The Portland State women’s softball team finished out their 2012 season in a dominant fashion by sweeping the number-two Weber State Wildcats. The wins gave the first-place Vikings the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Mountain Division title and a bid to play against the St. Mary’s Gaels for the conference title on May 19 and 20. The Vikings ended their regular season with a 25-23 overall and 15-5 conference record. This is the team’s fourth straight PCSC Mountain Division title.
“For us to win and to sweep Weber State, the number two team, is huge,” head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk said. “And to sweep the first [day of the] weekend was great because then we could just relax and play our games on Sunday without all the pressure.”
The Vikings only needed two wins last weekend to ensure a division title, and they achieved that on Saturday alone. Junior pitcher Anna Bertrand led the Vikings to victory on the first day, pitching shutouts in both games to give the Vikings the necessary push to win. Bertrand’s performances gave the junior her 19th and 20th wins of the season. This is the first time since 2007 that a Viking pitcher has registered 20 season wins.
Junior infielder Carly McEachran said the wins were especially rewarding in light of the Vikings’ struggles with injuries this season.
“It was something really special because of everything we had to [overcome],” McEachran said. “It made it even more rewarding.”
The Vikings didn’t stop there. They again swept the Wildcats on Viking Senior Day last Sunday. Sunday’s games highlighted the three seniors who finished their last regular season games as Vikings—catcher Maggie Sholian, center fielder Jenna Krogh and first baseman Karmen Holladay. The three went out big for the Vikings: Sholian grabbed a pair of hits, Krogh had three runs and Holladay drove in a pair of runs.
Echo-Hawk said that since the three seniors are all transfer students, they came into Portland State looking to start anew, and she said they all were able to come in and find success with the Vikings.
“They are irreplaceable,” Echo-Hawk said. “I don’t know what I am going to do without them this year.”
The Vikings’ successful season did not come easily. The team started the season after graduating key seniors from the 2011 season. The new roster, combined with pre-season weather cancellations, a handful of injuries and inconsistencies at bat meant the Vikings had a hard time putting together a successful season. After suffering a split to Utah Valley in the opening conference games, the team made adjustments and went on to win all but four conference games. Many of the wins can be largely attributed to Bertrand’s success in the circle; however, in recent games, the Viking offense has stepped up.
“We’ve struggled on and off on offense to be consistent but we always have the defense to back us up,” Echo-Hawk said. “I think without that aspect we wouldn’t have been able to get some of the wins that we did.”
After leaving a combined 20 runners on base in an early conference game against Idaho State, the Vikings’ focus turned to improving offensive production. When the Vikings needed it most, freshman Alicia Fine and Krogh stepped up to give the Vikings offensive solace.
McEachran said that the team’s offense has greatly improved over the course of the 2012 season but still needs to remain the focus in the upcoming conference championship game against St. Marys.
“We’ve improved in just showing up consistently whether its offense or pitching or just showing up with energy,” McEachran said. “Having those aspects on a consistent basis is so important, especially because we play four games at a time.”
But, through it all, Echo-Hawk said the team deserves to be where they are.
“I am so proud of this team,” Echo-Hawk said. “We had a lot of factors to deal with this season and a lot of people wrote us off, but they came back with such resilience and determination—I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The PCSC Coastal Division winners, St. Marys, will have the home field advantage in the championship game. The games are scheduled for May 11 and 12; the details of the start times were not available as of press time.