It was close.
Portland State softball led Seattle 3-2 in the fifth inning of their NCAA regional elimination game and still had workhorse pitcher Olivia Grey in the circle. Grey held 16th-seeded Washington to just six hits in a loss the day before and had held the Redhawks to two hits in the first four innings.
PSU was staring down its first NCAA victory of the Big Sky era and its third-ever NCAA victory in Division I.
Then the Vikings’ Cinderella season turned into a pumpkin.
Grey gave up a double and two singles to open the inning before getting pulled. The next three batters reached safe between two more pitchers. In total, Seattle scored four runs in the inning and never relinquished the lead.
But the Viks didn’t go out quietly.
That was the first career homer for Hannah Bell in her last game for the program. The two-run shot left the door open for a comeback — similar to the run in the Big Sky semis against Southern Utah — but it didn’t materialize.
While it’s possible for every senior on the roster to come back next season, the Vikings are likely to lose a lot of talent this offseason — notably All-Big Sky trio Marissa Bruno, Tayler Gunesch and Rachel Menlove. However, there’s a lot to be excited about, led by a class of freshmen that elevated their play in the conference tournament.
Grey is a star for the future and a tentpole to build the team around the next three seasons, along with the potent bats of Paetynn Lopez, Maddie Thompson and Emily Johansen. In fact, only regular season champ Weber State had more underclassmen recognized in the conference this season.
That bodes well for next season and beyond. Add in the way the coaching staff has recruited the last few seasons and the future looks bright for the Vikings.
TRACK AT NCAAs
Softball isn’t the only program flirting with a deep postseason run this season, with a pair of Vikings runners competing in the NCAA West Prelims this weekend in Texas.
Senior distance runner Kaila Gibson is running in the women’s 10,000-meters on Thursday, qualifying for the meet with a near-record 33:55.00 at the Hayward Premiere in early April. The top 12 runners in Thursday's race at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, June 9-12.
“Everybody's in one race and so they can all measure each other,” Vikings coach David Hepburn said to the school website. “She's pretty savvy in the race. She's got race experience, along with everybody else in that race, but she'll be able to gauge where she's at and kind of make a play for it."
On Friday, junior Josh Snyder will compete in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, looking to either finish in the top three of his heat or among the next three fastest times to advance to Eugene. Snyder, who tripped during his run at the Big Sky Championships, has broken the school record in the event multiple times this season.
Both have reportedly been spending time in a sauna to acclimatize themselves to the hot and humid southeastern Texas weather. Time will tell if that strategy pays off.
In total, more than 100 Big Sky athletes will compete at the event.
TURNOVER ON THE PARK BLOCKS
Speaking of seniors opting to hang around thanks to the NCAA pandemic waiver, Vikings volleyball setter Maddy Reeb will be back this fall, likely shifting outside as a hitter. Reeb is a versatile weapon, recording a pair of triple-doubles, the first for the program in more than a decade last season.
Elsewhere, another football player is leaving the program this offseason. Sophomore defensive end James Thomas, who played 10 games in parts of two seasons for the Vikings, announced the move on Friday.
AROUND THE BIG SKY
Speaking of transfers, the Big Sky has rescinded its policy preventing players from transferring within the conference without penalty.
Conference commissioner Tom Wistrcill called the move, “a good step foward.”
There was some shake up in the women’s basketball news this week, with Eastern Washington finally filling its empty head coaching position, the last job to be filled this offseason. The Eagles tabbed former Seattle U associate head coach Joddie Gleason to run the program:
Part of the hiring delay in Cheney, along with some of their other interesting moves this offseason, could have to do with a budget crunch that briefly had the Eagles considering leaving Division I sports.
The Eagles stayed put for a lot of reasons but the situation sounds rough and it will be interesting to see how they plan to address the real problems they have.
Elsewhere, Northern Colorado’s new head coach is filling out her staff and poached a coach from within the conference:
Southern Utah’s Jake Vincent finished tied for 51st at the NCAA golf regional in Cle Elum, Wash., ending the season for Big Sky hopefuls.