84GRIZ said:
Does anybody know what is going on with Michaela Hood??? She has not pitched since the first game at Southern Utah when she came out in the third inning??
I was at Saturday's games vs. PSU and overheard some folks talking. Evidently she is dealing with an "arm issue." A lot of conjecture, since the coaches are following protocol and keeping student health issues confidential (was what I heard).
The good signs are that Montana's pitchers have done very well in Michaela's absence. The Griz have the Big Sky's top ERA at .302, despite the 1-2 weekend against Portland State. Hood (.278 era), Colleen Driscoll (.282 era) and Maddy Stensby (.329 era) are ranked among the league's top 7 pitchers. Freshman Tristin Achenbach pitched really well in two relief appearances over the weekend as well.
Montana defense continues to be stellar as well with the Griz leading the conference with a .969 fielding ratio.
Hitting? Well, seniors Ashlyn Lyons and Delene Colburn have the Big Sky's third and fourth best batting averages at .369 and .368 respectively. From there though, Montana's hitting drops off sharply. The Grizzlies are ranked seventh (out of 8) in Big Sky team batting average at .247 overall. It's just that over the weekend's three games, the Griz left 22 runners stranded (almost all in scoring position) at critical junctures; that happens in softball.
My personal view is that the kids are battling... and getting better game by game. The team will have to finish in the top 6 (of 8 teams) to make the tourney. With two weeks left, Montana's in fourth place, with a pretty decent shot of qualifying. I, like everyone else, am hoping Michaela can get back to pitching soon. If not, I believe they have the pitchers, and the players to compete well in a double elim. tourney setting. Go Griz.