PORTLAND, Ore. –  The Portland State softball team will play in its home state for the first time this season this weekend as they head to Eugene for a five-game slate at the Oregon Classic, beginning Friday, Feb. 28 at Jane Sanders Stadium.

They'll kick off the weekend with a doubleheader against Loyola Chicago (12:30 PM), followed by a matchup against the 14th-ranked Ducks (6:00 PM). On Saturday, they'll take on San Diego (10:00 AM) and Loyola Chicago (12:30 PM) before concluding the tournament with a single game on Sunday against San Diego (10:30 AM). 

All five games will be available for streaming on BIG+, requiring a subscription to watch. Fans can also access live stats to follow the action from home.
 

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PORTLAND STATE SOFTBALL GAME NOTES // WEEK 4

» Game 1: Portland State vs. Loyola Chicago - 12:30 p.m.
» Game 2: Portland State at #14 Oregon - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 1
» Game 3: Portland State vs. San Diego - 10:30 a.m.
» Game 4: Portland State vs. Loyola Chicago - 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 2
» Game 5: Portland State vs. San Diego - 10:30 a.m.

HISTORY VS. OPPONENTS
Loyola Chicago (2-11): The Vikings and Ramblers will meet for the first time ever this weekend, facing each other twice in games scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
#14 Oregon (15-1): The Vikings will face the Ducks for the first time since 2022 on Friday, marking the 180th meeting between the programs—the Vikings' longest streak against any opponent. The Ducks lead the all-time series 127-53. They most recently met on April 19, 2022, when then-No. 19 Oregon earned a 5-2 victory at Jane Sanders Stadium, their 22nd straight win over the Vikings.
San Diego (5-11): Portland State leads its all-time series against the Toreros, 25-11. They last played each other at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2023, when USD earned a 12-1 victory.

LAST TIME OUT - ASU/GCU CLASSIC  
Portland State looks to bounce back from an 0-5 weekend at the ASU/GCU Classic. Competing in both Phoenix and Tempe, the Vikings lost to New Mexico State, Grand Canyon, Iowa State, Arizona State, and Cal Baptist. The Vikings scored only eight runs over the weekend, hitting .121 as a team compared to their opponents' .356 batting average.

HIGHLIGHTS / LEADERS 

• Senior outfielder Neveah Smith leads the Vikings at the plate after three weekends, carrying a .372 batting average into the weekend with a team-high 16 hits and a .413 on-base percentage. Smith opened the season with an impressive performance at the La Jolla Invitational, where she batted .667 with a .692 on-base percentage, recording at least one hit in every game, including a perfect 3-for-3 showing against UC San Diego. At the Cardinal Classic, she tied for the team lead with a .412 average (7-for-17), culminating in a career-best 4-for-4 performance against UC Riverside on Sunday.
• Senior Natalia Martinez leads the team with 10 RBI, closely followed by Ellie Babbitt and Lorraine Alo, who each have nine. Nearly half of the Vikings' RBI this season have been recorded with two outs in the inning, with 12 of those two-out RBI coming from Martinez and Babbitt.
• Grace Kimball, Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung and Annie Lemos each have wins in the circle for the Vikings. Kimball has pitched a team-high 37 innings over three weekends, compiling a 3.22 ERA and the second most strikeouts in the Big Sky, with 26. 
• Nakoa-Chung led the Vikings in the circle last weekend, pitching 10.2 innings across three appearances, totaling a 3.94 ERA with five strikeouts. 

RANKED OPPONENTS
The No. 14 Ducks will be the second ranked opponent the Vikings have faced this season and the fourth opponent from a Power Four conference. They previously played Stanford during week two, currently ranked 18th in the polls, losing to the Cardinal 16-5 in five innings. Additionally, they faced Grand Canyon last weekend, which is receiving votes. The Vikings last defeated a ranked opponent in 2022, taking down No. 24 Oregon State 6-1 in Corvallis.

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 two weekends ago. 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. The honor was the second Big Sky Pitcher of the Week honor of her career. 

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 140-226 (.383) 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