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2017 Grizzly softball updates

alabamagrizzly

Well-known member
Even though the girls finished the weekend 2-3, there was definitely some good signs from the weekend. Of course there was also some things that showed reason for early concern. Bethany Olea and MaKenna McGill were pretty consistent offensively and Fr Michaela Hood showed some great signs of dominance. Once again the theme of giving up big innings after building a lead reared its ugly head and will definitely be something the ladies need to work on going into the conference schedule. We out hit every opponent this weekend in each game except SDSU, which was one of our victories. Overall we had 41 hits and the opposition had 32. Our downfall in our losses was mostly due to our own mistakes. We gave up 20 free passes to the opposition's 12 in all of our losses and allowed 4 homers without hitting any. To put that in perspective, we hit 3 homers alone against Toledo.

Game 1 vs Nebraska-Omaha L 4-7
UM's stars
Offensive-Olea 3-3 1r 1bb
Pitching-Hood 2.1ip 1h 4k 0bb

Defining moment-Omaha's 5 run 4th.

UM jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 2nd after 5 of 8 batters reached base off 3 singles and 2 walks. Haley Young started strong allowing one hit and striking out two in the first 2.2 innings but after getting the first two batters in the third out, she gave up back to back hits, the second being a homer. In the forth, UM loaded the bases with one out but two fielders choice hits later, Montana's inning ended with only one run and a 4-2 lead. Maddy Stensby then entered for Young and that's when the wheels fell off. Two of Omaha's first four batters had in field pop ups for outs but with two outs and runners on first and second, Omaha's next 5 batters all reached base scoring 5 runs taking a 7-4 lead and wouldn't look back. The inning may not have been as bad with two outs and the bases loaded and UM still up 4-3 but a fielders choice failed to record an out allowing the game to be tied. The flood gates could not be closed then. Michaela Hood relieved Stensby to get the final out of the forth and pitched great for her colligate debut facing 8 batters allowing 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 runs, and striking out four but the ladies offense was inept after getting 8 hits in the first four innings, they could only muster 2 more hits over the last 3 innings and could not get anymore runs.

Game 2 vs South Dakota St W 6-5
UM's stars
Offensive-Colburn 1-4 3rbi 1HR
Pitching-Hood 0.1ip 1k

Defining moment-Colburn's 3 run homer in the bottom of the 6th.

Olea started off with an rbi double in the 1st. Martinez ended the beginning of a SDSU threat in the 2nd with a solo double play. The Griz scored their second run in the bottom of the 2nd of 0 hits and 4 walks. In the top of the 3rd after already giving up an rbi double, Stephenson with two outs gave up a 3 run homer to give SDSU a 4-2 lead. Then again in the 4th Stephenson would give up another rbi double but with a 5-2 lead, SDSU would not score anymore in the game. In the bottom of the 4th after Martinez was able to use her speed to steal second, McGill brought her in with a double to make it 3-5. Then on the bottom of the 6th, Delene Colburn became the hero hitting a two out, three run homer after previously going 0-3 in the game to give the ladies a 6-5 lead. Maddy Stensby who had come in in the 5th and pitched great through the 5th and 6th allowing one hit and striking out 3, then needed help to get the win. After giving up a leadoff single and a sac bunt and a sac fly later, with the leadoff runner now at third, she then hit the next two batters to load the bases. That's when Michaela Hood stepped in to get SDSU's 3B to strike out swinging to end the game and preserve the win.

Game 3 vs Drake L 5-7
UM's stars
Offensive-McGill 2-3 1r 1sb 1bb
Pitching-Hood gs/nd 6ip 3h 10bb 5k 5r 4er

Defining moment-Montana twice loading the bases, in the 3rd with no outs and in the 4th with one out, and coming away empty handed both times.

The Griz struck early against the MVC preseason favorites in the bottom of the first scoring three runs, two of which came off an error by the SS with one out and runners on 2B and 3B. Then in the bottom of the 3rd, UM had the bases loaded with no outs but after a IF pop up and double play where Lyons flies out to the LF who relayed it to the SS and caught Stites out at home trying to tag up, the threat was over. After tossing three hitless innings, Hood, getting her first collegiate start, got a little shaky in the 4th. Four walks, an rbi double, a sac fly and a sac hit allowed Drake to tie the game at 3. In the bottom of the 4th, the Griz would load the bases again with only one out with Stites and Colburn coming up only to end the inning empty handed again after a strike out and a fly out. After another hitless inning in the 5th by Hood, she had to survive a scare in the 6th with allowing the bases to get loaded with two singles and a walk between a couple sac IF hits. She got the last batter to ground out to 2B to escape with no damage done. Then in the bottom of the 6th, UM scored two runs off an error by the SS when Stites hit ground ball with two outs and runners on 2B and 3B. Then in the top of the 7th, Hood lead off the inning with her 9th and 10th walks of the game. Pinkerton then replaced her with the normally reliable Stephenson but the end would not be good. After getting out #1, Stephenson gave up an rbi double, then a walk to load the bases. The next batter hit what should have been a routine DP to Martinez but Colburn's throw was off and two runs would score putting Drake up 6-5. They would add one more for good measure scoring 4 in the inning after only recording 1 hit. Montana would make it interesting in the bottom of the 7th getting the tying runs on 3rd and 2nd with one out but Wardlow would strike out swinging and the Fr Morgan Johnson would PH for her first collegiate ab and go down swinging also.

Game 4 vs UNI(host) L 2-10
UM's stars
Offensive-Stites 2-3 12B 1rbi 1r
Pitching-Driscoll 4.2ip 5h 2er 9r 2bb 1k

Defining moment-UNI's 6 run 5th, all of which were unearned.

