HILLSBORO, Ore. —The Portland State softball team played arguably their best softball of the season on Friday against the regular-season champion Idaho State Bengals, earning a commanding 6-2 win in the opener before being edged 3-2 in game two on Friday at Hillsboro Stadium. 

The Vikings (12-26, 5-8 BSC) handed the Bengals (33-15, 12-2 BSC) just their second loss in conference play—and only their second defeat in their last 13 games.

Portland State out-hit Idaho State 15-13 across the two games, batting .294 as a team while holding the conference-leading Bengals offense to a .250 average. While the Vikings were solid at the plate, their defense and pitching were just as impressive. They played error-free softball, recording 42 putouts without a single error.

Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung and Annie Lemos were tough as nails in the circle, each throwing complete games and limiting a Bengals lineup that had scored 102 runs across 12 conference games to just five total runs on the day. Nakoa-Chung earned the win in game one, striking out four while allowing only two earned runs on six hits over seven innings. Lemos followed with a phenomenal outing, tossing just the second complete game of her four-year Viking career. The senior struck out five, allowed only one extra-base hit, and issued just two walks across seven innings.

Also shining in the final regular-season doubleheader of her career was senior right fielder Jade Henry, who had a career day at the plate. Entering the weekend without a home run as a Viking, she launched two on Friday—one in each game—while also adding a double and a single. Going 4-for-5 at the dish (.800), Henry finished the day with 11 total bases, a 2.200 slugging percentage, and a team-high three RBIs.

The Vikings took an early lead in the opener and never looked back. Grace Johnson brought in the first run of the day with an infield RBI single, before a pair of home runs by Natalia Martinez and Jade Henry in the fourth inning extended the lead to four. A solo shot from the Bengals in the fifth cut PSU's lead to three, but the Vikings responded with two of their own in the bottom half, scoring on a passed ball and an RBI single from Nichole Orozco. Idaho State added a solo shot in the top of the seventh, but Portland State held on to secure the 6-2 win.

In game two, the Bengals struck first, plating three runs in the opening two innings before Lemos buckled down in the circle and held them scoreless the rest of the way. The Vikings chipped away at the deficit—Lorraine Alo delivered a two-out RBI single in the third to make it 3-1, and Henry followed with her second home run of the day in the fourth to bring it within one. But the Bengals held off the Vikings' late push, shutting them down over the final three innings to escape with a 3-2 win and set up a rubber match on Saturday.

The teams will close out the series tomorrow—Saturday, April 25—with a noon matchup at Hillsboro Stadium. Following the game, the Vikings will honor their seven seniors.