BOISE, Idaho – Portland State softball opened the Blue Collar Classic on Thursday with a solid 7-3 win over Cal Baptist before dropping the nightcap, 8-1, to Boise State at Dona Larsen Park.
The Vikings entered the tournament coming off a three-win weekend in Honolulu and carried that momentum into Thursday's opener against the Lancers. They scored five runs in the second inning and never trailed again in a 7-3 win over a Cal Baptist team that brought 17 victories into the weekend, including several against Power Four opponents. Despite a setback in game two, Portland State turned in a number of positives Thursday, highlighted by error-free defense across 13 innings.
Cal Baptist (18-6) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second of game one, but the Vikings (7-10) responded with five runs on five hits in the bottom half.
Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung and
Jolee Benson opened the inning with base hits before
Alison Harris ripped an RBI single down the left-field line to score Nakoa-Chung and tie the game.
Grace Johnson then loaded the bases, allowing
Breanna Lutz to fire up the Vikings' offense with a grand slam, the Vikings' first grand slam since 2023, to give PSU a 5-1 advantage.
The Lancers answered in the third on a two-run home run from Makayla Medellin to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Nakoa-Chung regained control in the circle and held the Lancers scoreless the rest of the way. The Vikings added insurance in the fourth when
Nichole Orozco delivered an RBI single up the middle, and
Mia Martinez capped the scoring with a solo home run in the sixth.
Cal Baptist threatened in its final at-bat, loading the bases with one out, but Nakoa-Chung didn't budge, rattling off back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the four-run lead and seal the win for Portland State.
Backed by perfect defense, Nakoa-Chung improved to 3-3 on the year in a complete-game performance, allowing three runs on 10 hits while striking out eight and walking just one. Her eight strikeouts marked a season high and were one shy of her career best.
Lutz, Harris, Johnson and Benson each added two hits as Portland State totaled 11 in the win.
Looking to extend their win streak to four, the Vikings were unable to get past the host Broncos in game two, falling behind early en route to an 8-1 defeat.
Boise State took a 1-0 lead in the first and used a two-out rally in the second to stretch the margin to 5-0. Despite the deficit, the Vikings' bats were consistent throughout, reaching the leadoff hitter in five of seven innings. However, Boise State had an answer each time, erasing three of those opportunities with double plays. Johnson accounted for PSU's lone run in the fifth, beating out a two-out infield single to score Benson from third, making it 5-1. The Broncos then added three runs in the sixth to push the lead to 8-1 before closing things out in the seventh.
Gracie Walters worked her fourth complete game of the season in the circle but fell to 2-3 on the year. The Vikings totaled six hits, with four coming from Johnson and
Mia Martinez at the top of the lineup.
Johnson finished the day 4-for-8 across the two games and carries a nine-game hitting streak into Friday, having reached base in 17 consecutive contests. As of Thursday evening, her .423 batting average ranks third in the Big Sky.
Portland State returns to Dona Larsen Park on Friday for a late-afternoon doubleheader against St. Thomas and Boise State. The Vikings open the day against the Tommies at 3:00 p.m. PT / 4:00 p.m. MT before facing the Broncos at 5:30 p.m. PT / 6:30 p.m. MT.