UNI was the host team and would be the only team to truly dominate us, even if it was for only one inning. They scored first in the bottom of the 1st after allowing the potential 3rd out to reach on an error, the next batter hit a two run homer. Montana tied it back up in the 3rd with an rbi double by Stites and an rbi single by Olea. In the bottom of the 4th Driscoll got the first two batters to fly out but then gave up a single followed by a homer to give UNI a 4-2 lead. UNI started the bottom of the 5th getting out two of the first three batters but then loaded the bases after a walk and a hit batter. Then UNI hit a hard shot ground ball that bounced off Colburn's glove and scored two runs making it 6-2. Another single loaded the bases again and Stensby came in for Driscoll and her first batter faced went yard for a grand slam to end the game from the 8 run mercy rule in 5 innings.

Game 5 vs Toledo W 8-6
UM's stars
Offensive-Olea 3-4 2r 3rbi 22B 1HR
Pitching-Driscoll/Hood 3.0/0.2ip 4/0h 1/0r 1/0er 3/2k

Defining moment-Montana's back to back homers in the 1st set the tone for the game.

Montana struck early in the top of the 1st with a leadoff triple and back to back homers by Colburn and Olea. Toledo got it all back though in the bottom of the 2nd with a two out single, walk, and then a bases clearing homer. In the top of the third Olea would continue her big day hitting a double to score McGill. Then in the 4th, Lyons led off with a solo homer for the Griz and then the girls got to manufacturing to make it 6-3. After getting McGill on 1st and Fr Petrino on 3rd with two outs, the ladies successful attempted a double steal to score. In the bottom of the 4th, Toledo chased Stephenson of the mound with a one out rbi single. Driscoll came in then and her first batter hit an rbi double but that would be it for the Rockets. Through the next 2.2 innings Driscoll would only allow one single. In the top of the 7th, UM would add some insurance runs with back to back leadoff doubles by Colburn and Olea, scoring one and an rbi single by Saacke scoring Olea. In the bottom of the 7th Toledo would make it interesting. Two doubles and a run in to the inning with only one out would send Driscoll back to the dugout and Pinkerton would send in Hood who was stellar in the reliever roll all weekend. The next two batters would both sit down with strike outs ending any threat Toledo was attempting to put together.

All in all the weekend was encouraging. We know Olea, McGill, and Colburn are gonna be monsters this year. Michaela Hood is gonna be a star in the circle. Stites slow start is a little unsettling after the monster fall season she had but I'm sure she's gonna come around. Stephenson, Stensby, and Driscoll need to find some consistency. If that happens, we may be the best team in the Big Sky this year. Next weekends invite in Santa Clara against the hosts and Seattle should be a much better outing, possibly bringing home 5 more victories.
 
EverettGriz said:
Thanks Bama! Great stuff.

A nice win for the UM Tennis team this weekend as well.

Hey! This is a softball thread! Get your tennis outta here! Jus kidding. Tuff loss to UNC but a good rebound against UND. The upcoming Utah match though will be extremely tuff. Casadevall, Schoenherr, and , Schmidl had real good falls. Casadevall and Schoenherr have shown signs early this spring they'll continue that success but Schmidl hasn't played much. It's always fun to follow em and see how well they do. We should only get better too.
 
This weekends invite to Santa Clara Ca for the Bronco Classic should be interesting. I would expect Montana to come home 4-1 and possibly 5-0 from their trip. Santa Clara is the host and Seattle and us will be the guest but I'd say it's safe to say we will be the best team there.
Santa Clara didn't play at an invitational last weekend, instead hosting a two game series against UC Davis. Davis won both games but they were close going 2-1 and 2-0. SC's bats were missing batting only .146 with 6 singles and a double but the pitching almost made up for it. Through the two games, their two pitchers era was 0.64. The same can't be said for us.
Seattle on the other hand played a little stiffer competition. They were in Tempe Arizona at Arizona State's invite. They did come home 0-5 but they played nationally ranked Oregon to wire losing 2-4. Unfortunately that was their closest game of the weekend losing all 5 games by a combined score of 7-33.
Both of these teams were on our schedule last year. We played Santa Clara at an invite in Davis Ca and won a tight game that went 8 innings. After SC scored two to tie it up 5-5 in the 7th, Gabby Martinez scored from third in the 8th on an illegal pitch for a 6-5 grizzly victory. Seattle was on our schedule at a weekend invite by the Washington Huskies. Unfortunately due to Seattle's lovely weather, the game, like many that weekend were rained out. Side note, Friday's forecast in Santa Clara calls for 90% chance of rain when we're scheduled for two games, one vs's both teams.
Bethany Olea and MaKenna McGill were the offensive work horses last weekend, both batting .625 and slugging over .800, Olea coming in at an even 1.000 with three doubles and a homer. Delene Colburn brought some pop with four extra base hits but her BA was below .300, deffenetly not what she's used too. She also committed two costly errors after only recording 9 all of last year. Sidney Stites, Madison Saacke and Ashlyn Lyons were also off their usual pace.
Pitching had its ups and downs also which hopefully will work its way out, starting with this weekend. The better pitchers at the UNI Dome were last years #4 pitcher and a Fr. Colleen Driscoll and Michaela Hood were the bright spots, both with era's at 3.00 or lower. Hood was damn near dominant except for a control issue in the one game she started where she walked 10 batters. She also struck out 12 batters in 9 innings two of which ended both wins, collecting saves in both.
When the players come around and start doing the things we know they can do, this team is gonna get rolling. Go Griz!

