Preview: @bearssoftball Returns Home to Play Portland State

Saturday, April 14

Greeley, CO

3 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Portland State

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

4/11/2018 1:29:00 PM | Softball

Northern Colorado will open a three-game series against the Vikings Friday

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- Northern Colorado softball is back at Gloria Rodriguez Field this weekend for three games against Portland State.

UNC (23-20, 5-4) is coming off of its first Big Sky series loss of the year, after dropping two-of-three from Idaho State last weekend. The Bears lost a heartbreaker in the series finale on Saturday, when the Bengals earned a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh.

The Bears are currently tied for third in the conference with Weber State, both teams holding a 5-4 record. UNC is the second highest ranked Big Sky team by the RPI, coming in at 145, five spots behind Weber State.

Lauren Paige has been key for the Bears, both in the lineup and in the circle this season. Overall, Paige is batting .333, with a team-best eight home runs, along with 23 RBIs. Paige has excelled at reaching base this season, with 32 walks and nine hit-by-pitches that contribute to a .510 on-base percentage. She ranks first in the Big Sky and 49^th in the nation in on-base percentage.

In the circle, Paige has made 21 appearances and seven starts, posting a 4-7 record with a 3.80 ERA in 70 innings pitched. Paige has allowed only five walks this season and ranks first in the nation in walks allowed per seven innings with a 0.50 figure.

Jordyn Wiatrak continues to lead the Bears in hitting with a .336 average and is also tied for the team lead in RBIs with 27. Over the weekend, Wiatrak hit her fifth home run on the season and ranks second on the team behind Paige.

The hitters for UNC have been aggressive on the base path this season, stealing 45 bases in 58 attempts. Mady Young leads the team with 11 stolen bases on 13 attempts, followed Madi Schmidt and Kaley Garcia who have both swiped eight on nine attempts. Garcia has been just as effective at the plate with a .292 batting average and ranks second in the Big Sky with 12 doubles this season.

Valerie Vidal has been the ace of the Bears staff this season, leading the Big Sky in wins (15) and shutouts (6). Although not earning a win over the weekend, Vidal recorded a 3.75 ERA and pitched her 16^th complete game of the season in the 1-0 loss to the Bengals.

Northern Colorado can solidify its spot near the top of the conference standings with a series win this weekend against the Vikings.

Scouting Portland State

Portland State was swept this past weekend by Sacramento State on the road, dropping their record to 10-17 on the season. The Vikings were outscored 9-3 in the three-game series and their conference record fell to 3-6 and tied for 5^th in the conference with Idaho State and Southern Utah.

Junior Kaela Morrow leads Portland State with a .336 batting average and six home runs on the season. Morrow is tied with Freshman Rachel Menlove for the team RBI lead with 24. Menlove is just behind Morrow with five home runs this season and is batting .250. Junior Alyssa Burk has been the go-to pitcher for the Vikings this season, appearing in 22 games and starting in 18 of them. Burk has a 6-11 record, with a 3.77 ERA in 104 innings pitched and 89 strikeouts to only 52 walks.

Northern Colorado dropped two-out-of-three games at the end of March last season in Portland.

Following the Bears
UNC will take on Portland State on Friday, April 13^th at 1 P.M. (MT) for the first game of the doubleheader with the second scheduled for 3 P.M. or 30 minutes after completion of game one. Live stats for the games will be available on UNCBears.com and follow the game live on Twitter with @bearssoftball.