PORTLAND, Ore. –  The Portland State softball team heads to Arizona this weekend for the ASU/GCU Classic, looking to rebound from a 1-4 showing at the Cardinal Classic last weekend. The three-day tournament will be held in both Tempe and Phoenix from Feb. 21-23.

The Vikings (3-7) will play five games over the weekend, starting with a doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 21, at GCU Softball Stadium. They will then play the next two days in Tempe, Ariz., at Arizona State's Farrington Softball Stadium, with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 22, followed by a single game on Sunday to close out the weekend.

Only one of the Vikings' games will be broadcast on ESPN+—their matchup against Grand Canyon on Friday at 3:00 PM PT / 4:00 PM MT. Live stats will be available for the rest of their games.
 

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PORTLAND STATE SOFTBALL GAME NOTES // WEEK 3

» Game 1: Portland State vs. New Mexico State (Live Stats) – 9:30 AM PT / 10:30 AM MT
» Game 2: Portland State at Grand Canyon (Live Stats | ESPN+) – 3:00 PM PT / 4:00 PM MT  
Saturday, Feb. 22 | Tempe, AZ | Farrington Softball Stadium
» Game 3: Portland State vs. Iowa State (Live Stats) – 12:15 PM PT / 1:15 PM MT  
» Game 4: Portland State at Arizona State (Live Stats) – 3:00 PM PT / 4:00 PM MT
Sunday, Feb. 23 | Tempe, AZ | Farrington Softball Stadium
» Game 5: Portland State vs. Cal Baptist (Live Stats) – 8:00 AM PT / 9:00 AM MT

HISTORY VS. OPPONENTS
NEW MEXICO STATE (8-4, 0-0): NMSU leads the all-time series against the Vikings 8-5. The teams last met in 2021 for a doubleheader in Hillsboro, where the Aggies won both games.
GRAND CANYON (10-2, 0-0): Friday's matchup between the Lopes and the Vikings will be just the fourth in the programs' histories. The Lopes hold a 2-1 lead, earning a commanding 16-8 victory over the Vikings in their most recent meeting in 2023.
IOWA STATE (4-5, 0-0): Iowa State leads the all-time series against the Vikings 3-1. The teams last met in 2023 at the Littlewood Classic, where ISU won both games, 10-6 and 13-2.
ARIZONA STATE (7-4, 0-0): The Sun Devils lead the all-time series against the Vikings 17-0. This weekend's game will be the fifth meeting between the programs since the 2020 season. ASU earned an 8-0 run-rule victory in the most recent matchup in 2023.
CAL BAPTIST (5-6, 0-0): Sunday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between the Lancers and the Vikings. 

LAST TIME OUT - CARDINAL CLASSIC 
The Vikings are coming off a 1-4 weekend at the Cardinal Classic. Their only victory of the weekend came agaisnt UC Rivecrside on Friday, Feb. 14, when the Vikigns won 5-3. Two of their foud losses were close games, falling 2-0 to UC Davis in the touranmenet opener on Friday before closing the weekend with a 1-0 extra inning loss to UC Riverside. On Saturday, they fell to UC Davis 10-2 and then-No. 22 Stanford 16-5.

GRACE KIMBALL'S PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Grace Kimball was named the Big Sky's Co-Pitcher of the Week following an impressive weekend at the Cardinal Classic. She pitched two complete games, totaling 15 innings while shutting out her opponents in 13 of them. She held UC Davis and UC Riverside to a .207 batting average, yielding just two earned runs for a 0.93 ERA on the weekend. On Sunday, she threw nine innings against the Highlanders—eight of them scoreless—allowing just five hits and no earned runs. She finished the weekend with eight strikeouts, just three walks, and only three extra-base hits allowed. Monday's honor was the second Big Sky Pitcher of the Week honor of her career. 

VIKINGS' HIGHLIGHTS / LEADERS 

• Senior leadoff hitter Neveah Smith has been outstanding at the plate through two weekends, leading the Vikings as the only player hitting over .300 this season. She ranks second in the Big Sky with a .517 average. Smith opened the season with a standout performance at the La Jolla Invitational, batting .667 with a .692 on-base percentage and recording at least one hit in every game, including a 3-for-3 showing against UC San Diego. At the Cardinal Classic, she tied for a team-high .412 average (7-for-17), capping the weekend with a career-best 4-for-4 performance against UC Riverside on Sunday.
• Seniors Ellie Babbitt and Natalia Martinez lead the Vikings with nine RBI each, recording five during opening weekend and four at the Cardinal Classic. Babbitt is coming off an impressive weekend at the plate, tying Smith for a team-high .412 average across five games. Her performance was highlighted by a four-RBI game, which included a two-run home run against No. 22 Stanford on Saturday.
• Grace Kimball, Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung and Annie Lemos each have wins in the circle for the Vikings. Kimball has pitched a team-high 29.2 innings over two weekends, compiling a conference-high 1.42 ERA , holding her opponents to a .238 average. 

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 140-221 (.389) overall record into the weekend
• She's seven 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