It may have taken them a game to warm up, but once they did the Vikings defeated the St. Mary’s Gaels in three straight contests to secure their foothold as the conference’s top team heading into the last week of the regular season.
Boosting their Pacific Coast Softball Conference record to 12-4 was no easy task against the stubborn Gaels, who edged the Vikings in the first matchup and forced the next two games into extra innings.
After barely squeaking out victories in games two and three, the Vikings’ offense unloaded for 10 runs in the final game of the series while their staunch defense held the Gaels to just two runs.
With a conference winning percentage of .750, the Vikings are two and a half games ahead of their closest competition, Sacramento State. Jockeying for third place are San Diego and Loyola Marymount, each hanging onto a record of 9-7 with one weekend left of conference action.
In game one of the series, the Vikings out hit the Gaels nine to six and cradled a 3-2 lead heading into the final inning behind a two-run homer from senior Jenna Wilson. But St. Mary’s refused to roll over, coming up big in their last at-bat, knocking home two runs in the seventh to capture the opening game.
The bottom half of Saturday’s doubleheader was even more hotly contested, with the teams battling for 10 innings with one run apiece before the Vikings finally sent freshman Alyssa Roblez home, inching in front 2-1.
The Gaels had their chance to win the game in the bottom of the inning, but senior Kristin Wilson threw a runner out at home to seal the victory for Portland State.
On Sunday, the two teams once again fought into extra innings until the Vikings finally prevailed 3-2 behind the hefty bat of senior Jackie Heidi. The catcher from Salem blasted her 11th homer of the season and the 31st of her career to tie the game in the sixth inning.
In the eighth, she singled and eventually scored the winning run for the visiting Vikings. With her solo shot in the sixth inning, Heidi moved into a first-place tie with Mandy Hill (2005–08) for the most career homeruns in school history.
he Vikings took advantage of three St. Mary’s errors, scoring double-digit runs for the fifth time this season.
Junior right-hander Tori Rogers pitched the full six innings for the Vikings, striking out five batters and not giving up any walks. The win improved her season mark to 10-5, which includes an impressive 7-1 in PCSC play.
The Vikings travel to Los Angeles this weekend to take on Loyola Marymount in their final series of the season.
At 12-4, the Vikings need only to win two of the four games to clinch their second PCSC regular season title in four years.