Winning on the road is always a challenge, but for the Portland State softball team it has been particularly difficult so far in the 2019 Big Sky season. This weekend will be the final road test of the season for the Vikings, while also giving them a chance for some game experience at host site of the Big Sky Softball Championship.

Portland State (16-24/5-6 BSC) will head to Sacramento State for a road series this weekend, but before the crucial conference series they have a Tuesday evening doubleheader against Oregon on slate.

The doubleheader kicks off the home stretch for the Vikings that includes conference series against the two best teams in the Big Sky so far in 2019. Last weekend a home sweep helped PSU rise from seventh to a tie for third in the conference standings. But these next two weeks may show the Vikings what they are capable of when the conference tournament comes around.

The conference tournament race is hotly contested, with five teams all within 2.5 games of each other in the standings. This makes winning at least a game in every series going forward important, but it also shows how important Portland State's sweep of Southern Utah was last weekend.

The pitching staff led the way for the Vikings against the Thunderbirds, delivering three great starts from three different players. Katie Schroeder started the first game, going all eight frames of an extra-inning 3-2 win for Portland State. She allowed just four hits and two runs while striking out five batters, which matched her career high.

In the second game it was Serafine Parrish's turn. She also went the distance, throwing a complete game four-hitter. She allowed just two runs in the 6-2 win, picking up her second win of the season. She also struck out five batters in her start, limiting a potent Southern Utah offense that scored eight runs per game the previous week.

Alyssa Burk started the series finale and delivered a performance worthy of Big Sky Pitcher of the Week honors. Burk threw a complete game two-hitter, allowing just a single run to the Thunderbirds, which came after three walks in the same inning. They were the only walks allowed all day, and Burk also struck out eight batters. She now has two Pitcher of the Week honors this season and four in her career.

The defense did a great job backing up the pitching staff, not committing an error in the final 20 innings of the series. Portland State's offense also improved every game of the series, getting all three facets of the game clicking in the same weekend series.

Tayler Gunesch's return to the lineup continues to pay dividends for the Portland State office. She hit .600 against Southern Utah, driving in three runs while also scoring three times. Gunesch also stole three bases in three attempts and had a perfect fielding percentage in center field. She is currently on a seven-game hitting streak.

Darian Lindsey also continues an impressive streak of play, hitting in nine straight games while reaching base safely in 15 contests. She hit .500 with a solo home run and a pair of doubles in the three games against Southern Utah.

The Vikings outhit the Thunderbirds by 17 and outscoring them 17-5 over the course of the series. The sweep moved them back into a postseason position at a tie for third with Idaho State. Now it comes down to how they perform in the final road series of the Big Sky season. After that, a home set against league-leading Weber State will determine where the Vikings will finish up in the conference standings.

GAME COVERAGE

Portland State will play Oregon in a doubleheader starting at 4:00 p.m. in Eugene. The game can be heard on KWVA 88.1 FM and live stats will be available on ViksLive.com.

The Sacramento State series will begin with a doubleheader at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams will finish the series on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The games will be available to stream at Pluto.tv and live stats will be available on ViksLive.com.

SCOUTING OREGON (19-22, 4-11 PAC-12 / .263 / 4.71 ERA)

-Oregon is coming off a 53-win season that included a Women's College World Series appearance. They have struggled this season, but have turned things around in the last couple of weeks.
-The Ducks are 3-3 in their last six games, including a series win over California. They also handed No. 1 UCLA its second loss of the season and first home loss two weeks ago.
-Jasmine Sievers is batting .352 with four home runs and 20 RBIs. April Utecht has a team-high eight home runs and 25 RBIs. Rachel Cid also has eight home runs with 24 RBIs.
-Jordan Dail has thrown a majority of the innings inside the circle for Oregon. She has thrown 188.1 innings with a 16-10 record and a 3.35 ERA.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. OREGON

The Vikings are 49-114-1 all-time vs. Oregon. They are 16-65-1 in games played in Eugene. The two teams met last year in Eugene, when the Ducks swept a doubleheader.

SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE (27-18, 8-3 BSC / .284 / 2.83 ERA)

-The Hornets are on a five-game winning streak, sweeping Saint Mary's and Northern Colorado last week. They are currently second in the Big Sky, trailing Weber State by three games. Sacramento State is 15-6 at home and 5-1 against conference opponents at home. They have won 10 of their previous 11 games.
-They have the lowest team ERA, 2.83, in the conference by a significant margin. They also have the third-best batting average, the only team in the Big Sky to rank in the top three in both.
-Krystal Aubert leads the Big Sky with 13 home runs and 35 RBIs. Nene Alas leads the team with a .370 batting average and is tied for the conference lead with 54 hits. She also has three home runs and 20 RBIs.
-The Hornets have three players in the top five of the conference in ERA. Savanna Corr leads the league with a 2.27 ERA and has allowed opponents to hit just .186 against her. She has 17 wins, nine more than any other Big Sky pitcher.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SACRAMENTO STATE

The Vikings are 22-50 all-time against Sacramento State. The Hornets hold a 37-7 lead in games played in Sacramento. Last season, the Hornets swept the Vikings in a three-game series played in Sacramento.

POTW HONORS

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

Darian Lindsey earned her second career conference POTW honor (2/11/19) 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.

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.  

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.

Alyssa Burk won her first Pitcher of the Week honor (4/1/19) this season and third of her career. She pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts against Northern Colorado, striking out 23 total batters on the weekend. She didn't allow a single run in 14.2 innings, walked zero batters and allowed just five total hits.

Burk claimed the honor again following the Southern Utah series (4/22). She threw a complete game two-hitter in an 8-1 Portland State win. She allowed just two hits while striking out eight batters and walking three.

GOING STREAKING

The Vikings currently have a number of hitting streaks active. Darian Lindsey has a 17-game hitting streak already this season and has currently recorded a hit in nine straight contests. Lindsey has also reached base safely in 15 straight games.

Tayler Gunesch also has an impressive streak going as well, recording a hit in seven-straight games. She is 10-for-18 with four RBIs and four runs scored and has also stolen three bases in the course of the streak.

FINDING THE LONG BALL

Darian Lindsey has hit a team-high home runs this season. She hit a solo shot in the third inning of a 3-2 win against Southern Utah (4/19) for her third home run in a two game stretch. Rachel Menlove then hit the 20th homer of the season for the Vikings in the series finale against SUU (4/20), leaving the park with a solo shot in the first inning of an 8-1 win.

Lindsey hit two home runs in the same game against Montana. The two homers were both solo shots, one to lead off the game and the other leading off the seventh inning. The home runs brought the team season total to 18 while Lindsey is fifth in the conference with five homers.

The Vikings hit four home runs in three games at the Seattle Invite (4/6-7). Alexis Morrison had two in the same game against Santa Clara, the first multi-home run game by a Viking since 2015. Darian Lindsey and Rachel Menlove each had a home run as well, bringing their season totals to three and four, respectively.

The Vikings blasted five over the five games at the Amy S. Harrison Classic (2/22-24). 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. Last weekend, Darian Lindsey hit her second of the season in a 4-0 win against Northern Colorado (3/29).

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 40 games, the Vikings have already dropped down 45 sac bunts (1.13 per game). Riley Casper leads the team with seven while Alexis Morrison, Rachel Menlove and Sala Pedebone have six each.

WHERE THEY RANK

Darian Lindsey is in the top 10 in the Big Sky in a number of significant categories. She leads the league in on-base percentage (.500), is second in slugging percentage (.685) and second in batting average (.400).

Lindsey is also third in hits (52), second in doubles (15), tied for fourth in RBIs (28) and tied for fourth in home runs (6). She is also third with 89 total bases and has drawn a league-leading 22 walks. She is also seventh with 25 runs scored.

Riley Casper is tied for fourth with seven sacrifice bunts. Kaela Morrow and Jessica Flanagan are tied for eighth in runs scored (23). The two are also tied for second in sacrifice flies (2), along with Rachel Menlove. Jessica Flanagan also cracks the top 10 in batting average (.336) and hits (44).