This weekend sched
Fri Feb 17th 2:30pm vs Seattle
Fri Feb 17th 5pm @ Santa Clara
Sat Feb 18th 12pm @ Santa Clara
Sat Feb 18th 2:30pm vs Seattle
Sun Feb 19th 11am @ Santa Clara
 
In my preview I had predicted that the Griz would be the best team on the field this weekend. Clearly I was wrong. All three teams were extremely evenly matched with the Griz taking both games against Santa Clara, Seattle taking both games against the Griz, and Santa Clara taking both games against Seattle. The ladies pitching was tremendous with a 2.59era but some key sticks are struggling and in one game they were non existent.

Game 1 vs Santa Clara W 8-1

UM's stars
Offensive-Delene Colburn 3-4 1HR 2r 1rbi
Pitching-Sara Stephenson 3ip in relief. 0 hits 0runs 2bb 2k 1win.

Defining moment-Stite's 2-out 3 run homer in the top of the 7th to put Montana up 6-1.

With Michaela Hood getting the start, the game was a pitchers dual through the first 3 innings, both teams getting shut out, and Montana only getting 3 hits through the first four innings. Santa Clara finally broke through in the bottom of the 4th. What could have been a very big inning, the Griz held the Broncos to only one run after allowing the first two batters to reach 2nd and 3rd with no outs, the second batter reaching on an error by Colburn. After throwing one runner out at home on a fielders choice, the next batter would hit an rbi single. After a couple more groundouts, the threat would be over and that would be all Santa Clara would score in the game. Gabby Martinez would hit an rbi single of her own in the top of the 5th to get the run back. Colburn would hit a solo shot in the 6th to make up for her error, the one runner that crossed the plate for SC. In the top of the 7th, UM would open it up scoring 8, including an rbi double by Olea after Stites had already hit a 3 run homer. Stephenson who had replaced Hood at the beginning of the 5th, finished of SC with with 3 innings of hitless ball to earn the victory and get the Griz their first victory of the weekend.

Game 2 vs Seattle L 3-6

UM's stars
Offensive-MaKenna McGill 2-4 1rbi
Pitching-Colleen Driscoll 1loss 4.2ip 9h 4er 4r

Defining moment-Seattle's 7 hit, 5 run inning in the bottom of the 5th, all with 2 outs.

Montana was looking to take command of this game early. In the top of the 2nd with two outs and runners on first and second, the Griz hit three consecutive singles scoring three runs. Driscoll was in control spreading 5 hits through the first 4.2 innings after getting the first two batters of the 5th out. That's when our typical one bad inning showed up. The next four batters went single, single, double, and single tying the game and chasing Driscoll out of the game with a runner on 1st. Stensby then came in and her first three batters went single, single, double to score two more before finally getting the third out. Montana then went hitless their last two innings along with giving up an rbi triple in the 6th to fall short against the RedHawks.

Game 3 vs Santa Clara W 7-2

UM's stars
Offensive-Sydney Stites 3-4 1HR 1r 6rbi
Pitching-Haley Young 1 win 5.1in 6h 2er 2r 2bb 4k

Defining moment-Stites with a 2 run single in the top of the 2nd followed by a grand slam in the top of the 3rd to put the Griz up 6-0

The Griz controlled this game for the beginning. In the top of the first they loaded the bases with one out yet managed not to score any runs. In the second Stites hit a two run single. In the 3rd the Griz loaded the bases again but Stites came up this time and cleared them with a grand slam, giving her six rbi's on the day. In the 4th UM added a little more insurance with Lettus hitting a one out sack fly with runners on second and third. In the bottom of the 5th Santa Clara finally tried to put something together. Young had been dealing all day allowing only one hit and one walk through four innings. Then in the 5th after a double, SC had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out but an unsuccessful bunt attempt and a strikeout later, the threat was ended. Finally in the the 6th Santa Clara managed to score getting runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. One out later SC hit a single scoring a run and Pinkerton decided it was time for Driscoll to come in. She forced a ground out which scored one more run and got the 3rd out in the next batter. That would be the last of any real threat.

Game 4 vs Seattle L 0-2

UM's stars
Offensive-Ashlyn Lyons 1-3
Pitching-Maddy Stensby 2ip in relief 0h 0r 0bb 0k

Defining moment-Seattle's pitcher throws 7 innings of 1 hit ball. Of the 24 batters she faced she walked 3, struck out 3, allowed one hit, and forced 17 ground outs with no fly outs.

Not much to say here except that Montana's offense had no answer and Seattle scored the winning run in the 1st inning off a sac fly after loading the bases with no outs. Seattles only other run came off a leadoff homer in the top of the 4th. Montana was held hitless until the top of the 5th when Lyons led off with a single but the next batter, Saacke grounded into a double play which summed up the offensive woes for the Griz all day. Seattle would only get one more hit from the 5th inning on but they already had all they needed.
 
