The Portland State softball team will break away from conference competition today for a doubleheader against the University of Oregon Ducks at Erv Lind Stadium. Oregon is currently ranked seventh in the nation and sits atop the Pac-12 Conference standings. The Vikings have been on a tear as of late, winning their last seven games in a row, including sweeps against Weber State University and the University of Northern Colorado. The streak has put PSU in firm command in the Big Sky.
The most recent matchup for the team featured two dominant victories on the first day of their matchup with Northern Colorado last weekend, in which the Vikings outscored the Bears 14-1 and pitcher Anna Bertrand shut down the Northern Colorado lineup. The Bears then regrouped to give PSU a run for their money the next day in the final game of the weekend. Northern Colorado took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth, but the Vikings came alive to score three runs over the next two innings and tie the game, then got an RBI single from Brittany Hendrickson in the bottom of the seventh to secure the comeback victory.
Sadie Lopez, who went 5-for-7 over the weekend with two home runs and seven RBIs, took home Big Sky Player of the Week honors, while Bertrand won her third straight Pitcher of the Week award.
Lopez isn’t the only hot hitter in the Vikings’ lineup, as Hendrickson and senior second baseman Carly McEachran have come through with plenty of big hits for PSU this season. Hendrickson continued her stellar play this year against Weber State, going 4-for-4 with two home runs in a 9-2 victory on March 30, while McEachran has consistently been a force for the Vikings at the plate, hitting seven home runs so far in 2013.
They’ll have their hands full with the Ducks pitching staff, though. Oregon is fourth in the Pac-12 with a 1.47 team ERA, and is coming off a sweep of the 17th-ranked University of Arizona over the weekend. The Ducks went into Tempe and rolled through the eight-time national champion Wildcats, getting a 5-3 win in the first game and then following it up with two straight shutouts.
Oregon has won nine of its last 10 games against PSU, including a 7-3 victory in last year’s NCAA Eugene Regional. The action begins today at 4 p.m., with the second game scheduled for 6 p.m. Scores and stats can be found by visiting goviks.com.