PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland State softball team looks to build on its 2-3 start as it heads to California for the second straight weekend, prepared for a five-game slate at the Cardinal Classic hosted by Stanford.

The tournament, held at Stanford Stadium, will take place over three days (Feb. 14-16) and feature a four-team field. Live stats will be available for all five of the Vikings' games, but only Saturday evening's matchup with Stanford will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

PSU will play doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday before closing the weekend with a single game on Sunday, Feb. 16.They officially open the weekend on Friday at 10:00 a.m. against UC Davis, followed by a clash with UC Riverside at 12:30 p.m. On Saturday, they face UC Davis again at 12:30 p.m. before taking on No. 20 Stanford under the lights at Stanford Stadium beginning at 6:00 PM. The Vikings will close the tournament on Sunday against UC Riverside at 11:00 a.m.

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PORTLAND STATE SOFTBALL GAME NOTES // WEEK 2

» Game 1: Portland State vs. UC Davis // 10:00 AM -- Live stats link
» Game 2: Portland State vs. UC Riverside // 12:30 PM -- Live stats link
SAT., FEBRUARY 15 
» Game 3: Portland State vs. UC Davis // 12:30 PM  -- Live stats ink
» Game 4: Portland State at #20 Stanford // 6:00 PM -- Live Stats link – Live Stream link
SUN., FEBRUARY 16     
» Game 5: Portland State vs. UC Riverside // 11:00 AM -- Live Stats link

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
UC DAVIS AGGIES (3-1): The Vikings and Aggies have met 40 times, with UC Davis holding a narrow 23-17 series lead. Despite their extensive history, they've faced off just once in the last decade—an 11-2 UC Davis win on Feb. 15, 2020.
UC RIVERSIDE (4-3): The Vikings and Highlanders will meet for the 26th time Friday and the third time in four seasons. They've traded dominant wins in their last two matchups—PSU winning 7-1 on Feb. 12, 2022, and UC Riverside responding with an 8-0 five-inning victory on Feb. 11, 2023. The Vikings lead the all-time series 14-11.
#20 STANFORD (4-0): PSU faces 20th-ranked Stanford on Saturday, its first top-25 opponent since 2022. The Cardinal leads the all-time series 13-9 and has won the last eight meetings, including three straight run-rule victories, most recently an 11-0 win on Feb. 12, 2016. The Vikings last defeated a ranked opponent on March 6, 2022, with a 6-1 win over No. 24 Oregon State.

OPENING WEEKEND AT THE LA JOLLA INVITATIONAL

• The Vikings secured two victories during their opening weekend at the La Jolla Invitational in San Diego, defeating host UC San Diego 7-4 on Saturday and winning 10-8 against Winthrop in the tournament finale on Sunday
• They struggled offensively in their first three games, recording just seven hits—one against BYU and two against Winthrop—before finding their rhythm on the final day. On Sunday, the Vikings more than doubled their hit count, totaling 17 hits across two games, with a weekend-high of 10 hits in the win over Winthrop
• A total of 15 Vikings had at least one at-bat, and 17 saw action in the field, including four pitchers
• Four freshmen made their collegiate debuts, with three starting two or more games

VIKINGS' WEEK ONE HIGHLIGHTS / LEADERS

• Four Vikings made appearances in the circle at the La Jolla Invitational, with Grace Kimball tossing 14.2 innings over three days, nearly half of the total innings played. She finished the weekend with a 1-1 record, a save, 13 strikeouts, and a 1.91 ERA, holding opponents to a .266 average. She also notched her first complete game of the season in a 7-4 win over UC San Diego, allowing three earned runs, seven hits, and striking out six
• Annie Lemos also earned her first win of the season over the weekend, defeating Winthrop on Sunday, pitching 5.0 innings allowing only five hits and two earned runs allowed before Kimball secured the final two innings for her first save
• Neveah Smith had a standout weekend at the plate, batting .667 with a .692 on-base percentage and at least one hit in each game, including a 3-for-3 performance against UC San Diego. She enters the second week of play with the 10th highest batting average in the nation after leading the Big Sky in week one
• Lorraine Alo, Natalia Martinez, and Ellie Babbitt combined for 17 RBIs at the La Jolla Invitational, with Alo contributing seven, Martinez and Babbitt adding five each, accounting for 85% of the Vikings' RBIs. Martinez had at least one RBI in four of five games, while Babbitt and Alo each had four-RBI games
• Redshirt junior Grace Johnson made her career debut in the infield over the weekend, after spending two seasons as an outfielder for the Vikings. She was phenomenal at second base, recording six putouts and eight assists with zero errors 