Montana should have a fun weekend if for no other reason, they get an all expense paid trip to Honolulu. Their record may not reflect a good time though, especially if some of the missing bats don't improve.
Bethany Olea's bat is definitely not missing. Batting .500 with a .792 slugging percentage, the Sr has been the lifeblood of our offense. MaKenna McGill has also mostly been her usual self. But in California this last weekend they batted a combined .208 although Olea collected 6 walks over the 4 games. On a whole last weekend, the team, minus Delene Colburn's 6 for 14, batted .226 which is way below what we're used to. Ashlyn Lyons, Madison Saacke, and Sydney Stites have yet to find their groove. Lyons is a lifetime .300 hitter batting .192. Last year Saacke bumped her average from .220 to .370 but this year is back down to .233 as the primary starting catcher. Stites's slump is the most baffling. The most prolific hitter on last years team is hitting a lowly .267, almost 120 points off last years avg. She is slugging .533 with a huge team lead in rbi's with 12, thanks largely to her 6 rbi game against Santa Clara on Sunday.
Pitching on the other hand may be coming around. In Iowa the team era over the five games was 6.22. During the weekend in Santa Clara it was 2.59, considerably lower then last years of 5+. Fr Michaela Hood is leading the way with a 2.10era and Jr Haley Young and So Colleen Driscoll behind her in the low to mid three range. Sara Stephenson and Maddy Stensby, last years #1 and 2, are still trying to find their grove but they also made improvements in Cali.

We start out with #5 ranked Oregon on fri who is looking every bit of a National Champion contender right now. 9-0 after the first two weeks, they have victories against previously ranked Fresno State and currently ranked Kentucky. They already have three shutouts and maybe their most contested game of the year was a 4-2 victory over Seattle, someone we just became intimately familiar with and will see again later this year in Missoula. As a team, they are batting .351 including a .389 average by the seven players that are everyday starters. Two studs to watch out for are 2B and Team USA member Danica Mercado and 4 year starter at SS Nikki Udria. Mercado doesn't bring a lot of pop but she currently leads the team with a .480ba. Udria brings the pop with a .603 lifetime slugging percentage and a .363 lifetime batting average. This year she is slugging .733 and hitting .467. Oregon can pitch too. So Megan Kleist and Fr Maggie Balint have been lights out. In 47 innings, they have a combined 0.59 era and 63 strike outs. Not much else to say. If things don't go well fri, we'll get another shot at them sat. Hopefully we'll give at least one good look in our two games against this

In the second game on sat and our first game on sun we'll play UNLV who is 7-2 this year. They've already played some very familiar opponents. They've beaten fellow Big Sky schools Weber State, Idaho State, and Southern Utah. They've also beaten Northern Iowa, all without having to leave the friendly confines of Eller Media Softball Stadium in Las Vegas. This won't be our only go round with them either. We'll see them the next weekend at an invite in Utah. Although they're not as impressive as Oregon, they're still pretty good. With a team batting average of .300 (we're .280) they can get runners on base. They don't hit a lot of extra base hits though only slugging .388 (our slugging is .440). Their top offensive players are Sr SS Briana Gatlin (.407ba), So C/IF Kiley Harrison (.375), and So OF Myranda Bueno (.364). Their work horse on the mound is Sr P Morgan Ettinger who is 6-0 with a 1.14era and 28k's in 30 innings. They definitely are beatable but we'll have to play one of our best games of the year. Course, after two against Oregon, these girls could feel like a cake walk.

Last but not least is the hosts Hawaii who we will only see once in the 2nd game of the day on sun. With a 5-2 record, they already have wins against familiar opponents Sac St and Boise St. they also have a win against currently #23 ranked BYU. Their only losses are to Texas St, a team that's always just outside of the rankings and someone one who beat us pretty good twice last year in Arizona, and Oregon St, a member of the extremely strong PAC 12 and currently receiving votes to be nationally ranked. As a team they bat .298 with 5 of their girls (4 full time starters) above .300. They are led by OF Danielle Garcielita at .478 and 1B Sarah Muzik at .391. The pitching is decent too with a 2.48 era but the clear leader of the staff is Brittany Hitchcock at 3-1 with a 1.58era and 28k in 31 innings. This is the most winnable game but it won't be easy by any means.

All in all, I would think a good showing would be to first, at least give Oregon one good game. No body except the girls in maroon expect Montana to beat Oregon and no body would fault the ladies for not expecting to win either. Oregon is a dominant team and should be, at the very least, one of the last eight teams at the NCAA championships. A split with UNLV would be a good showing also and to beat the hosts from Hawaii would put the icing on the cake for a good weekend. One thing is certain though, the girls that are struggling need to use these games to find their groove in time for the con sched or we may fail in meeting the high expectations that some may have had, myself included.

This weekends sched
Fri Feb 24th 5:30pm vs Oregon
Sat Feb 25th 2pm vs Oregon
Sat Feb 25th 4pm vs UNLV
Sun Feb 26th 2pm vs UNLV
Sun Feb 26th 4pm @ Hawaii
(all times are MST)
 
Thanks Alabama. In the California desert we have to follow them through you. Appreciate it!
 
Griz fall to #5 Oregon 1-0 in the weekend opener. They held Oregon to 5 hits, a team that averages over 6 runs a game. They get another shot at em tomorrow at 1pm.
 
I'm sure Montana still had a good time while in Hawaii but they probably hoped for a little more success while on the field. There definitely were some highlights though. Taking #5 Oregon all the way to our last at bat was probably the most impressive even if it did end in a loss. Michaela Hood threw her first complete game shut out for the lone victory of the weekend was another. Hood and Colleen Driscoll continue to impress while leading the staff. The team era for the weekend was still decent at 3.50 but Driscoll and Hood combined had a 1.88 while leading the team in innings. 2B Gabby Martinez was on fire batting .467 this weekend, far and away better then anyone else. SS Delene Colburn and RF Sydney Stites are also beginning to find their long balls hitting .333 and slugging .576 between the two of them this weekend. Part of the reason for our struggles was a couple of key bats that are really out of sync. Pinkerton mixed the order up this weekend and moved CF MaKenna McGill to the 9 spot and she desperately struggled batting a lowly .071 while C Madison Saacke has struggled all year. A .370 hitter last year primarily out of the DP slot, she batted .118 this weekend and is sitting at .205 on the year. Now thanks to her defensive abilities, she's not likely to be replaced but LF Alex Wardlow might be. After hitting .100(1-10) this weekend, she's sitting at .125 on the year. Fr OF Anna Marie Patrino is sitting at .215 and chomping at the bit to become an everyday player. At any rate, this has been a very challenging non conference schedule and it is not getting any easier. It will only make these girls better when they get to the conference schedule and hopefully help push them over the top. Here's a recap of the games in Hawaii.

