SACRAMENTO, Calif.– The Vikings fell twice Saturday to Sacramento State to suffer their first Big Sky Conference series sweep of the season. The Hornets took the first game of the day, 4-1, before closing out the series with a 4-2 win. 
 
Tayler Gunesch led off game one with a single up the middle and was quickly moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. She moved to third on a single from Kaela Morrow before coming in to score the game's first run on a Rachel Menlove sacrifice fly to put the Vikings up 1-0. 
 
Sacramento State quickly tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a run of PSU starting pitcher Emma Detamore. 
 
After scoring a run on two hits in the top of the first, Portland State looked like it was getting back on track offensively. Unfortunately, the Vikings recorded just one more hit and one walk over final six innings. 
 
Sacramento State took a 2-1 lead on a two-out double in the bottom of the third. After Detamore allowed the first two batters to reach in the bottom of the fourth, Alyssa Burk came on in relief. 
 
After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, the next batter doubled to center to drive in two and put the Hornets up 4-1. Burk was able to get out of the inning without any more damage done. 
 
That would be all the run support Hornets' starting pitcher Celina Matthias would need. She allowed one earned run on three hits. She walked one and struck out eight in the win. Detamore was tabbed with the loss after allowing four earned on six hits over three innings. 
 
It was nearly the same script in the top of the first of game two. Gunesch led off the game with a single to left center. After she stole second, Lindsey moved her to third on a single to left. Morrow then drove Gunesch in from third with a single to left center. That would be all the Vikings would get in the first as the next three batters recorded outs. 
 
Sacramento State came back with a pair of runs off Burk to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first. A two-run home run in the bottom of the third made it a 4-1 game. 
 
Marissa Bruno led off the top of the fifth with a single to center. Two batters later, she came in to score on a double to right-center from Lindsey to make it 4-2. After a Morrow walk, the Vikings had two runners on and one out. The next batter lined into an inning-ending double play to end the scoring threat.  
 
The Vikings had two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh with one out. With the potential game-tying run just 120-feet away, the next two batters recorded outs to end the game. 
 
Portland State out-hit Sacramento State 10-to-4 in the final game of the series but struggled with timely hitting. The Vikings went 4-for-13 with a runner in scoring position and 4-or-17 with runners on base. 
 
Burk picked up the loss after allowing four earned on four hits. She walked two and struck out six. 
 
Portland State returns home for a single non-conference game against Oregon State on Tuesday, April 10. First pitch slated for 5 p.m. PT. The Vikings then hit the road for a three-game series at Northern Colorado April 13-14.