THE VIKINGS' 2025 ROSTER

• The Vikings return 12 players from last year's team that went 23-24 overall, 6-8 in Big Sky play, and finished as the Big Sky Tournament runner-up
• Three returners earned all-conference honors (Lorraine Alo, Grace Kimball, Natalia Martinez), while all four 2024 Big Sky All-Tournament selections (Alo, Martinez, Kimball, Ellie Babbitt) are back
• The roster includes 11 newcomers: eight freshmen and three transfers
• Freshmen: RHP Delaney Hoyle, C Kendall Nevin, C Scarlett McEwen, C Samiya Wright, OF Gracie Toney, OF Nichole Orozco, OF Elise Sanchez, MIF Rylee Gaustad
• Transfers: LHP Sophia Guerra (CSU Bakersfield, Guatemala), RHP Anna Jardin (Rhode Island, Wilsonville, Ore.), C Abby Carsley (Kansas, McMinnville, Ore.) –will redshirt this season.

ALL ABOUT ALO

• As a freshman in 2024, designated hitter Lorraine Alo had one of the best offensive seasons in program history and the second-best ever in the Big Sky Conference
• She set a single-season program record with a .440 batting average, ranking eighth in the nation, going 55-for-125 with 11 doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 32 RBI. She also set a program record with a .517 on-base percentage
• She dominated the Big Sky Tournament, hitting .632 (12-for-19) over six games with two home runs, four RBI, and a .708 on-base percentage
• Alo became the first player in program history to be named Big Sky Freshman of the Year, earning first-team utility honors
• Additionally, she was named second-team All-Pacific Region by the NFCA and became the program's first-ever freshman to be a TUCCI/NFCA DI National Freshman of the Year Finalist (Top 25)

KIMBALLEN

• A transfer from Boise State, Kimball led the Vikings in the circle in her first season at Portland State in 2024. As a redshirt junior for PSU, she went 15-10 overall and 6-2 in Big Sky play, throwing 153.2 innings
• She posted a 3.42 ERA for the season, with a 2.30 ERA in Big Sky regular season play. She pitched 14 complete games, including four shutouts, while holding opponents to a .256 average with 128 strikeouts
• She had a dominant Big Sky Tournament run, tossing 35 innings over four days with a 3-1 record, three complete games, and 30 strikeouts to lead the Vikings to a runner-up finish
• Kimball was named Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors

MEADOW MCWHORTER'S SUCCESS

• Viking Head Coach Meadow McWhorter is in her ninth season at Portland State, carrying a 139-217 (.390) overall record into the weekend
• She's eight wins away from surpassing former PSU head coach Tobin-Hawk Creek's 147 wins, which would make her the second-winningest coach in program history
• She's led the Vikings to a 57-63 (.475) Big Sky record and four straight top-three finishes in the conference tournament, including a title in 2021, third-place finishes in 2022 and 2023, and a runner-up finish in 2024
• McWhorter has coached 24 first- and second-team All-Big Sky selections, four individual award winners (including 2023 BSC Player of the Year Emily Johansen), four All-Pacific Region honorees, and 15 Big Sky All-Tournament selections

 A LOOK AT THE VIKINGS' 2025 SCHEDULE

• The Vikings have 50 games scheduled for the regular season, with 17 at home, 33 on the road, 35 non-conference games, and 15 Big Sky contests
• They'll compete in five non-conference tournaments, four of them consecutively in February, totaling 20 games in 24 days
• Tournament schedule: La Jolla Invitational (Feb. 7-9), Cardinal Classic (Feb. 14-16), ASU/GCU Invite (Feb. 21-23), University of Oregon Invitational (Feb. 28-March 1), and Santa Clara/St. Mary's Invitational (March 14-16)
• Their non-conference schedule includes seven Power Four opponents, three of which finished in last year's final top 25 poll