Game 1 vs #5 Oregon L 0-1
UM stars
Offensive-Wardlow 1-2 1 2B
Pitching-Driscoll/Stensby 4/2ip 4/1h 1/0r 0/1bb 1/2k

Defining moment-3 times the Griz had a runner on second with only one out including the 6th and the 7th and all three times the next two batters in the inning went 2 up 2 down including 5 of the 6 outs being strike outs.

What a game for girls. Taking #5 Oregon all the way to the brink in a tuff 1-0 game. Sydney Stites showed she is beginning to warm up, hitting a single in the first but the heart of the Grizzlies line up in Colburn and Olea couldn't advance her any farther. Colleen Driscoll got the start and she was pretty good but she had some defensive help too. Oregons Team USA member, Mercado, would hit a single in the bottom if the 1st but Saacke would throw her out attempting to steal second. Oregon's power hitting SS would reach 1st with a single in the second but with one out, their CF would hit a grounder to Martinez that she would turn into a double play. In the bottom of the 4th Oregon finally put a run on the scoreboard. After getting the first two batters out, the next three batters went single, hit by pitch, and rbi single. Driscoll would get the next batter to foul out and Oregon would only get one but that would be all they needed. In the top of the 6th UM had a chance with Wardlow hitting a leadoff double but after Martinez grounded out to third, McGill and Stites would go down swinging. Maddy Stensby relieved Driscoll and after forcing Oregon to go 3 up 3 down in the 5th, she had to survive a scare in the 6th. Once again the Griz got the first two out but then a single and a walk later had runners on 1st and 2nd. The same girl that hit the rbi single came up but this time she hit a grounder to Colburn who threw the lead runner out at 3rd ending the threat. Montana would make one more attempt in the top of the 7th with Olea hitting a one out double. Oregons coach then decided to replace their pitcher, Elish, who had been very strong over 6.1 innings striking out 8 and spreading around 3 hits. He brought in one of their two aces to face Lyons and Saacke. Lyons forced a full count but then watched the last pitch come across the plate for a called strike 3 and then Saacke went down swinging to end the Grizzlies last hope. A great showing by these girls to take arguably the best team they've ever played all the way to the last batter. I know there's really no such thing as moral victories but this still has to be a confidence booster for these girls.

Game 2 vs #5 Oregon L 0-6
UM stars
Offensive-Gabby Martinez 2-2 2 singles
Pitching-Sara Stephenson 2.1ip in relief 4h 0er 2r 1bb 2k

Defining moment-Montana committing 4 errors and a wild pitch allowing 4 of the 6 runs.

Oregon struck early in the 1st scoring on a sac ground out after the lead runner had advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch. In the 2nd Oregon scored again after Martinez committed an error that should have been the 3rd out. Oregon loaded the bases in the 3rd but Michaela Hood was able to pitch her way out of the inning. In the bottom of the 3rd Oregon pitching continued the trend of dominating Montana hitters with a runner on base. Martinez hit a one out single and then the next two batters, McGill and Stites both went down with strike outs. Again in the top of the 4th Hood was able to pitch her way out of an inning after Oregon got runners on 1st and 2nd. In the bottom of the 4th Colburn would hit a one out single but the next batter, Saacke would ground out into a double play. In the top of the 5th Oregon would finally truly get to Hood with their power hitter, Udria hitting a 2 run homer with no outs. At that time Pinkerton brought in Stevenson and she promptly retired the side. In the bottom of the 6th UM had their best opportunity to score. A leadoff single by Martinez followed by a one out single by Stites had runners on 1st and 2nd. Olea then grounded into a fielders choice leaving runners on 3rd and 1st with two outs. Colburn then hoping to hit a 3 run homer, fell short flying out to LF for the 3rd out. Errors in the 7th would cost us two more runs. After Colburn committed a throwing error on what would have been an inning ending double play, runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd. The next batter hit a single to left and Makenzie Phillips couldn't handle it allowing both runners to score. Driscoll then came in to finish off the inning but the damage was done. UM couldn't muster any sort of rally in the 7th getting a one out walk but then the next two batters going down, one with a strike out.

Game 3 vs UNLV L 4-5
UM stars
Offensive-Madison Saacke 2-4 2rbi
Pitching-Maddy Stensby 5.1ip 6h 4er 5r 4k 2bb

Defining moment-in the 4th UNLV would score the game tying run from 3rd while a base runner on first got herself in a pickle while trying to steal second. They would later hit a solo homer in the 6th to take a 5-4 lead.

