Last weekend may not have gone how the Portland State softball team had hoped, but the Vikings showed the courage and determination that coach Meadow McWhorter and her team have become known for in recent years. After a pair of comebacks came up just short against Idaho State, the Vikings now return home for six straight games and a chance to reverse their fortunes.

Portland State will play Corban on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. before playing its first home Big Sky series against Northern Colorado this weekend. A double-header will begin on Friday at 1 p.m. before the series finale on Saturday at noon.

The Vikings and Bears had similar starts to Big Sky play. The two both lost twice last Saturday before having a Sunday game canceled. They enter with matching 0-2 records in Big Sky play with 15 games remaining.

"This team knows the importance of these wins, so I know they're going to be feeling that we really need to get after it this weekend and play the way we know how to play," McWhorter said. "Being successful and taking care of our business in this series is extremely important. How a team has done previous really means nothing when it comes to conference and these girls know that."

In Portland State's series against Idaho State, twice they mounted late game comebacks that nearly flipped the result in their favor. The Vikings didn't give up on either game, but the losses marked the seventh and eighth one-run decisions that PSU came out on the wrong end of this year. Now back at home, the Vikings will not only have the crowd favoring them, but they will also be the last team standing inside the batter's box.

"So many of our losses have come when we were the visitor, so it is nice to know that we will be the last ones holding the sticks for the next six games," McWhorter said. "It is reassuring. And then just to be able to play in front of our crowd and families, getting back to what we are familiar with will be nice and refreshing."

The game against Corban on Wednesday will be another great test for the Vikings. The Warriors, an NAIA program, are 21-5 on the season and nationally ranked. The game will still give the Vikings a chance to work on getting everything in order going into the Big Sky series.

"Corban is a very competitive program so we know it will be a good ball game, but it is nice to press that reset button going into the game tomorrow and really work on piecing some things together," McWhorter said. "Having quality defense, at bats and pitching is what we are going to need going into Northern Colorado."

In the Idaho State series the Vikings struggled to get all three phases of the games clicking at the same time. When the pitching was good, the offense struggled. When the offense struggled, the defense had some hiccups. Still, there were plenty of impressive performances from Vikings in Pocatello.

Jessica Flanagan broke up a no-hit bid in the seventh inning of the first game and Kaela Morrow ripped a clutch RBI double that forced extra innings. These went along with a good pitching performance from Katie Schroeder, who threw seven innings of one-run ball.

Then in the second game the Viking bats came alive, but it wasn't enough to overcome a six-run second inning from the Bengals. Riley Casper and Rachel Menlove both hit two-run homers in the 7-6 loss.

Last season, Portland State improved in conference play and made a run at the tournament. This year, the rest of the Big Sky conference has taken notice. This weekend, and every weekend, Portland State is going to receive its opponents best punch. They just have to match it.

"One of the things we've talked about with this team is, our opponents in this conference no longer underestimate us," McWhorter said. "After the year we had last year, it isn't, 'We should sweep Portland State.' That's just not how it is. They are going to play their best against us every single time. It's great that we've earned that respect, but we need to go out and fight every single game, every single pitch. Nothing is going to be easy and nothing is going to be handed to us."

SCOUTING CORBAN (21-5 / .322 / 2.36 ERA)

-The Warriors are nationally ranked No. 10 in the country at the NAIA level.
-Three different players are hitting at least .400 for Corban. Jessie Isham hits .436 with five home runs and 31 RBIs, all team highs.
-Corban loves to run when given a chance. The Warriors have stolen 72 bases this year on 79 attempts.

SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO (5-25, 0-2 BSC / .211 / 6.47 ERA)

-Northern Colorado has lost two straight games and 14 of its previous 15. The Bears are coming off a pair of losses against Weber State to open Big Sky play.
-Kenzie Kudrna leads the Bears with a .299 average. Mady Young hits .282 with a team-high 12 RBIs and Shaena Robinson has a team-high three home runs.
-Valerie Vidal has started 20 games for UNC this season and has a 5-17 record. She has a 5.86 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 34 walks.

COACH McWHORTER ON…

...CORBAN.

"It's going to be a great challenge. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Farler, she's put together a great program. They are going to be scrappy, and there is always that level of wanting to get the upset. They are coming in to play a D-I program and have nothing to lose, so we're going to have to work and compete in every single inning and never underestimate our opponent."

...NORTHERN COLORADO.

"They have a new coaching staff, so that could change the landscape of what their team looks like and how they play. Valerie Vidal, who has been extremely successful for them, did really well last year at the tournament. And they are scrappy, they showed that last year at the Big Sky tournament. We know they are going to come out and play their best against us, we just have to match and play better."

…THE IDAHO STATE SERIES AND THE NEAR COMEBACKS.

"We had this never say die mentality. To be no-hit until the seventh inning and then have Jess Flanagan come up and do what she did and be a spark for us. I was so proud of the fight that this team showed. And then going down 6-0 in the second inning, that is a really hard pill to swallow. But they just kept chipping away. Serafine Parrish coming in and dealing with us the rest of the game and shutting down a good offensive program. We battled until the very end."

...ON WINNING CLOSE GAMES.

"We have to, whether it is in the circle or on defense, not give the opponent anything to work with. Several times in these games that we've lost late, it is us giving the game away. Whether it's an error on defense, a walk in the circle, a base hit at a crucial time. We just have to fight until the end and control what we can and not give away any opportunities to the opponent."

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).

In the Idaho State series (3/23), Rachel Menlove hit a pair of home runs and Riley Casper added one of her own to bring the Vikings total up to 11 for 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 Lindseyleading the team with 10. Through 27 games, the Vikings have already dropped down 28 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.