The Portland State softball team will face the St. Mary’s Gaels this weekend for the championship title. The reigning Pacific Coast Softball Champion Vikings and the Gaels have already each secured their respective division championships and now face each other for the overall title.
The Portland State softball team will face the St. Mary’s Gaels this weekend for the championship title. The reigning Pacific Coast Softball Champion Vikings and the Gaels have already each secured their respective division championships and now face each other for the overall title.
These two teams are no strangers to the series. The Gaels beat the Vikings in 2010 to take the championship. St. Mary’s also beat the Vikings earlier this season in non-conference play.
“In regards to playing St. Mary’s, I know my junior class was there [in 2010], and revenge is on its way,” second baseman Carly McEachran said. “We’re really excited that this is the team we get to play.”
The Vikings head to the championship match after winning their regular season 25-23 overall, 15-5 in conference. The Vikings finished on top, but it wasn’t an easy road.
Head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said that after a series of injuries, inconsistencies at-bat and a roster full of new players, making it to the championship is a huge accomplishment.
Senior center fielder and lead-off hitter Jenna Krogh echoed her coach’s sentiments. “This season has been a little rough; we got off to a kind of rocky start,” she said. “We’re definitely a different team from last year, so getting to know the different people on the team and figuring out how we all work together has been a challenge. I’m really excited to play in the championship again.”
The Vikings had a two-week break between the division series against the Weber State Wildcats and this weekend’s series against St. Mary’s. During this time, the Vikings’ practice has been all about offense.
“I would say play biggest focus in practice is offense,” McEachran said. “We have awesome pitching that supports us, but we have to be productive on offense as well.”
The Vikings have made strides on offense and against Weber State pulled in six runs on game one of the second series. However, the at-bat performances still remain a weaker side of the team’s game.
Led by junior pitcher Anna Bertrand, the Vikings have dominated defensively. Bertrand earned her eighth PCSC Pitcher of the Week for her performance against Weber State; reaching eight awards tied the pitcher for most ever in PCSC history.
Echo-Hawk said that the team needs to remember to relax and focus on the little things while maintaining a strong overall game to support the pitcher.
“We will be looking a lot at offense, but overall just remembering to have fun and celebrate what got us here,” Echo-Hawk said. “Sometimes teams get to this final week and they get so serious they can’t relax and play the game, and we will remain focused, but we also need to play our game.”
Earlier in the season the Vikings lost to the Gaels in a tough 2-1 defeat after St. Mary’s pitcher Jessica Lemmon got the best of the Viking hitters.
But it was the 2010 championship game that left a bitter taste in Viking mouths. Portland State opened up the series with a win in game one but was defeated the following day in both game two and three.
“Both teams are going to be hyped up to win, so [staying calm but aggressive] is important.” McEachran said. “Also, once we get hits, we need to be able to keep that momentum going.”
The Vikings bring key-pitcher Bertrand to the game, and the Gael’s have their own threat in the circle. Lemmon took home her fourth Coastal Division Pitcher of the Week for her performance in St. Mary’s division victory over Loyola Marymount.
Offensively, the Vikings’ main threats are Krogh, McEachran, freshman Alicia Fine and senior Karmen Holladay. The four all made key plays in the Viking wins against Weber State, including Holladay blasting two RBIs in day one and Krogh with three of the Vikings’ four runs in day one.
Fine currently leads the Vikings with a .372 batting average; Krogh, Holladay, sophomore infielder Crysta Conn and McEachran round out the top-five Vikings for batting average. Fine and Holladay also dominate the slugging percentage for the Vikings, with .620 and .600, respectively.
For the Gaels, the top offensive performers are Michelle Mounts, Rebecca Sabatini and Nicole Arce. All three players have batting averages above .340. The Gaels other key skill is experience—they have eight seniors on the roster including Mounts and Arce.
The Vikings and the Gaels know what it takes to win championships, and both teams have won them with some of the same players that remain on this season’s rosters. The games will be held at St. Mary’s due to alternating hosting locations. Information on times and live stats can be found at goviks.com