UNLV scored first in the bottom of the 1st on a one out sac fly. Maddy Stensby got the start for UM and ended up only allowing the one run and stranding two in what could have been a bigger inning. Montana then opened it up in the top of the 3rd. They loaded the bases with no outs after a fielding error by the SS with two runners on. Olea then grounded out scoring one and advancing the others to 3rd and 2nd. A walk later the bases were loaded again. Saacke then hit an rbi single that scored two more. Two batters later Lyons hit an rbi single to make it 4-1 Montana. Unfortunately that would be all we get for the game. In the bottom of the 3rd UNLV would get two back after the first two batters went down. Stensby then walked the next batter and then gave up a 2 run homer. In the 4th UM had Martinez reach 3rd with one out but a strike out and a ground out later kept her from crossing home. UNLV then tied the game in the bottom of the 4th after UM allowed the first base runner to reach on a throwing error by Lyons with one out, eventually advancing to second. The next batter struck out, which should have been 3 outs. The next batter then reached 1st on a bunt, advancing the lead runner to third. While attempting to steal second, she got herself in a rundown, which allowed the lead runner on third to score, tying the game at 4. With Stensby still in in the bottom of the sixth, UNLV hit a one out solo homer. Young then came in to get the final two outs but that would be all the Rebles needed. In Montana's last chance, they would get the first two batters on 1st and 2nd in Stites and Olea but after a foul out by Colburn, Saacke would hit a fly ball that would be caught by the RF'er who would then pick Stites off at second causing a game ending double play.

Game 4 vs UNLV W 6-0
UM stars
Offensive-Gabby Martinez 3-4 2r 1bb 1sb
Pitching-Michaela Hood 7ip 4h 0r 8k 1bb

Defining moment-Michaela Hood's pitching was dominant. Of the 4 hits she gave up, only two were clean hits, the other two were bunts. Five of her eight k's were the third out in innings 3 through 7. Her command was on fire, not giving up a single walk. Montana's 5 hit, 5 run 4th was also a major momentum builder.

Montana started out right in the top of the 1st loading the bases with one out and Saacke grounding out to 2nd allowing Martinez to score. Lyons then popped up to second stranding two on 3rd and 2nd. Montana got two more on in the 2nd but Stites flyed out to CF for the 3rd out before any runs could score. Michaela Hood got the start and she was dealing. UNLV tryed to manufacture some runs in the 2nd hitting to bunt singles after the first two batters went down but the next batter flyed out to Wardlow in left ending any threat. Montana got there big inning in the top of the 4th after starting the inning with a runner on 2nd by way of an error and one out. After a hit batter and a single by Martinez that scored a run, Stites stepped up to hit an rbi double followed by back to back rbi singles by Olea and Colburn. Two batters later Lyons added another rbi single to make it 6-0. That would be all Hood needed. In the bottom of the 4th UNLV had runners reach 3rd and 2nd but with two outs, Hood sat the next batter down swinging. One more time in the 7th, UM loaded the bases but with two outs, Olea grounded out to 1st to end the threat. Hood retired the side in the 7th to finish UNLV off.

Game 5 vs Hawaii L 3-9
UM stars
Offensive-Sydney Stites 2-4 1HR 1r 1rbi
Pitching-Colleen Driscoll 3ip in relief 5h 1hb 2er 2r

Defining moment-Hawaii's grand slam in the 1st and 2 run homer in the 4th were the difference. 3 Montana pitchers gave up 12 hits in only 6 innings.

After giving Oregon their tuffest test of the year and going 1-1 against UNLV while almost going 2-0, Sunday's matchup against the host's Hawaii had a lot of potential to send us home on a high note. Instead we were sent limping back to the airport with an extremely long flight ahead of us. In the top of the first we jumped out 2-0 with a 2 out 2 run homer by Colburn. We wouldn't score again tell the 6th off a solo shot by Stites. In between it was all Hawaii. In the bottom of the 1st Hawaii got their 2 back plus 2 with a 2 out grand slam off of Young. Hawaii got another in the 2nd off a couple of singles and some sacrifices. In the bottom of the 3rd Young gave up a leadoff single and was promptly replaced by Driscoll. She then loaded the bases before finally getting two outs but an rbi single after that added to Hawaii's mounting lead. In the 4th Hawaii would add a 2 out 2 run homer to make it 8-2 and go into cruise control. Stephenson would start the 6th and after getting 2 outs quickly. She would just as quickly allow 2 base runners followed by an rbi single. In the top of the 7th UM would make one last push after being held to 3 hits since the 1st, one being Stite's homer. They would end up loading the bases but with 2 outs Olea would ground out to the pitcher to end the game.
 
Utah invite preview
This weekend the Griz play at the Red Desert Classic, an invite in St George Utah. Although the ladies only play five teams, there's 11 total but none of the them will have home field advantage. Yes, four of the teams are from Utah but Southern Utah has the closest campus at 50 miles away.

This is Montana's schedule.
Fri Mar 3rd 1230pm vs Neb-Oma
Fri Mar 3rd 3pm vs Utah
Sat Mar 4th 130pm vs UNLV
Sat Mar 4th 4pm vs Utah Valley
Sun Mar 5th 10am vs Utah St
All times MST
The other teams involved are Southern Utah, UC Santa Barbara, Nevada, Binghamton, and Iowa St.

Here's a breakdown of our opponents, some of which we're already familiar with.

Neb-Omaha, record:4-9
A member of the Summit League, we played them in Iowa at UNI's invite. We were their only victory that weekend in a game we lost 7-4, thanks largely to a 5 run inning where Maddy Stensby came on in relief of Haley Young with a 4-2 lead. Two-thirds of an inning later Stensby was pulled with Omaha leading 7-4. Omaha does have a win against Pac12 member Stanford also.
As a team they only bat .241 which isn't good but their slugging is .380 with 10 homers which means they may not hit the ball as often as others but they bring some pop when they do. Their team era is 4.80 with 36 k's in 81.2 innings which isn't spectacular either.
For a couple names to watch, Kelly Pattison hitting .359 and slugging .615 and Lia Mancuso with a .351 ba and .541 slg % are their biggest threats. Their Two pitchers, Laura Roecker and Abbie Clanton, pitched all but 3 innings. Their numbers almost identical except Roecker strikes out a little more but allows more free runners and a higher batting average. Also Clanton allows more homers. When we played them, we got to Roecker for 4 runs in 4 innings but Clanton shut us out the last three.

