Softball striking back

The softball squad is coming home to take on the Santa Clara Broncos, after a disastrous month-long road trip that cost them six games in a row.

The softball squad is coming home to take on the Santa Clara Broncos, after a disastrous month-long road trip that cost them six games in a row.

The Viks are set to take on a young team in the Broncos, who currently sit in the fifth slot of the PCSC, right in front of Portland State, with a 4-8 conference record. The double-day double-header starts at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Erv Lind Stadium, and continues through to Sunday. A sweep for the Vikings (3-8 conference record) at home could put them back into the playoff hunt.

The key for the Vikings will be the play of freshman pitcher Janice Damo, who has yet to get a win on the season. Still trying to break out of her freshman funk, Damo holds a 0-9 record with a 5.17 ERA. She may have a good chance of breaking her streak against the Broncos, who, as a team, are hitting only a .241 average. Leading Santa Clara’s batting staff is outfielder/infielder Angela Kabanuck, who is hitting .394 on the year with 10 home runs (tying her for most home runs in the PCSC) and 24 RBIs.

At the plate, the Vikings need to take advantage of a poor Bronco pitching staff averaging a porous 4.19 ERA. The Broncos are led by juniors Jackie Morales, who holds a 6-11 pitching record and a 5.43 ERA, and Jerrica Castagno, who has a 4-15 record with a 4.28 ERA.

If junior stud Mandy Hill can be her always-consistent self-by rocking more balls out of the park (also tied for first in PCSC with 10 home runs) and keeping her pitches down (16-17 and a 2.31 ERA)-the Viks have a chance to run away with the series. Damo’s pitching will be the deciding factor, however.

Notes: Portland State signed right-handed pitcher Nichole Latham to a national letter of intent last Tuesday. The 5-foot-9 San Bernardino, Californian may be the next Mandy Hill waiting in the wings. As a high school junior, she held a .357 batting average and struck out 224 in 172 innings on the mound. Currently she is hitting .452 and is untouched on the mound, with a sparkling 1.05 ERA in her 120 innings pitched so far.

She will be a great boon for a struggling Viking pitching staff that holds a 4.10 ERA. She will be a boost in the batter box, where the Viks are only swinging a team average of .232.