POCATELLO, Idaho - The fourth-seeded Portland State softball team fended off a comeback by second-seed Idaho State on day two of the Big Sky Tournament with a thrilling 6-5 victory in an elimination game at Miller Ranch Stadium.
 
The Vikings' triumph marked their 20th win of the season, securing their spot in Friday's quarterfinal game. Meanwhile, the host school Bengals concluded their 2024 campaign with a 25-27 record.
 
Grace Kimball earned the win in the circle for Portland State, tossing her 12^th complete game of the season as she improved to 13-10. The Bengals put pressure on the right-hander, managing to reach at least one base runner in every inning while stranding 13 in total. Despite three errors from her defense, Kimball maintained her composure throughout the contest, navigating out of a pair of bases-loaded jams to help lead the Vikings to a one-run victory.
 
Portland State amassed four of its nine hits in the opening two innings, propelling them to an early 4-0 lead.
 
Lorraine Alo ignited the offense with a solo shot in the top of the first, her fourth home run of the season. Paetynn Lopez kept the momentum going in the second inning with a one-out double down the right-field line. Ellie Babbitt then followed with an RBI double that evaded the Idaho State right fielder, allowing her to score as well. Alapese Matautia sealed the second-inning rally with her first home run of the year, extending the Vikings' advantage to four.

The Bengals narrowed their deficit in the bottom of the second, tallying two runs off three hits before leaving three runners stranded on base. They then leveled the score with two runs in the fourth inning, putting the pressure back on Portland State.
 
The Vikings responded quickly, using small ball to their advantage in the top of the fifth. After Alexa Cepeda led off with a bunt single, Maddie Thompson executed another bunt that led to an overthrow by the Bengals, allowing Cepeda to score. Emily Johansen then scored the speedy Thompson from third with a perfectly executed squeeze, giving PSU the lead back at 6-4.
 
The two-run lead didn't last long as the Bengals narrowed it to one in the sixth inning before Kimball navigated out of another bases-loaded jam.

Fighting to keep its season alive, Idaho State led off the bottom of the seventh by reaching the tying run. Kimball, however, remained resilient, shutting down the Bengals' last-ditch effort by forcing three consecutive ground outs to secure the win.
 
The Vikings finished with nine hits to the Bengals eight. Alo and Matautia accounted for five of those nine hits, while four other Vikings contributed one each.
 
Portland State will look to reach its fourth consecutive Big Sky semifinal game on Friday. They'll open day three against fifth-seeded Weber State at 12:30 p.m. PT/1:30 p.m. MT in another elimination game. The winner will advance to the semifinal at 3:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. MT against either Northern Colorado or Sacramento State.