In two weeks, the six best teams in the Big Sky will converge on Sacramento, California to battle it out for the conference's crown. But on Friday, the Portland State Vikings got a sneak preview of the field they will more likely than not appear on in two weeks time. If the doubleheader is any indication, the Vikings are ready to go.

After being swept on the road in Montana on April 14 and falling to the bottom of the conference standings, head coach Meadow McWhorter and her team have completely turned the season around by focusing on the game in front of them and taking it one day at a time. So far, so good. The Vikings (18-26/7-6 BSC) are winners of five straight conference games and have climbed all the way into sole possession of third place with just four Big Sky games remaining.

The focus will now be on the series finale against Sacramento State tomorrow, a game that could bring them into a tie for second place in the conference. And while they may not be looking too far ahead, they are certainly enjoying the on-field product they have put together over the last two weeks.

"This is a team that is really enjoying playing together and playing for each other and they are really seeing the fruits of their labor when they play for each other," McWhorter said. "It is fun to be a part of, to watch them play selflessly and get fired up for each other's successes. They are getting more fired up for their teammates' successes than their own, and that's what it's all about."

The Vikings were clicking in all three facets of the game as they continue to improve in every way as the season heads towards the finish line. Sacramento State entered the game the best pitching team in the Big Sky, but Portland State found a way to score runs. At the same time, they gave up just nine hits and three runs combined over the two games.

Katie Schroeder and Serafine Parrish were excellent inside the circle, and the defense backed them up with excellent plays in the field.

"They were such great team wins," McWhorter said. "The amount of big defensive plays that we had was just, it was some fun softball today. We were firing on all cylinders. Our dugout was electric. When we were on defense our dugout was on fire and they really fueled our team when we were out on defense."

The Vikings were swept in Sacramento last year, and McWhorter said they were very hungry to change their mojo. They did that through timely hitting and clutch defense. An offense that had possibly been letting its opponents dictate the at-bats has completely changed that tune. Portland State was patient and confident at the plate, drawing 11 walks while striking out just four times.

Darian Lindsey hit her seventh homer of the season and had five hits in two games, Alexis Morrison hit another home run and the Vikings reached base in 44 percent of their at bats over the course of the two games.

"Our offense was so disciplined at the plate today," McWhorter said. "The amount of walks that we drew, but then also the amount of timely hitting we had was so good. Our hitters were so clutch in some really big moments at the plate and they just did a really good job of hunting good pitches to hit."

Katie Schroeder threw a complete game and allowed just five hits and one unearned run. Parrish also had a seven-inning outing, giving up four hits and two runs. The like between them was catcher Rachel Menlove, who had some stellar plays and good chemistry with both pitchers.

"Both Katie and Serafine did such a good job of keeping the ball down, and Rachel did such a good job of handling both pitchers and keeping them so dialed in throughout the games," McWhorter said. "She had some key blocks in big moments and did such a good job of keeping the energy positive with our pitching staff the entire time."

Game One - Portland State 3, Sacramento State 1

The Hornets threw their ace, Savanna Corr, in the first game of the series, but Schroeder matched her and came out victorious. The Vikings recorded seven hits against Corr, the second-most she's allowed in a game this season, and also drew seven walks.

Sacramento State took the lead in the bottom of the second inning on an unearned run. Krystal Aubert tripled to lead off the inning and then advanced home on a throwing error, but Schroeder retired the next three batters in order to make the run unearned.

The Vikings, meanwhile, left five runners on base over the first three innings, constantly threatening but just not quite able to score any runs. They broke through in the fourth, however, taking the lead for good.

Sala Pedebone and Morrison led the inning off with two straight singles, and the bases were then loaded two batters later when Marissa Bruno drew a walk. Lindsey followed that up with another walk, picking up an RBI on the free pass to first. Jessica Flanagan then singled up the middle to score another run, putting the Vikings ahead 2-1.

Pedebone put the pressure on again in the fifth inning with a one-out triple but Corr escaped. Lindsey added to the score with a solo homer to left in the top of the sixth, and the Vikings continued to threaten home plate. A walk and a single had runners on first and third by the time the Hornets finally got out of the inning.

Schroeder shut it down in the seventh, sitting down the Hornets in order to help the Vikings start the series off with a 3-1 win. She improved to 8-6 on the year with a 3.37 ERA. Lindsey went 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBIs. Flanagan was 1-for-4 with an RBI while Menlove and Pedebone both had multi-hit games.

Game Two - Portland State 7, Sacramento State 2

After threatening in nearly every inning in the series opener, Portland State opened up the floodgates in the second game. They scored in four of the seven innings and had nine more hits than the Hornets in a dominant performance.

Morrison scored the first runs of the game in the second inning, leaving the park for a two-run homer that scored Pedebone. Sacramento State pushed a run home after a leadoff walk followed by a double in the second inning, but the Vikings held onto a 2-1 lead.

Portland State opened things up in the second, stringing together six singles in seven at bats. Menlove, Kaela Morrow and Pedebone each had one-out singles to load the bases and force Sacramento State into a pitching change. Jensen Main struck out the first batter she faced, but Ashley Doyle, Bruno and Lindsey followed that up with three straight two-out doubles to score three runs. Despite all that, the Hornets found a way to escape with the bases still loaded.

The Vikings scored a hustle run on a fielder's choice in the fourth inning to make it 6-1, but a solo shot by the Hornets in the bottom half of the inning cut the lead back down to four runs. The two teams combined for just one more hit over the next two innings, until Portland State again found success in the seventh.

Morrison led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice. Bruno then walked, putting two on for Lindsey, a very dangerous position for an opposing pitcher. She pulled a double down the left field line, scoring a run to make it 7-2.

Sacramento State got two runners on in the final frame, but Parrish struck out the final batter of the day to seal win number two.

GAME NOTES: The Vikings are now 24-50 all-time against Sacramento State … Portland State's wins snapped a five-game winning streak for Sacramento State … Portland State has now won five consecutive Big Sky games … Darian Lindsey has now reached base in 19 straight games, the longest streak of her career … Tayler Gunesch has reached base safely in 11 straight games.