekend at 22-21 overall and 7-4 in conference play. Ace pitcher Erin Caviness leads the conference in wins (13), saves (3) and strikeouts (144) as she heads into the weekend with a 2.24 season ERA and 1.87 ERA against Big Sky opponents. UNC carries a .276 team average at the plate, led by sophomore Ella Gonzales who has a team-high .366 batting average.

SERIES HISTORY 
The Vikings lead the all-time series 29-18, despite going 0-4 against the Bears a season ago. Northern Colorado has clinched two of the last three series against the Vikings but has never won a series in Hillsboro/Portland. Head Coach Meadow McWhorter carries an 11-9 career record against the Bears.

2024 SENIOR DAY
The Vikings will celebrate nine seniors following this weekend's series finale on Saturday. Of those nine seniors, eight 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 79 games, 31 Big Sky contests and nine postseason games over 3.5 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.

LAST TIME OUT – MONTANA SERIES
The Vikings went 2-1 against the Griz last weekend, clinching the series with victories in games one and three. They opened with a 9-3 victory before dropping game two 9-1 in five innings. The Vikings bounced back on Saturday, taking the series with a dominant 11-3 win in the series finale. The PSU bats boasted a .329 batting average, highlighted by four doubles and three home runs, all of which came in game three. Emily Johansen led the charge at the plate with a .500 (5-for-10) performance, while Lorraine Alo contributed a team-best five RBI. Notably, the Vikings committed just two errors throughout the series, while capitalizing on five defensive miscues by the Griz. Grace Kimball continued her dominance in the circle, earning both wins over the weekend to improve her record to 12-8.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR ALO
On Thursday, Viking freshman Lorraine Alo became the first player in program history to earn a spot on the top-25 TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year finalists. Alo has had an outstanding season for the Vikings, leading the Big Sky with a .418 batting average as she heads into the final weekend of the regular season. She tops nearly every offensive category for the team, with a .486 on-base percentage (second in the conference), 27 RBI, a .612 slugging percentage, and three home runs. She boasts a .500 (19-for-38) average against Big Sky opponents, with 15 RBI over 11 conference games. The top ten finalists will be revealed on May 9th.

KIMBALL(IN)'
Redshirt junior right-hander Grace Kimball has been a huge part of the Vikings' recent success, tossing 11 complete games in her last 12 starts, including four shutouts. During those starts, she's notched a 10-2 record and 67 strikeouts, holding opponents to just 19 runs over 73.2 innings pitched. She carries a 6-1 conference record, limiting Big Sky opponents to a .201 batting average while compiling an impressive 1.43 ERA. 

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Freshman Lorraine Alo leads the Vikings with a .418 batting avg., .612 slugging pct., .486 OBP, three home runs, 27 RBI and 60 total bases. She has knocked 24 RBI over the last 21 games while knocking at least one hit in 16 of her last 18 starts. Her .418 average leads the Big Sky while her .486 on-base percentage ranks second in the conference. Alo is hitting .500 (19-for-38) against Big Sky opponents.
• Fifth-year senior Emily Johansen has been hot against Big Sky pitching, entering the final weekend of conference play with a .471 Big Sky average and nine RBI.
• Maddie Thompson has been stellar in the lead-off spot all season for PSU, tallying a hit in all but seven of 34 starts. She has tallied at least one hit in 21 of her last 24 games, which included ten multi-hit performances and a 12-game hitting streak spanning from Feb. 29th to March 21

BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Lorraine Alo was named the Big Sky Player of the Week three 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. 

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 .324 team batting average in conference play
• The Vikings have improved their overall team batting average by .20 points over the last 11 games (.244 to .264)
• They've scored 41% of their runs this season in the fourth and fifth innings
• 47% of the Vikings' RBIs have come with two outs (63 of 135)
• The Vikings are 15-1 when leading and 2-19 when trailing after four innings
• They hold a 4-13 record when their opponent scores in the first inning and are 13-6 when scoring first
• 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 five stolen bases behind the program's DI-era stolen base record of 48 set by Olivia Dean in 2023. Additionally, senior Paetynn Lopez's 19 career home runs ranks 6th all-time.

• JOHANSEN RECORD WATCH: HOME RUNS: 29 (Rec. 32) | DOUBLES: 32 (Rec. 44) | WALKS: 83 (Rec. 84) | RUNS SCORED: 112 (Rec. 133) 
• THOMPSON RECORD WATCH: STOLEN BASES: 43 (Rec. 48 - D1) | RUNS: 103 (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-20) have occurred by two runs or less.

600TH CAREER WIN
Viking Head Coach Meadow McWhorter claimed her 132nd victory at Portland State against the Griz last weekend, moving her career total to 600 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 enters the weekend with a 54-59 Big Sky record. 

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 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.