Softball stops Roadrunners, silences Gaels

The California rain wasn’t enough to stop Portland State softball from earning a pair of wins over the weekend at the first-ever Pacific Coast Softball Conference Crossover Tournament in Sacramento. 

The Vikings (8-5) defeated the Cal State-Bakersfield Roadrunners 6-5 in eight innings on Saturday, and then carried the momentum into a 3-0 win over reigning PCSC champion Saint Mary’s Gaels on Sunday.

Originally scheduled for four contests at the six-team tournament, including a Friday meeting with event-hosts Sacramento State, Portland State saw its weekend slate cut in half after strong rainstorms forced the cancellation of Friday’s games. The weather, though, did not hinder play for the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday, the Roadrunners shot out of the gate to take an early 4-0 lead in the first two innings of play, but when the PSU batters finally came to life, they came in full force.

The Vikings took a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning off sophomore Carly McEachran’s first career home run, a two-run shot to left field. PSU began the scoring with an RBI triple from junior Lacey Holm, an RBI double from senior Arielle Wiser and an RBI single from freshman Crysta Conn.

The Roadrunners scored in the top of the seventh to tie the score at 5-5, and after the Vikings failed to score in the bottom half the game moved into extra innings with the international tie-breaker rule in effect. Each team began its half of the eighth inning with a runner placed at second base.

After Cal State- Bakersfield was unable to benefit from the advantage, PSU head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk placed Wiser on second, where she did not stay long. Following a failed sac fly, an infield grounder advanced her to third before senior outfielder Brandi Campos drove her home on a single up the middle for the game- winning RBI.

“[Campos] has always been a clutch player for us. It was just the right person to have up at the plate in that situation,” Echo-Hawk said in a media statement.

Sophomore Anna Bertrand, last year’s PCSC Pitcher of the Year and co-Freshman of the Year, tossed the full game for the Vikings and earned the win to advance her record to 4-2 on the season. In the eight-inning effort, she walked six batters, struck out four and earned five runs. Roadrunner reliever Sarah Hoag (0-3) took the loss.

“We did a nice job of battling back in the fourth when we scored all of those runs,” Echo-Hawk said. “Lacey had another great game at the plate and Anna did a good job of settling in after the first few innings.”

The Roadrunners (2-10) went on to earn their first victories of the season in wins over Idaho State and Weber State on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively.

While it was PSU hitters that shut down the Roadrunners on Saturday, it was a Viking pitcher that shut out the Saint Mary’s Gaels on Sunday. Senior Nichole Latham, last week’s PCSC Mountain Division Pitcher of the Week, took to the pitching circle in what was a rematch of last year’s conference championship.

The previous meeting between Portland State and Saint Mary’s was in last year’s PCSC Championship Series, when the Coastal Division champion Gaels defeated the Mountain Division Vikings, three games to one, to end PSU’s season and win the conference’s automatic entry into the NCAA tournament.

Latham (4-3) threw a complete-game shutout and gave up just five hits while walking two and striking out four.

“Nichole just threw a great game. She was on today and got herself out of trouble a couple of times with their best hitters at the plate,” Echo-Hawk said.

The Vikings scored all three runs in the third inning on back-to-back doubles. Sophomore Danielle Lynn began the scoring with a two-run double before being brought home on the next at bat off an RBI double to center field by Holm.

Saint Mary’s (2-3) attempted to come back late in the game, but Latham shut down the rally attempts. The Gaels stranded six runners in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, combined.

Junior Jenna Krogh tripled on Saturday and singled on Sunday to extend her hitting streak to double digits. Her 10-game hitting streak is currently the longest in the PCSC.

Saturday’s result was a mirror of the last meeting between Portland State and Cal State-Bakersfield. In 2008, the Vikings defeated the Roadrunners 6-5 in eight innings at the Nevada-hosted Louisville Slugger Desert Classic.

The Vikings return to action Friday in Tuscon, Ariz., where they will begin their five games at the Wildcat Invitational by taking on tournament-hosts University of Arizona. PCSC league play begins April 9 when the Vikings are scheduled to host Utah Valley at Erv Lind Stadium. ?