UNLV record:9-5
A member of the MWC, UNLV is another team we've played already, very recently in fact. We went 1-1 against them in Hawaii and had the lead in our loss for over half the game. As I stated last week, they have wins against familiar foes Web St and UNI. They have also beaten Va Tech and Louisville earlier in the year. As a team they bat .272 and slug .376 with 8 homers this year. Errors have been costly for them with a .927 team fielding %. Pitching has been respectable though with a 3.17 era and 45 k's in 95 innings but the work horse is Sr P Morgan Ettinger who's 8-1 with a 2.24 era and 31 k's in 43.2i. Her only loss this year is a 6-1 defeat at the hands of your Montana Grizzlies. The bats to watch out for are Sr SS Brianna Gatlin who has a team leading .390 ba and .659 slugging % with 7 of her 16 hits going for extra bases. Jr 3B Jadelyn Yadeo-Valdez may only bat .270 but she is 6 of 7 on stolen base attempts. To notch another victory against these girls would be a big boost.

Utah Valley record:0-4
A member of the WAC(yes, that WAC), Utah Valley has yet to win after just playing their first weekend of ball last week. They've been close though losing 3 of 4 by one point. Offensively they're decent batting .290 and slugging .430. Pitching could use some work though with a 4.97 era and 8 k's in only 25.1 innings. Jr P Lauren Frailey has done her part though with a 1.50 era in 3 relief appearances going 0-1 with 3k in 9.1 innings. Offensively they are led by OF Courtney Beavers and Sr SS Brittney Vansway. Beavers is batting .571 and slugging .786 with 3 doubles and Vansway is hitting at a .545 clip. She was also a 1st team all-WAC member '16.

Utah St record:8-3
Another member of the MWC, Utah State is off to a good start with a win against Cal St Fullerton who received votes at the beginning of the year. They've also already knocked off Southern Utah. As a team, they're real solid. A .280 ba but only 4hr so the sluggings not spectacular at .358. They do other things great though. An exceptional fielding % at .974 and when they get on base, they steal a LOT. 27 of 30 on stolen base attempts. Their pitching is also real good with a 1.80 era and 49k in 74 innings. The main part of that is Sr P April Brown at 4-0 with 1.19era and 29k in 35.1 innings and Fr P Kellie White 3-1 with a 1.55era and 16k in 31.2 innings. The major offensive threats are Sr SS Sarina Jaramillo with a .353 ba. She has been a 4 year starter at SS, the first 2 at Hawaii. Sr OF Amanda Sheets with a .353 ba Sr C Sydney Hart who hits .240 but has 3hr and 10rbi are other major contributors.

#17 Utah record:11-2
The second Pac12 power team in as many weaks, but not the last. Later in the year we will play #23 ranked Cal. They started the year 11-0 with wins against SEC powers #7 LSU and #13 Tennessee. Currently on a two game losing streak though with losses to two good teams in San Diego St and Cal St-Fullerton. We will be their first game so hopefully we can make it three. As a team they bat .337 but only slug .423 with 4 hr's by 2 people. They play great D though with a .977 fielding % and their pitchers have a 0.69 era with 76 k's in 81 innings only giving up 2 hr's and an opponents ba of .186. Their ace is Jr P Donavan who is 7-2 with 0.67 era and 43 k's in 42 innings. Offensively they are led by 2016's Pac12 POY in Sr 2B Flippen. A 4 year starter and three time all pac12, she's hitting .486 and slugging .757 with a .974 fielding %. Jr 3B Bowen is a big threat also hitting .450 with 16rbi. At any rate, it should be a fun weekend for the girls.
 
Sorry but weekend previews and reviews are gonna be a lot less in depth for the next couple of weeks due to work.

Well some ups and downs from the St George trip. Played another top ranked team down to the wire. Beat a good UNLV team for the second weak in a row. Also had an amazing cone from behind victory to help boost morale. There still a couple players that are slumping pretty bad right now though and hopefully use the next two weeks to get out of it for the start of the con sched.

A quick recap of the games.
Omaha L 5-9
The second time in as many games against these girls, we had a three run lead and end up losing the game. Their 7-11 record didn't portray how good a team they are. They showed this by later beating Utah after beating us. Most of their losses are to really good teams also. After we built a 5-1 lead in the 5th, we gave up back to back 4 run innings to let the opener slip away.

#17 Utah L 2-5
Once again the ladies showed they can step up to the challange of a ranked Pac12 opponent. SS Delene Colburn hit a 2 run homer in the 1st to start us out right. Colleen Driscoll pitched pretty good most of the game allowing two runs through 5 but then things unraveled a bit. Utah scored 3 in the bottom of the 6th and Montana couldn't get any taller going in the 7th. We did collect 8 hits but Utah prevented any major damage, minus the 1st inning. They did go onto lose 2 games, one to Omaha and one to Nevada but will still be a very formidable opponent down the road and should see the national tourney.

UNLV W 6-2
Another good win against a good UNLV team. They are 12-7 this year with some good wins under their belt but we're 2-1 against them. Maddy Stensby had a solid outing allowing 2 runs off 7 hits in 5.1 innings. 3B Bethany Olea was on fire going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles with 2 runs and 2 rbis.

