The Portland State softball team is set to compete in the Blue Collar Classic tournament in Boise, Idaho from March 5-7. The Vikings will play five games over three days at Huber Field at Dona Larsen Park, facing Cal Baptist, St. Thomas, and Boise State.
Portland State begins the tournament Thursday with a doubleheader against Cal Baptist and Boise State. On Friday, they play St. Thomas and have a rematch against Boise State before concluding the weekend with another game against St. Thomas on Saturday.
The Vikings’ matchups with Boise State will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network at no cost to viewers. Live statistics will be available for all games.
Cal Baptist enters the tournament with a 17-5 record, including a recent 14-game winning streak that ended last weekend. The Lancers previously defeated Portland State 8-2 last season in Phoenix.
Boise State holds a 9-12 record after participating in the Woo Pig Classic in Arkansas last week. The Broncos lead their all-time series against Portland State 14-5 and have won nine consecutive meetings. Their most recent encounter was earlier this season when Boise State secured a run-rule victory over Portland State.
St. Thomas arrives at the event following a 3-2 performance at the Crimson Classic and holds a 14-6 overall record this season. This weekend marks their first meeting with Portland State.
Last weekend, Portland State achieved its first three-win outing since 2024 during the OUTRIGGER Classic in Honolulu by defeating Mercyhurst twice and splitting two games with Hawai’i. “Their two losses came by a combined three runs, including an eight-inning loss to Hawai’i on Friday,” according to the team report.
Grace Johnson leads Portland State offensively with a .409 batting average and ranks fourth in her conference for both batting average and on-base percentage (.490). Other key contributors include Breanna Lutz (.341), Jolee Benson (.308), Alison Harris (.333), and freshman Mia Martinez who leads with 11 RBIs and has hit three home runs this season.
During their most recent series, Johnson recorded ten hits across five games for an average of .526, including a career-best four-hit game versus Mercyhurst. Martinez also delivered strong performances with six hits—four for extra bases—and seven RBIs over five games.
In pitching, Gracie Walters leads the staff with an ERA of 4.03 across four starts while Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung recently threw complete games in both her starts during her return to Hawaii, finishing that trip undefeated (2-0). Giselle Pantoja picked up her first collegiate win by pitching all seven innings against Hawai’i.
Johnson also leads the Big Sky Conference in stolen bases (nine) without being caught this year; she is currently third all-time for stolen bases during Portland State’s Division I era and needs five more to break Olivia Dean’s program record of forty-eight steals.
Head coach Meadow McWhorter reached her 150th career win at Portland State earlier this season after defeating Cal State Fullerton—a milestone achieved by only one other coach in program history.
This year’s roster features twelve returning players alongside thirteen newcomers—including seven freshmen—and includes two multi-sport athletes who also play soccer for Portland State. Senior second baseman Grace Johnson returns as last year’s hits leader while Nakoa-Chung earned Big Sky Preseason All-Conference honors as both pitcher and utility player after leading multiple offensive categories last season.
Portland State was selected fifth in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches’ Poll released last month. The team reported academic success as well: “The Vikings posted a record-breaking fall term in the classroom with a 3.74 team GPA, including eight student-athletes who earned 4.0 GPAs — the highest term GPA in program history.”
The Vikings are scheduled to debut their new home field at Hillsboro Ballpark later this year.
