The Portland State softball team headed to Tempe, Ariz., yesterday to play six games in the Kajikawa Classic, marking the second consecutive year that the Vikings opened their season in the tournament. Last year, Portland State chalked a 2–2 record at the Kajikawa.
Softball opens season
The Portland State softball team headed to Tempe, Ariz., yesterday to play six games in the Kajikawa Classic, marking the second consecutive year that the Vikings opened their season in the tournament. Last year, Portland State chalked a 2–2 record at the Kajikawa.
Fresh out of the gate, the Vikings will face some their stiffest competition of the season in No. 5 Arizona State and No. 12 California, as ranked by the NFCA coaches’ poll.
Portland State opened the tournament last night with a 2–0 over Ohio. Senior Tori Rogers pitched six innings and struck out three batters. Freshman pitcher Anna Bertrand entered the game at the top of seventh and sealed the victory by striking out three.
The Vikings open Friday’s double-header in the morning against North Dakota State, who are winless against PSU in two attempts. The tables, however, will be turned in the afternoon when the Vikings face an uphill battle against No. 5-ranked Arizona State. The Sun Devils have thus far flummoxed the Vikings with seven straight victories over Portland State, including an 8–0 drubbing in last year’s Kajikawa Classic.
No precedents are available for the Vikings to use as predictions for the outcome of Saturday’s games. PSU will be meeting Ole Miss and Purdue for the first time, but neither will be a walk in the park. Both teams participated in last year’s NCAA tournament, and Purdue also placed 37th in the NFCA poll.
On Sunday, the Vikings will need to be on the top of their game to pull off a tournament-closing win over No. 12 California. The Golden Bears have dominated the series with PSU, earning a 16–2 record against the Viks.
Kajikawa will be the first chance for the assortment of Portland State’s freshmen to make an immediate impact. It will also be the first test against tough competition of what has been lauded as one of the best pitching staffs in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference.
The pitching staff, led by junior Nichole Latham and senior Tori Rogers, welcomed sophomore Kendra Suhr and freshman Anna Bertrand, Gatorade’s Oregon Player of the Year from McMinnville High School this year.
