PORTLAND, Ore. –  Looking to gain momentum before opening its Big Sky slate next weekend, the Portland State softball team will host two non-conference opponents, Rutgers and Pacific, this week as part of a four-game homestand at Hillsboro Stadium. 

The Vikings will face the Scarlet Knights on Wednesday, March 19, in a single game scheduled for 12:00 p.m. The game time has been moved up from the originally scheduled 3:00 p.m. due to the weather forecast. The Tigers will then come to town for a three-game series this weekend, starting with a doubleheader on Saturday at 12:00 p.m., followed by a single game on Sunday, also at 12:00 p.m.

All four games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats also available (links below). Saturday's doubleheader against the Tigers will mark the Vikings' Cancer Awareness Day, featuring fan giveaways such as beads and ribbons.

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PORTLAND STATE SOFTBALL GAME NOTES // WEEK 7
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RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (14-17, 1-2)
All-Time series: Series tied, 1-1 
Last meeting: March 2, 2014 (PSU won, 2-0)
Notes: Wednesday will mark just the third-ever meeting between the two programs and the first in Oregon. Heading into the week, the Scarlet Knights have won five of their last seven games. They will face Oregon State on Tuesday before traveling to Portland. Rutgers is batting .242 as a team this season, while their pitching staff boasts a combined ERA of 3.23. Freshman Ella Harrison leads the staff with a team-best 1.85 ERA and a 9-9 record in the circle.
PACIFIC TIGERS  (9-16, 0-0) 
All-Time series: Tigers lead, 18-5
Last meeting: March 21-22, 2024 (Pacific won the series, 2-1)
Notes: The Vikings and Tigers will face off in a three-game series for the second consecutive season this weekend. Pacific won the series last year, taking two of three games from the Vikings in Stockton. Heading into the week, the Tigers have lost eight straight games and will play a doubleheader against Boise State on Tuesday before traveling to Portland. Pacific is hitting .287 on the season, led by redshirt junior Olivia Silvestre, who boasts an impressive .477 batting average. On the mound, the Tigers' pitching staff has a combined ERA of 5.19, with sophomore Justice Alcaraz leading the way at 5-4 with a 3.71 ERA.

LAST TIME OUT - GOLDEN COAST CLASSIC

• The Vikings are aiming to bounce back from a challenging 0-5 weekend at the Golden Coast Classic in Santa Clara, Calif., last week. Despite a strong showing at the plate, the Vikings lost to Harvard to open the tournament and then dropped two games each to both Santa Clara and Columbia. The team scored a total of 15 runs over five games but allowed at least eight runs in each of those contests.

AT THE PLATE

• The Vikings posted a season-best .268 batting average over five games at the Golden Coast Classic, boosting their team average by 13 points to .213. This stretch included a season-high 11 hits in their 8-6 loss to Columbia on Saturday (3/15).
• Redshirt junior Grace Johnson had an outstanding weekend at the plate, leading the Vikings with a .625 average (10-for-16). She recorded at least one hit in four of the five games, including a career-best 4-for-4 performance against Columbia (3/15).
• Johnson leads the Vikings in several offensive categories, including batting average (.307), on-base percentage (.381), hits (23), runs scored (20), and stolen bases (13).
• Senior Natalia Martinez leads the team with 15 RBIs, recording at least one RBI in nearly half of the Vikings' games this season (12)
• Following closely behind Martinez are Lorraine Alo, who ranks second on the team in RBIs with 14, and Ellie Babbitt, who ranks third with 12. Both Babbitt and Alo have recorded four-RBI games this season, with Babbitt doing so against #20 Stanford (2/15)
• Active Reached Base Streaks (2+ games): E. Babbitt (5 games); S. Nakoa-Chung (5 games); N. Orozco (4 games); N. Martinez (3 games); G. Toney (3 games); D. Hoyle (2 games); S. Wright (2 games)
• Active Hitting Streaks (2+ games): N. Martinez (3 games); E. Babbitt (2 games); D. Hoyle (2 games)

IN THE CIRCLE

• Grace Kimball (2), Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung (1) and Annie Lemos (1) each have wins in the circle for the Vikings
• Senior Annie Lemos led the Vikings at the Golden Coast Classic last weekend, tossing 11.1 innings across three appearances while totaling a 3.71 ERA
• Kimball has pitched a team-high 60.1 innings across 16 appearances and 13 starts, compiling a 5.22 ERA and a team-high 36 strikeouts on the year 

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 last month.
• 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 the final day, 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. 

RANKED OPPONENTS 

• The Vikings have played three opponents ranked in the Top 25 this season and five schools in power four conferences
• They hosted #10 Florida State for their home-opening doubleheader at Hillsboro Stadium (March 11), dropping both games to the Noles, 11-0 (6 inn.) and 18-5
• Portland State took on then-No. 20 Stanford in week two, falling 16-5 in five innings, and faced No. 12 Oregon on Feb. 28, losing 9-1 in six innings. 
• The Vikings also played Grand Canyon (L, 9-0 in 5 inn.), a team that's received votes in the national polls several weeks this season
• The Vikings' last win over a ranked opponent came in 2022 when they defeated No. 24 Oregon State 6-1 in Corvallis.

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 141-237 (.374) overall record into the weekend
• She's just 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