Author: Joe Kotsovos

Portland State played what was perhaps their best softball so far this season last weekend out in the hot weather of Las Vegas, Nev. Now, they are looking to carry that momentum into the start of their home schedule.

Portland State’s up-and-down 2006-07 season came to an end on Thursday, as the Vikings fell to the Weber State Wildcats 77-67 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament. The loss set the final record for Portland State this season at 12-18.

The Portland State softball team is still looking to find the groove that led them to first place in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference standings last year. This year, the team is off to a slow 4-10 start, in inter-conference games. Last weekend, the Vikings traveled to Seattle to take part in the Husky Softball Classic, hosted by the University of Washington.

With a playoff berth wrapped up, all that remained for the Vikings to cap off their regular season was to bid farewell to their senior players. To do so with a win would be the icing on the cake. Portland State defeated Northern Colorado 77-63 Saturday afternoon, wrapping up their regular-season conference schedule and marking the last home games for senior guard Heather Arns and senior center Monica Uhrig, both of whom started the game on the court.

The Portland State Vikings are headed to the Big Sky women’s basketball tournament. With a 73-64 win over Northern Arizona on Thursday night, the Vikings secured a playoff berth. Portland State had strong performances from sophomore forward Kelsey Kahle and freshman guard Claire Faucher, but won the game on a dominating night of shooting from the field.

For the second year in a row, the Big Sky Conference women’s basketball tournament is headed to Missoula, Mont. The Montana Lady Griz clinched the division with a win last Thursday night, giving them the rights to host the tournament. Whether Portland State will make the trip to Montana still hangs in the balance.

While the weather remains chilly and rainy here, in the warmer climates of Florida and Arizona, teams are gathering for spring training. The start of this yearly ritual means one thing: a brand new season of baseball is just around the corner. For every team, the beginning of spring training signals a fresh start.

Last season, the Portland LumberJax rallied from a slow start to become the first and only expansion team to win their division in the history of the National Lacrosse League. This season, the LumberJax are once again finding wins hard to come by in the first half of the season.

Though we usually associate spring with the time when baseball and softball players lace up the cleats and knock the dust off the gloves and bats, the Portland State softball team already has five games under their belt and it’s still just the middle of February.

A breakout performance by freshman center Erin Yankus was not enough to overpower Weber State on Saturday, as the Vikings fell 83-62 at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah. With the loss, Portland State drops to 5-6 in conference play, 9-15 overall. The Vikings currently sit in sixth place in the Big Sky.

The intramural basketball league completed its second week of regular season play on Tuesday and it looks like another success for the revitalized intramurals program this year. Fourteen teams signed up for this term’s basketball program, a tally so large that coordinators had to put a cap on the number of enrolled teams.