The Portland State softball team (18-25, 4-5 Western Athletic Conference) won the first game of Friday’s doubleheader with the University of Hawaii 2-1, but were blown out in the second game with the WAC opponent, 9-1.
In the first game, Viking senior first baseman Marissa Smith blasted RBI singles in the first and seventh innings to score Portland State’s only runs.
Two runs proved to be plenty for starting pitcher Morgan Seibert, who gave up only two hits in the complete game to go with four walks and five strikeouts. Seibert ended the game dramatically, striking out the final batter in the bottom of the seventh with two runners on base.
The Vikings were dominated offensively in game two, particularly in the third inning, when Hawaii laid eight runs on them. Nichole Ivie took the loss, giving up six earned runs in five and two-thirds innings.
“Nichole was throwing that game, and we should have been out of that third inning. We dropped a routine pop-up. We had a wild pitch. We blew a routine ground-out. When Nichole was going to cut off a throw from the outfield she jammed the middle finger of her pitching hand. I didn’t want them to see Morgan that much, because I knew she was going to pitch at least one game the next day. So I left Nichole in there. She wasn’t that effective but it was an injury thing we couldn’t do a lot about,” Portland State coach Teri Mariani said.
Portland State had trouble scoring in game two as well.
“Their pitcher, Desiree Duran, is the WAC pitcher of the week. She sat on the outside corner of the plate and the umpire was giving her a little more,” Mariani said.
The Vikings may have had revenge on their minds going into Saturday’s doubleheader against the same team, but they could only maintain enough of a grudge to keep the games close, as they lost both by a run, 2-1 and 6-5.
Seibert pitched in the first game, again with very little run support, and though holding Hawaii to two runs, lost the game to fall to 13-14 on the year.
Ivie fell to 5-11 in a losing effort in game two.
“We felt that, minimum, we should have come out of there with a split. That second day, we should have had that second game. I’m really proud that the girls went in and were able to stay focused. In Hawaii, your mind tends to be elsewhere, but they came to play and I was pleased with that. In fact, we felt right at home with all the fans we had there, and with the rain,” Mariani said.
The spectacular streak that Kiauna Anderson has been on at the plate continued, as she sent a grand slam into the seats in game two. It was her first career grand slam and her fifth homer of the season.
“She has come up big for us time and time again. When she comes to the plate you’re going to get something out of her. It’s almost automatic. She comes up and we expect her to hit a home run. We really need a few more like her. She’s like the Rickey Henderson of softball: a leadoff hitter with home run power,” Mariani said.The Vikings will play this afternoon at 2 p.m. against the No. 13 Washington Huskies at Erv Lind Stadium. Mariani was optimistic about the team’s chances at home.
“They’re third or fourth in the Pac-10. They’re not as strong as last year, but they’re better than Oregon, and probably better than OSU. They’re a solid hitting team but I think we can score runs on them as well. If we can keep the ball in the park, and not give them more than three outs an inning, we can have a decent game and hopefully sneak one out of there,” Mariani said.