MISSOULA, Mont. – The Portland State softball team clinched the series over Montana on Sunday afternoon, securing an 11-3 victory in the series finale at the Grizzly Softball Field.
 
With the win, the Vikings improved to 18-20 overall and 7-4 in conference play, while the Grizzlies dropped to 17-28 and 1-11 in Big Sky action. The victory marked head coach Meadow McWhorter's 600th career win as a collegiate head coach, her 132nd at Portland State.

The Vikings dominated at the plate on Sunday, out-hitting the Grizzlies 13-4, with Emily Johansen leading the charge with three hits.

The game began with Portland State notching two runs in the first inning, but Montana quickly responded with a three-run homer in the bottom half. However, the Vikings bounced back, scoring three runs in the second inning, fueled by an RBI single from Johansen and back-to-back home runs from Lorraine Alo and Paetynn Lopez. Logan Riggenbach added to the lead with another home run in the fourth inning, before RBI hits from Johansen and Alexa Cepeda extended the lead to 10-3 in the fifth.

Makayla Romeo widened Portland State's lead to eight runs in the top of the sixth inning, driving in Riggenbach with an RBI double to right center to seal the run-rule win in the sixth inning for PSU.

Grace Kimball earned the win in the circle, improving her record to 12-8. She tallied seven strikeouts while limiting the Grizzlies to just four hits in the contest.

Looking ahead, the Vikings will head into the final weekend tied for first place as they prepare to take on Northern Colorado on Friday and Saturday (April 26-27). The two teams will vie for the Big Sky title in a three-game series at Gordon Faber Field, kicking off with a doubleheader at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.