PORTLAND, Ore. – For the first time since 2019, the Portland State softball team will venture outside of Ogden, Utah for postseason conference play. Following an up-and-down regular season, marked by a notable turnaround midway through the year, the fourth-seeded Vikings are headed to Pocatello, Idaho this week to vie for the program's third tournament championship in history.

The four-day double-elimination tournament will take place at Miller Ranch Stadium, home of the defending regular-season champion Idaho State Bengals.

The Vikings will kick things off on Wednesday, May 8, against the fifth-seeded Weber State Wildcats at 12:30 p.m. PT/1:30 p.m. MT. Due to inclement weather in Pocatello, it was announced on Tuesday that Wednesday's games had been postponed. As a result, only two games will be played on the first day of the tournament, meaning that regardless of the outcome of their opener, the Vikings will not return to action until Thursday.

You can catch all of this week's action on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available for fans at home. 
 

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PORTLAND STATE SOFTBALL POSTSEASON NOTES - BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT (MAY 8-11)
BIG SKY TOURNAMENT HOME PAGE | TICKETS

2024 Big Sky Softball Championship Schedule 
May 8-11 | Pocatello, Idaho

Wednesday, May 8
Game 1 – #4 Portland State vs #5 Weber State // 1:30 p.m. -- LIVE STATS | WATCH
Game 2 – #3 Sacramento State vs #6 Montana // 4:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 9
Game 3 – #1 Northern Colorado vs. Game 1 Winner // 9:00 a.m.
Game 4 – #2 Idaho State vs. Game 2 Winner // 11:30 a.m.
Game 5 – Game 2 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser (Loser Eliminated) // 2:00 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser (Loser Eliminated) // 4:30 p.m.

Friday, May 10
Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner // 11:00 a.m.
Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (Loser Eliminated) // 1:30 p.m.
Game 9 – Game 7 Loser vs. Game 8 Winner (Loser Eliminated) // 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 11
Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner // 12:00 p.m.
Game 11 – If Necessary // 2:30 p.m.

VIKINGS' BIG SKY TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Previous Appearances: Seven (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
• Tournament Record: 14-9
• Championships Won: Two  (2013, 2021)
• Head Coach Meadow McWhorter: 6^th tournament appearance, 11-7 record, 1 Championship
• For the second consecutive season, the Vikings enter the tournament as the fourth seed and will open against No. 5 Weber State 
• The Vikings won their second Big Sky tournament championship in program history in 2021, finishing the week 4-0 to become the first team in conference history to win as the five-seed. Eight players from that championship team will be donning Portland State uniforms this weekend, looking to replicate the feat three years later.
• Three current Vikings have been named to the Big Sky All-Tournament Team during their careers: Emily Johansen (2021, 2022) Paetynn Lopez (2021), Logan Riggenbach (2023)

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

#1 NORTHERN COLORADO All-Time Series: Vikings lead, 28-20 First Meeting: 2007 At the BSC Tournament: Vikings lead, 2-1 2024 Series Result: Northern Colorado, 2-1 (Hillsboro, OR)	#2 IDAHO STATE All-Time Series: Vikings lead, 31-20 First Meeting:1981 At the BSC Tournament: Series tied, 2-2 2024 Series Result: Portland State, 3-0 (Boise, ID)
#3 SACRAMENTO STATE All-Time Series: Hornets lead, 59-29 First Meeting: 1971 At the BSC Tournament: Series tied, 1-1 2024 Series Result: Tied, 1-1 (Sacramento, CA)	#5 WEBER STATE All-Time Series: Vikings lead 28-20 First Meeting: 1982 At the BSC Tournament: Vikings lead, 4-1 2024 Series Result: Weber State, 2-1 (Hillsboro, OR)
#6 MONTANA All-Time Series: Montana leads 20-12 First Meeting: 2015 At the BSC Tournament: Grizzlies lead, 4-1  2024 Series Result: Portland State, 2-1 (Missoula, MT)

ALL BIG-SKY SELECTIONS
On Tuesday, the Vikings secured six spots on all-conference teams. Freshman Player of the Year and first-team DP Lorraine Alo, alongside second-team pitcher and Top Newcomer Grace Kimball, highlighted the group. These individual accolades mark a significant achievement for Portland State, the most since joining the Big Sky in 2013, excluding a Coach of the Year/Pitcher of the Year duo in 2013. Additionally, first-team second baseman Maddie Thompson made history as the program's first player to receive back-to-back first-team nods. Rounding out the recognition, honorable mention first baseman Emily Johansen earned her fourth all-conference award, the most in program history for any player. Third baseman Natalia Martinez snagged her first All-Big Sky recognition while catcher Paetynn Lopez's honorable mention marked the third recognition of her career.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR ALO
Two weeks ago, 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 had an outstanding regular season for the Vikings, boasting the second-highest batting average in the conference (.406) along with a team-leading three home runs, 28 RBI, a .594 slugging percentage, and a .479 on-base percentage. During conference play, Alo maintained an impressive .457 batting average and an astounding .528 on-base percentage, while contributing 16 RBI over 14 games.

KIMBALL(IN)'
Redshirt junior right-hander Grace Kimball was a huge part of the Vikings' success this season, tossing 12 complete games in her last 13 starts, including four shutouts. During those starts, Kimball notched a 10-3 record and 77 strikeouts, holding opponents to just 20 earned runs over 80.2 innings pitched. She completed her first conference season with a 6-2 record, limiting Big Sky opponents to a .234 batting average while compiling a 2.30 ERA. 

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

• Freshman Lorraine Alo led the Vikings with a .406 season batting average that included a .457 mark against conference opponents. Alo has eight multi-RBI games to go along with 12 multi-hit performances. She enters the postseason having reached base in seven consecutive games.
• Fifth-year senior Emily Johansen was hot against Big Sky pitching this season, entering the postseason having hit .395 against Big Sky foes, finishing with a .481 on-base percentage.
• Maddie Thompson was stellar in the leadoff position for PSU, tallying a hit in all but nine of 37 starts. Her success included a team-best 13 multi-hit games and a 12-game hitting streak spanning from Feb. 29th to March 21
• Senior outfielder Alexa Cepeda finished the regular season on a hot streak at the plate, hitting .714 (5-for7) with a double, inside-the-park home run and one RBI

BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Lorraine Alo was named the Big Sky Player of the Week 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 in March, 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 hit .266 overall and .305 against conference opponents
• The Vikings imrpoved their overall team batting average by .22 points over the last 14 games (.244 to .266)
• They scored 42% of their runs during the regular season in the fourth and fifth innings
• 47% of the Vikings' RBIs have occured with two outs (66 of 141)
• The Vikings are 16-1 when leading and 2-21 when trailing after four innings
• They hold a 4-14 record when their opponent scores in the first inning and are 14-7 when scoring the first run of the game
• 70% of the Vikings' active roster recorded at least one RBI during the regular season

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 three 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: 113 (Rec. 133) 
• THOMPSON RECORD WATCH: STOLEN BASES: 45 (Rec. 48 - D1) | RUNS: 105 (Rec. 133)

TIGHT BALLGAMES
13 of the Vikings' 41 games during the regular season were decided by one run. They enter the postseason with a 7-6 record in those games. Additionally, nearly half of their losses (9-of-22)  occurred by two runs or less.

MCWHORTER'S 600TH CAREER WIN
Viking Head Coach Meadow McWhorter claimed her 132nd victory at Portland State against the Griz two weekends ago, 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 currently holds a 55-61 Big Sky record during regular season 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 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.