The grind of the non-conference season has finally come to an end for Portland State softball as they prepare for the first conference series this season. The Vikings head to Pocatello to take on Idaho State in a three-game set beginning on Saturday, and head coach Meadow McWhorter has noticed a buzz around the team at the start of Big Sky play.

"Even just talking about it, I can feel the excitement build and the anticipation without a doubt," McWhorter said. "It's hard to create that in the non-conference, but the second that we step on that field it is going to be go time. I'm excited to be a part of the team that is going to show up because they are dialed in and ready to go."

The Vikings enter conference play 9-15 overall following a non-conference season with plenty of ups and downs. The Vikings competed in five different tournaments throughout non-conference play, taking on several teams from major conferences along the way.

PSU has played just two home games this season, creating a long stretch of being away from home, but the anticipation of getting into a conference season has the veteran Vikings ready to go.

The way last season ended has also given the Vikings some extra motivation. The 2018 conference tournament was rained out, prematurely ending the Vikings' season and the careers of two seniors. They were playing well when the rain fell in Ogden last year, dashing their hopes of a comeback in the tournament.

Now, the memories from last year combined with the hard work during the non-conference slate has given the Vikings all the encouragement they need.

"We're so excited because this has been a culmination of all of our hard and how our season ended last year and how hard that was," McWhorter said. "We were on fire and ready to go, so remembering that and utilizing it is good motivation."

The three-game set against Idaho State will be the first of six Big Sky series for the Vikings, evenly split between home and the road. The conference has a new look this year with North Dakota leaving. There are now seven teams, six of which will make the Big Sky Tournament at the end of the year.

Now facing a schedule with 18 total conference games in a league where weather could cause cancellations at any point, the Vikings realize how big every pitch, every inning and every game can be in the hunt for a conference championship.

They also benefit from an experienced team with 13 upperclassmen, meaning most of the players have played on, or at least seen, every opponent's field. McWhorter said knowing what to expect on the road can make those games easier and more comfortable for the players.

"It's pretty exciting that they know the importance and take value in game-by-game," McWhorter said. "There is a lot of confidence and a lot of excitement going into Idaho State, but one of the things that we talk about is being poised. We want to go in game one and compete pitch-by-pitch because that's the only thing we can control is that one moment."

The first pitch of a double-header will be Saturday at 1 p.m. (MT). The final game of the series will be Sunday at 12:00 p.m. (MT).

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE (9-16/0-0 BSC)

-The Bengals are 9-16 and on a two-game winning streak heading into this weekend. Idaho State played its first home games of the year earlier this week, winning a double-header against Utah Valley.
-ISU hits .226 as a team with 10 home runs and 61 RBIs. They have a team ERA of 4.60 with 129 strikeouts and 86 walks allowed. Defensively they have a .957 fielding percentage.
-Emma Bordenkecher leads Idaho State offensively, batting .338 with a team-high five home runs and 19 RBIs. She is also the only Bengal player to start all 25 games this season.
-Autumn Pease has been fantastic inside the circle for ISU and is currently 5-2 on the year. She has an ERA of 2.90 with a pair of complete games and a team-high 55 strikeouts.

COACH McWHORTER ON...

...IDAHO STATE.
"They are very well coached. They have power at the plate, something we're really going to have to minimize and make sure they aren't getting any extra opportunities… There aren't a ton of huge additions for either team, so I think it is going to be a really good matchup and three really good games just because there aren't a lot of unknowns within each program. I think all three games will be a battle and it is really going to come down to who has the timely hitting and who is the best defensive team out there."

...THE IMPORTANCE OF EVERY GAME.
"It's just really making sure that we do what we need to do on the road and really take advantage of being at home. We've lost four games in the bottom of the seventh so understanding the importance of going in with run support and making sure we don't bleed at all in the bottom of the seventh. Cleaning up things and not giving our opponents any free passes, and I definitely think our preseason schedule has really prepared us for the importance of every single game."

... GETTING AT LEAST ONE WIN ON THE ROAD.
"It's extremely important, even more-so now because everybody has three away series and three home series. It's an even playing field, and also one of the things that is really out of our control is that we are a weather sport. We could have opponents that have an entire series canceled due to weather or they could have one game. Seeding is solely off win percentage, so when you have an opponent that has played less games they tend to have a better win percentage so that can get frustrating and out of our control. We have to to control what we can control and take care of every single game we have an opportunity to play."

...LESSONS LEARNED OFFENSIVELY IN THE NON-CONFERENCE.
"Early on in our non-conference schedule our offense was doing a really good job of putting up runs almost every single inning. As of late, we have kind of been solely relying on one big inning. So one thing we've talked about going into this weekend is really piecing things together. Our situational hitting has been lacking a little bit lately so we've definitely put some emphasis on that as well as getting our sacrifice bunts down, which we were really good at early but have struggled with a little bit as of late. So just cleaning up some of those things that we know we are 100 percent capable of but really just slowing the game down and making sure that whatever task is put before them they get it done."

SOCIAL MEDIA

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POTW HONORS

Portland State has garnered a trio of Big Sky Conference honors this season.

Darian Lindsey earned her second career conference POTW honor (2/11/19), she earned the final honor of 2018, after hitting .471 (8-for-17) with seven runs scored and two driven in. She closed out the week hitting safely in five-straight games, including three-straight multi-hit games.

Katie Schroeder picked up her first career Pitcher of the Week honor (2/18/19) after throwing a complete-game one-hitter to earn her first win as a Viking. She faced just 22 batters and threw 75 pitches in the complete game win.

Darian Lindsey picked up her second POTW honor of the season after leading the Vikings to a 3-2 record, while hitting .500 (9-for-18). She scored three runs, drove in six, and hit her first home run of the season. She had an OPS of 1.293 over the five games.  

FINDING THE LONG BALL

After going nine games without a home run, the Vikings blasted five over the five games at the Amy S. Harrison Classic (Feb. 22-24). The five home runs came from five different players. Sala Pedebone became the first Viking with multiple home runs on the year after blasting two at the TSU Tiger Classic. Her first game as a go-ahead three-run home run to give the Vikings a 5-4 win over host Tennessee State (3/1). She added her third home run of the season, a two-run shot, against Ohio State in the Vikings' home opener (3/12).

GOING STREAKING

Jessica Flanagan came into the season riding and eight-game hitting streak. She extended that to 11 games before the streak ended against Marshall (2/9). Darian Lindsey reached base safely in the first 18 games of the year and had a 17-game hitting streak. It ended against Ohio State (3/12).

Rachel Menlove has reached base safely in four straight games, the longest current Viking streak, and is halfway to her longest streak of the season.

LAYING IT DOWN

The sacrifice bunt has been a particular point of emphasis for Head Coach Meadow McWhorter and the Vikings. In 2018 the Vikings laid down 46 sacrifice bunts in 52 games (.885 per game) with Darian Lindsey leading the team with 10. Through 25 games, the Vikings have already dropped down 26 sac bunts (1.04 per game). Lindsey has three so far this season but it is junior Alexis Morrison who leads the team with six.