The Vikings’ softball squad competed in a total of five games at the Fullerton Tournament over the past week. Out of the five games, the Vikings went up against three Top 25 nationally ranked teams.
The Vikings were shut out by No. 4 Washington, 3-0, then defeated in the second game 11-1 against No. 24 Minnesota. In the third game, Portland State came through with the only victory of the tough tournament, 5-1 over Purdue. Ohio State, ranked 20th, survived an upset attempt, beating Portland State 5-4. In the final outing of the tournament, the Vikings were outdone by Northwestern, 3-0.
The fourth-ranked Washington Huskies shut out the Vikings in the first game, allowing only three hits. Pitcher Ashley Boek let only Kayla Lewis, Maggie DeWall and Kari Mills manage one base hit each through seven innings.
In the second game, the Minnesota Golden Gophers scored 11 runs on 13 hits for the tough loss in the six-inning game for Portland State. The Vikings finished the first day of competition 0-2 against two Top 25 teams.
On Saturday, the Vikings broke through with their first win of the tournament. Portland State scored five total runs on just six hits. Morgan Siebert recorded her first victory of the season, allowing only one run.
The next game on Saturday was a close-fought victory for the Buckeyes over the Vikings. Portland State cut the lead from 5-2 to 5-4 late in the seventh inning. However, reliever Katie Chain took care of the final out to record her first save of the year by grounding out Viking Tiffany McHenry.
On Sunday, the Vikings finished the tournament against Northwestern. Stellar Northwestern pitching allowed only three hits through the game for the Vikings. Northwestern was able to get up 3-0 early in the game and never relinquish the lead.