Viking_Yearbook_90

Wotnen's softball teatn goes to finals Portland State's 1990 softball team used a couple of one-two combinations to run up the best record in school history and reach the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 1982. Unfortu– nately, the Vikings were eliminated from the West Regionals with 1-0 and 4-0 losses to a pair of top-20 teams. The one-two pitching punch of Kristin Jacobs (21-8) and Christy Merrill (18-6) was backed by the one-two hitting of Cynthia Macom (.374) and Michele Hughes (.328) as PSU ran up a 41-14 record for the season. Only 14 of the school-record 55 games were played at home, as the Viks compiled a 29-12 road mark. Head coach Teri Mariani, who 1 14 has compiled a 267-223 record in 14 seasons, shoul return a strong team in 1991, with Jacobs and Merril both returning on the mound. The two hurlers tossed 18 shutouts and held opponents to a .178 batting average. Senior Apollonia Boccuzzi finished by getting her 132nd career hit in her final at-bat. "I'm disappointed for the kids," Mariani said following the Vikings' elimination from the NCAA tourney. "We were as good as everybody there, we just couldn't score runs this weekend. It's hard to end the season this way when you've had such a great year. You tend to forget all the things you did to get here." All of PSU's losses came at the hands of nationally-ranked teams. ·· -J .R. Rardon.