PORTLAND, Ore. – Only a few days separated Portland State softball's opening weekend from its next slate of games, as the Vikings hit the road again Wednesday — this time bound for Tempe, Ariz., for five games at Arizona State's annual Littlewood Invitational played at Alberta B. Farrington Stadium.

The Vikings will open the tournament on Thursday, Feb. 12, with a doubleheader against Indiana (11:45 a.m. PT), followed by a matchup with Arizona State (2:30 p.m. PT). A Friday doubleheader against Nevada and Pacific will follow before closing out the trip with a single game on Saturday against the Sun Devils (11:45 a.m. PT).

Of the five-team field in Tempe this weekend, three received votes in at least one national poll following opening week: Arizona State and Nevada both received votes in the NFCA/GoRout DI Top 25 Coaches Poll, while Indiana received votes in the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 — a poll in which the Sun Devils themselves cracked the top 25, coming in at No. 22. PSU's contests against the Sun Devils will stream on ESPN+, while only live stats will be available for the other games. Links for tickets, live stats, and ESPN+ coverage can be found below.
 

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2026 PORTLAND STATE SOFTBALL GAME NOTES // WEEK 2

Littlewood Invitational – Feb. 12-15, 2026
Tempe, Ariz. | Alberta B. Farrington Stadium 
Tournament Home -- Link to Tickets

Thursday, Feb. 12
Portland State vs. Indiana — 11:45 a.m. PT / 12:45 p.m. MT | Live Stats
Portland State at Arizona State — 2:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. MT | Live Stats -- ESPN+

Friday, Feb. 13
Portland State vs. Nevada —11:45 a.m. PT / 12:45 p.m. MT | Live Stats
Portland State vs. Pacific —2:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. MT | Live Stats 

Saturday, Feb. 14
Portland State at Arizona State — 11:45 a.m. PT / 12:45 p.m. MT | Live Stats -- ESPN+ 

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• Indiana Hoosiers (4-1): The Hoosiers began their 2026 campaign 4-1, dropping their season opener to FAU before bouncing back with wins over Army, No. 25 Ohio State, Delaware, and Stonehill. Thursday's meeting with the Vikings will be just the third in the all-time series between the programs. The teams played in 2013 and 2014, splitting the previous matchups: Indiana won 7-0 in 2013, and Portland State evened the series with an 8-6 victory in 2014.
• Arizona State Sun Devils (4-1): The Sun Devils went 4-1 during opening weekend, with their only loss coming in a 2-1 defeat to No. 3 Oklahoma. ASU and Portland State have faced each other 18 times, including five of the last six seasons. The Sun Devils hold a perfect 18-0 series advantage over the Vikings. 
• Nevada Wolf Pack (3-2): The Wolf Pack opened their 2026 season 3-2 at the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, defeating Illinois, NC State, and Lamar while falling twice to No. 16/13 LSU. Portland State's all-time series with Nevada is one of the longest in the program's history, with the teams having met 44 times prior to this weekend. The Vikings hold a slim one-game edge in the series, 22-21-1. The teams most recently faced off in 2024, with Nevada winning 7-1 and 3-2 to cut into Portland State's all-time lead.
• Pacific Tigers (1-4): The Tigers opened their season in Hawaii last weekend, picking up just one win in five games — an 8-6 victory over Seattle U — while suffering two losses each to North Dakota and Hawaii. Pacific and Portland State have been frequent opponents in recent years, meeting eight times over the past four seasons. Three of those games came in 2025, when the Tigers traveled to Hillsboro for a three-game non-conference series, taking two of three to extend their all-time series lead to 20-6 over the Vikings

Vikings' Highlights/Leaders

• The Vikings went 2-3 at the Easton Classic in Fullerton, Calif., falling in their first three games before bouncing back with consecutive wins: a 3-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday and an 8-5 win over CSUN on Sunday
• The Vikings' 3–1 win over the Titans marked a milestone for head coach Meadow McWhorter — her 150th career win at Portland State. She is now just the second coach in program history to reach the milestone
• Portland State had an impressive .344 on-base percentage across five games fueled by 17 walks and five hit by pitches. Their best offensive performance came in the finale against CSUN, tallying a weekend-best nine hits and seven RBI
• Three players hit over .300 for the weekend: Nichole Orozco (.357), Breanna Lutz (.333), and Gracie Toney (.600 in limited at-bats)
• Orozco and Grace Johnson each posted a .500 on-base percentage, combining for eight walks and one hit by pitch, with Johnson accounting for five of those walks
• Gracie Walters and Anna Jardin combined for three complete games, each earning a win for PSU
• Jardin led the 3-1 win over CSUF, allowing eight hits but no earned runs — none for extra bases
• Walters went the distance in both of her starts, including a seven-inning outing against CSUN where she struck out four, walked two, and earned her first win of the year. She enters the Littlewood Invitational with a team-best 3.77 ERA

Streaks/Storylines

• Four freshmen started at least one game during opening weekend, combining for five RBI — a third of the Vikings' total — led by Mia Martinez, who drove in three, tied for the team lead
• Three Vikings hit home runs over the weekend — all leadoff solo shots — with underclassmen accounting for each: freshmen Mia Martinez and Sofia Peato, and sophomore Gracie Toney
• Grace Johnson recorded four stolen bases over the weekend, bringing her career total to 38. She now ranks fourth all-time in the program's DI era, just 10 shy of the all-time record held by recent alum Olivia Dean (48)
• Johnson enters the weekend having reached base in four-straight contests

Preaseason Notes 

• The Vikings will play a 46-game regular-season schedule, including 31 non-conference games and 15 Big Sky contests
• Portland State's 2026 roster features 12 returners and 13 newcomers, including seven freshmen
• Head Coach Meadow McWhorter enters her 10th season at the helm in 2026 (149-253, 62-72 BSC) *record prior to 2026 season*
• Portland State will debut a new home field in 2026, playing at Hillsboro Ballpark — also home to the newly named AUSL team, the Portland Cascade.
• The Vikings finished the 2025 season 12-39 overall and 5-9 in conference play, placing fifth in the standings
• Senior Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung was named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team after a standout 2025 season, becoming the first player in program history to earn all-conference honors as a pitcher/utility player (second team)
• Nakoa-Chung led the Vikings in five offensive categories in 2025: batting average (.313), on-base percentage (.436), slugging percentage (.500), doubles (9), and home runs (3)
• Senior second baseman Grace Johnson returns after leading the team with 43 hits in 2025 and setting the program's DI-era single-season stolen base record with 22
• The Vikings return 51% of their innings pitched from last season, led by upperclassmen Gracie Walters, Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung, and Anna Jardin
• The Vikings were picked fifth in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll released last month
• Portland State's roster features two multi-sport athletes, Claire Masters (Fr.) and Kainani Jacang (Jr.), who are also members of the Portland State soccer team
• Along with assistants Kellie Wilkerson and Meghan Romero, two 2025 graduates and program alums are part of the staff this season: Natalia Martinez (assistant coach) and Ellie Babbitt (director of player development)
• The Vikings posted a record-breaking fall term in the classroom with a 3.74 team GPA, including eight student-athletes who earned 4.0 GPAs — the highest term GPA in program history