PORTLAND, Ore. – With the final Big Sky standings still wide open, Portland State softball heads to Sacramento State this weekend to close out the regular season with a three-game series against the Hornets at Shea Stadium, Friday and Saturday (April 24–25).

The series, which will be the Vikings' first on the road in 20 days, begins with a doubleheader on Friday at 12:00 p.m., followed by a single game on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

All three games will stream live on ESPN+ with live stats available (links below).

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2026 PORTLAND STATE SOFTBALL GAME NOTES // WEEK 12

PORTLAND STATE (14-27, 4-8)  at SACRAMENTO STATE (27-17, 6-6) 
Sacramento, Calif. (Shea Stadium)
Game 1: Friday, April 23 - 12:00pm //  Live Stats - ESPN+
Game 2: Friday, April 23 - 2:30pm // Live Stats - ESPN+
Game 3: Saturday, April 24 - 12:00pm // Live Stats - ESPN+

SACRAMENTO STATE (27-17, 6-6): The Hornets enter the final week of the regular season at 27-17 overall, tied for third in the Big Sky with a 6-6 conference mark, and are coming off a series loss to Idaho State last weekend. Their pitching staff has led the way this season, topping the conference with a 3.02 team ERA. Offensively, senior outfielder Lafulafu Malepeai leads the Hornets with a team-best .403 average, while the team's .294 average ranks third in the conference.
All-Time Series: Hornets lead, 62-31
Home: 15-17; Away: 12-41; Neutral: 3-4
Under McWhorter: 11-16; Streak: L1; Last 10: 3-7
Last meeting: 5/8/25 - BSC Tournament - Hornets won, 15-4 (5inn)
Notes: Portland State and Sacramento State met four times during the 2025 season, with the Hornets winning three, including two of three in the regular season, before eliminating the Vikings from the conference tournament in Greeley with a 15-4 victory. The Vikings are seeking their first series win over the Hornets since 2021, when they swept Sacramento State in Hillsboro. The last meeting in Sacramento (2024) was shortened to two games due to weather, with the teams splitting the series.

BIG SKY STANDINGS 

• Idaho State and Montana sit atop the standings at 8-4 and face each other this weekend to decide the regular-season champion
• The final four tournament seedings are up for grabs, giving the Vikings a path to finish as high as third or as low as sixth; they will likely need at least two wins for a chance at third
• Portland State is tied for sixth with Weber State at 4-8 (WSU holds the head-to-head tiebreaker), while Sacramento State and Northern Colorado are tied at 6-

LAST TIME OUT: VS NORTHERN COLORADO

• The Vikings secured their first series win of the year last weekend, taking two of three from Northern Colorado
• Both teams posted run-rule wins on Friday before the Vikings took the rubber match, 4-3, on Saturday
• The Vikings hit .300 as a team for the weekend, despite being held to one hit in game two

NAKOA-CHUNG TABBED BIG SKY PITCHER OF THE WEEK 

• Senior Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung earned her third career Big Sky Player of the Week honor on Monday, and her second this season
• She went 2-0 in the circle with two complete games, 10 strikeouts and a 1.75 ERA, holding opponents to a .184 average
• Her first win came in Friday's opener, allowing three hits and one earned run with three strikeouts in a 10-2 run-rule victory
• She followed with a complete-game effort in the series finale on senior day, striking out seven over seven innings while allowing five hits and two earned runs

NARROW MARGINS

• 15 of the Vikings' games this season have been decided by two runs or fewer, with Portland State winning four of those contests (4-11)
• 10 have been one-run games, where the Vikings are 3-7
• Four of the Vikings' eight conference losses have come by two runs or fewer, including three by a single run
• Portland State is 0-4 in extra-inning games this season

KEYS TO VICTORY

• Score First: The Vikings have scored first in 12 of their 14 wins this season (86%). They are 2-17 when allowing the opponent to score first, including an 0-5 mark in conference play.
• Avoid Playing from Behind: The Vikings are 0-18 when trailing after the fifth inning
• Win the Hit Battle: The Vikings are 11-4 when out-hitting their opponent and 2-22 when out-hit
• Five-Run Mark: The Vikings are 13-6 when allowing fewer than five runs and 1-21 when allowing five or more.

WHO'S HOT?

• Junior infielder Breanna Lutz has been on a tear in Big Sky play, hitting .455 (15-for-33) with a .581 on-base percentage, eight RBI, four doubles and two home runs across 12 games
• Redshirt sophomore Abigail Carsley leads the Vikings with 12 RBI in Big Sky play, recording three multi-RBI outings over the last five games, including two with three RBI
• Sophomore outfielder Rylee Gaustad paced the Vikings' offense last weekend with a .571 average (4-for-7), highlighted by a 3-for-3 performance in the series opener

TABLE SETTER

• Leadoff hitter Grace Johnson leads the Vikings with a .365 batting average
• The redshirt senior is hitting .485 (33-for-68) when leading off an inning
• Johnson owns a season-long nine-game hitting streak and enters the weekend on a six-game streak
• She finished non-conference action with the second-best average in the conference (.425) and led the Vikings statistically in all but one weekend during non-conference play, totaling a team-high 10 multi-hit games

OFFENSIVE STREAKS (3+ games)

• Current hitting streaks: Grace Johnson (6), Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung (4), Sierra Llamas (3)
• Current reached-base streaks: Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung (11), Grace Johnson (6), Rylee Gaustad (4)

LEADER IN THE CIRCLE

• Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung leads the Vikings with a 3.68 ERA (3.16 BSC) and a 9-9 record (4-2 BSC)
• She ranks first in the conference and 26th in the nation in complete games (13). She also leads the league in innings pitched (125.2) and strikeouts (95)
• Earlier this season, she threw a no-hit shutout against North Dakota (March 20), leading the Vikings to a 1-0 win in their home opener.It marked Portland State's first seven-inning no-hitter in over 20 years and the program's third since 2023. She struck out a career-high 10 in the outing and earned Big Sky Co-Pitcher of the Week honors

SOLID DEFENSE

• The Vikings defense ranks second among Big Sky teams with a .965 fielding percentage (one point behind Idaho State)
• They've played error-free defense in five of 12 conference games so far, bringing their season total to 12 on the season
• The Vikings finished 2025 with a program-low .931 fielding percentage — a stark contrast to their defensive performance so far this season.

STOLE THE RECORD

• Grace Johnson broke Portland State's Division I-era career stolen base record on Friday, April 10 vs. Weber State, swiping her 49th career base to pass Olivia Dean after being tied for seven games without an attempt.
• Johnson is 15-for-16 on stolen base attempts this season, tied for the most in the Big Sky.

MCWHORTER'S 150TH WIN

• The Vikings' 3–1 win at Cal State Fullerton (2/7) marked a milestone for head coach Meadow McWhorter — her 150th career win at Portland State. She became just the second coach in program history to reach the milestone

A NEW HOME

• The Vikings made their debut at Hillsboro Ballpark on March 20 against North Dakota.
• Portland State had been without an official home field since the 2024 season, its final year at Gordon Faber Field.
• Formerly known as Ron Tonkin Field, the venue was previously home to the Hillsboro Hops.
• In addition to the Vikings, Hillsboro Ballpark will host Portland's new professional team, the AUSL's Portland Cascade—one of six teams in the league.

PRESEASON 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
• 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