Softball reflections

Despite the dust settling around the Vikings’ softball loss last weekend at the NCAA regionals, head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk considers the games a success.

The first loss, to the Oregon Ducks, was most difficult, particularly the brutal first inning when the Ducks registered six runs. “When you take away that first inning against Oregon, the whole weekend was really successful overall,” Echo-Hawk said. “It’s nice to see the kids’ success. To be in that setting and knowing the games are huge games and still being able to perform. It says a lot about their confidence.”

It was a tough day for junior pitcher Anna Bertrand, who was a constant star this season and a huge factor in the Vikings reaching the NCAA regionals, Echo-Hawk said, but the coaching staff and Bertrand’s teammates reiterated their support for the eight-time Mountain Division Pitcher of the Week.

Bertrand used the team’s support to overcome the tough first performance. “I think it was just mental,” Bertrand said, leading the Vikings to their win day two against Mississippi State in a complete shutout. She put the game the day before out of her mind and focused on the present. “That wasn’t the pitcher that I was [against Oregon],” Bertrand said. She had to prove it in the second game.

In the eyes of Echo-Hawk, she succeeded. “[The Mississippi game] proved that Anna is great a pitcher,” Echo-Hawk said. “All year she has been consistent. One of the key reasons that we were successful at all is due to her.”

Getting back in the game after a big loss is difficult, especially against a team like Mississippi State. Echo-Hawk emphasized that Mississippi plays in the challenging SEC conference against some of the toughest teams in the nation. Playing a team of that caliber is nerve-racking, but Bertrand managed to do it with confidence.

“I think in the past she would have come out a little shaky the next day,” Echo-Hawk said. “But she has such confidence in herself and to come out like she did [against Mississippi State], that shows her maturity as a player.”

“I think it was important for us to know we can win in the post season and know we beat a pretty good team,” Bertrand said. “They’re in the SEC. They play great competition all season. It was important to see that we can hang with anybody.”

Other returning players also did well, like Carly McEachran and Karmen Holladay, who both played in the Vikings NCAA appearance in 2010.

“I can’t say enough about Karmen going out and ending her career on such a great weekend,” Echo-Hawk said. “Carly struggled a little bit this year coming off of such a successful sophomore year, and it was really something for her to have success this weekend. It just showed she was going to keep going regardless of her stats, regardless of any of the bumps along the road, and to have her come up big was great.”

McEachran slammed a home run in the game against Mississippi. This, combined with an illegal pitch by the Bulldogs that advanced a Viking runner home, secured the Portland State 2-0 victory. The team hoped for similar results against the Brigham Young Cougars. Both senior center fielder Jenna Krogh and sophomore catcher Kayla Norrie grabbed a hit apiece in that game, but unfortunately for Portland State the team was not able to transfer those hits into runs.

The Portland State women’s softball team completed their NCAA Regional Tournament with a 1-2 record. The Vikings, 28-25 overall and 15-5 in conference, came in as the underdogs against a slate of nationally ranked teams—first Oregon, then Mississippi State and BYU. Despite the loss to host Oregon in the opening day, the Vikings didn’t let that stop them. Portland State shut out the Mississippi State Bulldogs 2-0, but in the end the BYU Cougars ended the Vikings’ progression in a 2-1 victory.

The Vikings aren’t dwelling on the weekend losses, though. After a hectic season, Echo-Hawk said that coming away with two losses and a win against Mississippi State is something that the team should be proud of. “They stepped up big time,” Echo-Hawk said.