News

Portland State opened defense of its Pacific Coast Softball Conference title over the weekend with a series sweep of the Northern Colorado Bears.

On Saturday, the Viks won 1-0 and 4-0 behind a dominating pitching performance from freshman Anna Bertrand and junior Nichole Latham. PSU won both Sunday games 5-2.

Bertrand (9-7, 1.92 ERA) had a career-high 12 strikeouts in Game 1 against the Bears and tallied eight more in the fourth game, giving her 123 conference-leading strikeouts for the season.

Latham had her best performance of the season in Game 2 against UNC, notching two strikeouts and allowing only four hits. On Sunday, she provided relief for senior Tori Rogers and Bertrand in Games 3 and 4, respectively.

After generating only four hits and one run in the first game, the Vikings' offense revved up in the remaining games against the Bears. In Game 2, PSU had seven hits, including a two-run homer by senior first baseman DeChauna Skinner. In the third game, the Viks tallied nine hits and five runs, with all their scoring in the first inning. In the final game, Portland State had eight hits and five runs and won with a late offensive surge in the top of the seventh inning that broke a 2-2 tie.

Sophomore Lacey Holm led the offense in the opener, going 2 for 2 and adding a single in the second game. Seniors Brandi Scoggins, catcher, and Becca Diede, second base, ended up with five hits and one run each over the four-game series. Freshman third baseman Carly McEachran tallied four hits and two runs over the weekend.
Strategic coaching by PSU in the seventh inning of the fourth game helped the Viks continue their offensive domination. Coach Tobin Echo-Hawk subbed in Alexa Morales to pinch hit for Sadie Lopez, and Morales smacked a triple to center field that drove in sophomore center fielder Danielle Lynn and eventually Susan Winningham, Morales' pinch runner. McEachran hit a double to left center and eventually scored an unearned run for PSU's final tally.

"We started to get runs and that helps the coach call steals," Echo-Hawk said. "The offense came alive, and the pitching staff was really good."

The four-game sweep marked the third straight season that the Viks have opened conference play with a series sweep. The wins also snapped a six-game losing streak.

"Even though we didn't win a lot of games in the preseason, we learned a lot," Echo-Hawk said "We scheduled a hard preseason to prepare for conference play."

"I'm very pleased with this weekend. The team did a very good job. It's hard to beat a team four times in a row."