SILVERDALE — A lapse of focus burned North Kitsap (6-4, 8-5-1) when it dropped the second half of a series with Port Angeles, keeping the Vikings from rising above fourth place in the Narrows League. But a sweep over Olympic April 18 and 19 hiked the purple confidence with two games remaining in Narrows play.

“It’s kind of a cliche but our focus has got to take it one game at a time,” NK manager Jeff Weible said after the April 19 Oly contest. “We don’t have the luxury of looking past any game.”

After the disappointing split with the Roughriders April 12, the Vikings’ cross-hairs were dead set on the Trojans April 18. That focus allowed NK to reach a season pinnacle at the plate.

With four home runs blasted over the course of the two games, the purple bats were alive.

In the first game of the doubleheader, NK needed a total of nine hits to 10-run the Trojans in the sixth inning. James Smith rocked a three-run shot in the fifth, which turned out to be a massive blow, said NK assistant coach Virgil Taylor. Then in the sixth, Ray Spears stepped up with a walk-off three- run homer to initiate the mercy rule and seal the win for North.

On the mound for the Vikes, Jordan Prince pitched all six innings, allowing just two runs and seven hits.

“We’ve had great pitching all year and our hitting has started to turn the corner,” Weible said, noting that the Oly series “gets the confidence flowing a little bit.”

In reality — despite Oly’s low placement in NL standings — North’s performance against the Trojans was a blast of confidence that should allow NK an increased sense of poise at the plate into the postseason.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the Viking sticks were swinging even better. Joe Benish and Josh Corso each batted 3-3 to lead North.

Benish led off with a three-run homer in the first inning and nearly hit the cycle with a single and triple in the latter innings. In the fifth inning, James Smith socked a two-run shot to deep left field, sealing the deal for NK, 9-5.

The sophomore Smith is leading North in the home run department with four on the year; sophomore Jordan Tucker is right behind him with two.

But the Vikings are in desperate need of consistency and a little bit of luck to boost them into post-season play.

“It’s been sort of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde kind of thing,” Weible said of the season. “One day, we’ll show up and play very well, then other times, we’ll come out and struggle.”

The Vikings are focused on the former as Shelton comes to Poulsbo for the first half of the final season doubleheader with first pitch set for 3:45 April 25. North will travel to Shelton with its fate in its collective hands April 26.