A detour from conference play last week - as they took a bye week as the other six Big Sky teams battled it out - may have been a new experience for the Portland State softball team, but they certainly didn't let it go to waste. The Vikings put together their two best offensive performances of the season and nearly pulled off an impressive win over red-hot North Dakota State as well.

Now, they must take all the confidence that they've built and carry it into a road conference series against Montana. The Vikings and Grizzlies will meet in a three-game set in Missoula beginning on Saturday. Montana had the first bye week of the Big Sky season, meaning this will bring both teams to the halfway point of their conference schedule.

The road is always difficult in the Big Sky, but an all-turf field and a chilly forecast could make this weekend even more difficult for Portland State. The Vikings should be ready for the task, however. They have won the previous two Big Sky games they played and had an impressive weekend at the Seattle Invite.

Portland State (13-21/2-3 BSC) completely rewrote the season superlatives in a pair of games against Santa Clara. They scored 14 runs in both games against the Broncos, setting and matching their own season high. They also set season game highs in hits (19), RBIs (14), doubles (8), triples (2), home runs (3), and total bases (34).

The only loss of the weekend came against North Dakota State, a top-50 RPI team that is currently on an 18-game winning streak.

The offensive explosion led the Vikings to two wins and attracted a lot of the attention, but the pitching staff and defense also stepped up in the rematch against Santa Clara and the NDSU game.

Serafine Parrish, who was coming off an impressive performance against Oregon State in the middle of the week, threw another good game inside the circle against NDSU. The Bison came into the game averaging over five runs per game, but Parrish allowed just one earned over six innings. She limited the Bison to just five hits in the game, but it wasn't quite enough as an unearned run helped NDSU to the 2-1 win.

Haley Schimmel then brought her season record back to .500 against Santa Clara, going all six innings and allowing just three runs. Katie Schroeder also had an impressive relief performance, going 5.2 innings and allowing just two earned runs in the weekend opener against Santa Clara.

As Parrish, Schimmel and Schroeder continue to pitch well, head coach Meadow McWhorter has plenty of good options to go with inside the circle. Alyssa Burk impressed in her last Big Sky outing against Northern Colorado. She threw 14.2 innings against the Bears without allowing a run.

If the offense can even come close to replicating its performance last weekend, the Vikings should be in good shape. Darian Lindsey hit .692 with five doubles and six RBis. Alexis Morrison had the first two-home run game by a Vikings since 2015. Riley Casper hit two triples in the same game. Overall, the Vikings had four players bat over .500 and 10 different players score multiple runs in the three games.

The test will be continuing that success up north against Montana. The season is short in the Big Sky and any road wins make a significant different in the chase for postseason positioning. For the Vikings and Grizzlies - who sit fifth and sixth in the conference standings, respectively - this weekend could make a big difference come May.

SCOUTING MONTANA (11-26, 1-5 BSC / .254 / 4.63 ERA)

-The Grizzlies put up a good fight against defending champion Sacramento State, but were swept on the road last weekend. Montana pulled off two comebacks to force extra innings, but fell in 10 innings in both games. They were run ruled in the other game.
-Montana lost its only home Big Sky series to Idaho State, 2-1. They picked up an extra inning win in the final game to avoid a sweep.
-Cami Sellers has hit .417 in conference games for the Grizzlies, hitting the only home run and tallying a team-high four RBIs. She is the only Grizzly hitting over .300 in conference games.
-Maddy Stensby has thrown more innings in conference play than any other Griz, tossing 17 innings. She is 1-1 with a 2.47 ERA against Big Sky opponents.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MONTANA

The Vikings are 5-9 all-time against Montana. This is the second straight season the Vikings and Grizzlies will meet in Missoula. Last year, Portland State won the road series two games to one. Overall, they are 2-4 in games played in Missoula.

GAME COVERAGE

The game can bee seen on Pluto TV Channel 237 and live stats will be available on ViksLive.com.

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.

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.  

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.

GOING STREAKING

The Vikings currently have a number of hitting streaks active. Jessica Flanagan's reached double-digits in the final game of the Seattle Invite. This is the longest of the season for Flanagan and second longest of her career.

Darian Lindsey, who earlier this season recorded a hit in 17 consecutive games, is currently on a three-game hit streak and has reached base safely in nine straight contests. Marissa Bruno has also reached base safely in nine consecutive games, while Alexis Morrison's streak is up to five.


FINDING THE LONG BALL

Last weekend at the Seattle Invite (4/6-7) the Vikings blasted four home runs in three games. 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 34 games, the Vikings have already dropped down 39 sac bunts (1.15 per game). Alexis Morrison, Rachel Menlove and Riley Casper share the team lead with six each.