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OPENING PITCH
     After playing the last eight games at home, the Vikings hit the road for their next five games beginning with a non-conference doubleheader at No. 5 Oregon on Tuesday, April 3. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. PT.
     Portland State will then head to Sacramento, Calif. for a three-game Big Sky Conference set against the Sacramento State Hornets. After a single home game against Oregon State on Tuesday, April 10, the Vikings will hit the road again for seven-straight road games. In all, Portland State will play 12 of its next 13 games on the road. 

SOCIAL MEDIA: Stay informed with Portland State Softball on social media. See below for everything related to Portland State Softball.
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LIVE VIDEO: A live video stream will be available for every game this week. Links are available on the Softball schedule page at GoViks.com.  

ONLINE: Live stats will be available for every game this week. Links are available on the Softball schedule page at GoViks.com.

GOING STREAKING: JR OF Tayler Gunesch extended her current hitting streak to a career-high 18 games after hitting safely in all three games against Idaho State. She is hitting .397 with 25 hits, 16 runs scored, 12 runs batted in, eight walks, and six stolen bases over her current streak.  

SERIES WIN: Portland State picked up its first conference series win of the year after defeating Idaho State, 2-1, at home last weekend. The Vikings took the first game 2-1 in 10 innings behind a tremendous pitching performance by JR RHP Alyssa Burk. After dropping game two 5-4, Burk threw her first complete-game shutout in game three as the Vikings took the series with a 5-0 win in the rubber-match. 

CONFERENCE ACE: JR RHP Alyssa Burk has established herself as the Vikings' pitching ace through six Big Sky games. During league play, Burk leads the league in wins (6), appearances (6), innings pitched (33.1), opposing batting average (.148), strikeouts (37), and looking strike outs (11). She is sixth in the league with a 2.10 earned run average.  

CONFERENCE HITTING: Through six league games, the Vikings  hitting .304 as a team with a .415 slugging percentage and a .401 on-base percentage. SO IF Darian Lindsey leads the team with a .444 batting average in league play. She leads the league with seven walks and is third with a .600 on-base percentage. 

POTW: JR RHP Alyssa Burk earned her second career Big Sky Conference Pitcher of the Week honor after going 2-0 with an 0.88 ERA at the Seattle University Invitational (March 16-18). Burk opened the week with a career-high 14 strikeouts against Bryant (3/16). She added six strikeouts in a win over Seattle (3/17). She allowed two earned on six hits over 16 innings. Opponents hit just .118 against her over the two starts. 

RACKING UP THE K'S: JR RHP Alyssa Burk struck out a career-high 14 batters in the Vikings' win over Bryan (3/16). The 14 strikeouts are tied the for the most by any Big Sky pitcher this season and the most since Anna Bertrand struck out 16 in 2011. 

DOUBLE-DIGIT K'S: Over the last 10 seasons, there have been 24 games where a pitcher has recorded double-digit strikeouts. Anna Bertrand leads the list with 12 double-digit strikeout games. JR RHP Alyssa Burk is second on the list with five after tallying three this season. 

GOING DEEP: After having the worst home run per game average in the nation a year ago, there has been an infusion of power this season. The Vikings have blasted 21 long balls, which is tied for first in the Big Sky. Eleven of the 21 homers have been hit by first-year players. FR C/DP Rachel Menlove has hit five home runs, while SO IF Darian Lindsey and SO IF Ashley Doyle have each blasted three home runs. Kaela Morrow leads the team with six home runs.  

LEAD-OFF HITTER: SO OF Tayler Gunesch has led off every game this season. She is hitting .327 on the year with 22 runs scored. She has driven in 14 and hit her first career home run to lead off the second game of a doubleheader against Toledo (3/7). She has hit safely in 24 of the last 26 games, including a career-high 18-game hitting streak. 

WALK-OFF: Kaela Morrow hit the game-winning three-run home run in the bottom of the eight to give the Vikings an 11-8 extra-inning win over Toledo (3/7). It was the Vikings' first walk-off home run since 2016 and their first in extra-innings since Brittany Hendrickson in 2015. 

CAREER YEAR: Kaela Morrow is have a career-year as a junior. She leads the team with .352 batting average. She also leads the team six home runs, 23 runs batted in, and a .619 slugging percentage. She has struck out just nine times in 105 at bats and leads the team with 13 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games. 

GRAND SALAMI TIME: JR C Kaela Morrow became the first Viking since Brittany Hendrickson in 2014 to hit a grand slam. Morrow came up with the bases loaded in her first at bat of the season and hit her first home run in the top of the first against Sam Houston State. She went 2-for-4 with a run scored, her first career home run, which just happened to be a grand slam, and a career-high 5 RBIs. She became the first Viking since Alex Flores in 2016 to record five RBIs in a game. 

CROOKED NUMBERS: The Vikings plated 13 runs in the bottom of the third inning in a 14-4 win over Bryant University (3/17). Their previous season high was seven runs in the bottom of the eighth against Toledo (3/7). It was Portland State's third game with double-digit runs this season and the most since scoring 15 runs twice in 2015.

FOUR DINGERS: Portland State hit four home runs, all solo and all by different hitters, in their 6-5 win over New Mexico State (2/24). It was the most home runs in a single game since the Vikings hit five against Hawaii in 2014. Portland State has hit multiple home runs in three games this season. 

OPENING DAY WIN: Portland State picked up an 8-2 win over Sam Houston State to open the season. It was the first win to open the season for the Vikings since they opened the season with a 9-7 win over Nevada in 2015. Portland State is 4-6 in its last 10 games to start the season. 

COMPLETE GAMES: JR RHP Alyssa Burk started the 2018 season right where she ended in 2017. She opened the year with a complete-game win over Sam Houston State. She allowed just two earned runs on two hits, she walked four and struck out five. It was her ninth-consecutive complete game, dating back to last season. She closed out the 2017 season with eight-straight compete games in Big Sky Conference play, going 3-5 in the process. 

THE ROSTER
Portland State has a very young roster again in 2018 with 18 underclassmen (7 freshmen and 11 sophomores).The Vikings return 12 letterwinners from a year ago, including a pair of pitchers. They add 10 newcomers, including a trio of sophomore transfers. 

BIG SKY TOURNAMENT
The Big Sky Conference Championship will be held  May 10-12 in Ogden, Utah. It will be hosted by Weber State due to the Wildcat's regular season championship in 2017. Six teams will qualify for the double-elimination tournament with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.