The Vikings softball team scored a sweep for the second week in a row with three wins over the University of Northern Colorado Bears at home. Portland State improved to 15-21 overall this season and 8-1 in conference, establishing a firm hold on the top spot in the Big Sky. Highlights of the weekend were pitcher Anna Bertrand and left fielder Sadie Lopez, who both turned in tremendous performances. After a pair of dominant wins in Friday’s doubleheader, the Vikings fought until the final inning on Saturday to earn the sweep.
Another sweep for the Vikings
The Vikings softball team scored a sweep for the second week in a row with three wins over the University of Northern Colorado Bears at home. Portland State improved to 15-21 overall this season and 8-1 in conference, establishing a firm hold on the top spot in the Big Sky. Highlights of the weekend were pitcher Anna Bertrand and left fielder Sadie Lopez, who both turned in tremendous performances. After a pair of dominant wins in Friday’s doubleheader, the Vikings fought until the final inning on Saturday to earn the sweep.
PSU got on the board early in the first game on Friday when sophomore shortstop Alicia Fine’s groundout in the bottom of the second allowed first baseman Brittany Hendrickson to score. The team had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the sixth, then got a sacrifice fly from Aubrey Nitschelm and a two-run blast from Lopez to give the Vikings a 5-0 win. While Lopez provided the spark on offense, Bertrand dominated in the circle. The pitcher did not let a single runner advance past second base, coming through with an eight-hit shutout.
In the second game of the doubleheader, it was a huge third inning that put PSU in the lead for good. Center fielder Becca Bliss singled to drive in Lopez, and then came all the way around to score on two throwing errors by the Bears. The Vikings exploded for six more runs in the inning, capped by a three-run homer by Lopez, and added one more in the fourth. The Bears got their only run of the day on an RBI single in the fourth, and PSU walked away with a 9-1 victory.
Northern Colorado came out with new life on Saturday, scoring four runs in the first two innings. Vikings third baseman Crysta Conn responded in bottom of the second with a solo home run, and the two teams went scoreless over the next two innings.
“Things didn’t go our way in the first two innings,” head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said after the game. “You could kind of see them getting a little flustered, but they settled in. Anna settled in and calmed down, and we were able to make one run at a time and make something happen.”
In the fifth inning, Portland State picked up another run when second baseman Carly McEachran scored on a wild pitch. The team went into the sixth inning needing three runs for the comeback.
With runners on first and third and two outs, it was Lopez who came through again for the Vikings, lacing a double to right field that sent two runners home. The senior’s calm presence at the plate was a recurring theme during the weekend.
“We came in and started the game slow, and we knew that we needed something to pick us up,” Lopez said.
The Bears were unable to score in the top of the seventh, and in the bottom of the inning, Hendrickson hit the ball up the middle for a walk-off single that scored Becca Bliss from second and secured the 5-4 win for PSU.
The Vikings will have a break from conference competition this weekend as they head north for a doubleheader against Seattle University on Wednesday. Games are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Live stats can be found at goviks.com.