Utah Valley W 9-6
An amazing comeback against a 1-9 squad that would later beat Iowa St. after allowing UV to go up 6-2 in the bottom of the 6th, the Griz would score 7 in the 7th that started with a 2 run shot by RF Sydney Stites and ended with a 2 run shot by PH'er Madison Saacke.

Utah L 2-8
A tuff loss to a real good 12-4 team that dominated the Griz from start to finish. Four different pitchers stepped into the circle for the Griz and Sara Stephenson was the only one to not allow a run. Unfortunately she didn't pitch tell the last inning. Montana didn't score tell the 6th after USU was up 8-0.

Players on the rise.
SS Delene Colburn tore it up this weekend at the plate and is more then ready for the con sched. She hit.
538 and slugged .923 with 2 more homers to give her 5 on the year. She's struggling some in the field though. With 4 errors this weekend, she has 8 on the year, only one less then her total for all of last season.

C Madison Saacke finally broke through this weekend last years .370 hitter had been batting .191 this year but after hitting .455 with two homers, her first and second of her career, she's now batting .241 and beginning to get more comfortable as the primary catcher.

Fr LF Anne Marie Petrino has now cracked the starting lineup, as thought she would before the season started, and is third on the team in batting average with a .310 average after going 6 for 15 this weekend with a stolen base while starting all 5 games.

On the decline.
The pitching staff. After posting team era's of 2.59 and 3.50, both very encouraging signs from last years 5.70, they recorded a 5.30 in St George. Now that's not horrible compared to years past but in years past, the bats have picked them up. This year some magic bats still have yet to produce at a steady pace yet.

CF MaKenna McGill is in some sort of unexplainable funk right now. Normally a high .300 hitter, she hit .154 in Utah and a lowly .071 the weekend before in Hawaii. She's been moved around in the lineup a lot which may have something to do with it. She's predominantly been the leadoff hitter but this year the order has been shaken up a lot so she might not have a comfort level. What ever the reason is, her normally high obp will be needed come conference games.

RF Sydney Stites must be in what they call a sophomore slump. After her breakout year as a Fr where she won BSC FOY, she has struggled this year to find consistency. She is leading the team in rbi's thanks to some big homers with runners on base including a grand slam, but she's only batting .242 and hit a season low in St George with a .111 batting average for the weekend. Leading the team in strike outs with 12, 4 more the the next closest, defenetly isn't helping. She was a huge part of our success last year and we need her to find her grove to have a chance this year.
 
All in all, a very good weekend for the girls. 2 wins and 2 losses in a field that included 3 participants from last years national tourney, one of which was another ranked Pac12 opponent, plus a Big12 member. In Montana's two loses, they had one bad inning in each game, one of those costing them the game, the other against #17 California. If you subtract those two innings, the Griz outscored their competition 12-7.

Colleen Driscoll and Michaela Hood have continued to look impressive with Maddy Stensby beggining to find her form. Bethany Olea and Delene Colburn also continue to carry the offense while Sydney Stites and MaKena McGill continue to struggle, McGill going a jaw dropping hitless in her coming home party.

After starting the season with 23 straight games on the road, the girls finally come home for a 14 game home stand. A familiar foe in Seattle comes to town who the Griz have already lost to twice in Santa Clara earlier in the year. The Maine Black Bears will be in town also. At 2-11, their record doesn't look good on paper, but they have a win against Colorado St and Grand Canyon, a team that was in the tourney last year. Seattle is now 6-16 with their two wins against us, plus one against South Dakota and fellow Big Sky member Sac St, a team that was consistently better then us last year. They also are 2-0 against Hawaii during a vacation trip of their own this year to Hawaii. We have three games scheduled against each, one fri, sat, and sun. Griz nation needs to come out and represent.
 
Great weekend for the Grizzly softball team. Going 3-0 against Maine, last years American East Conference champs, and 2-1 against Seattle, a team that swept us 0-2 earlier this year in Santa Clara Ca. That includes a 5th inning victory against each(the 8 run mercy rule invoked) and a win against each with a walkoff hit including a dramatic come from behind win against Seattle in the weekend finale. Montana's fans represented well despite the "beautiful" spring weather conditions. We averaged 290 fans a game, more then any home team we've faced all year at the weekend invites minus Hawaii where the weathers always beautiful. Even Tulsa only had 227 show up for Coach Pinkerton's home coming.

The usual suspects showed up this weekend. Bethany Olea and Delene Colburn each batted .437 while Colburn hit two doubles and two homers slugging .938. She also collected 12 rbi's, five coming in one game against Seattle and six in another game against Seattle. She said she felt a little offended by them for internationally walking the batter in front of her, I guess she showed them. Sydney Stites also seems to finally coming into form. She hit .333 and slugged .611 while hitting two triples and collecting six rbi. Colleen Driscoll and Michaela Hood are continuing to prove themselves as the two best pitchers on the team. Driscoll threw 12.1 innings with a 2.27 era while Hood tossed 18 innings collecting three of the team's five wins. She also struck out 14 and had a 1.56 era to lower her team leading era to 2.85. She also leads the team in innings pitched with 61.1 and strike outs with 49. I'd say she's currently on pace to become Montana's third consecutive Freshman of the Year. On a down note, star CF'er MaKena McGill was lost for an undisclosed amount of time after an apparent knee injury from colliding with the fence after catching a deep fly ball.

Next up is NW'ern rival Boise State who currently has a 2-0 advantage against us all time and is 19-6 on the season. We can even that up this Tues when we meet for a double header before we begin conference play this weekend against North Dakota in Missoula. Boise hasn't played a very strong schedule this year with their best win of the year against Colorado State. They are 3-2 against the Big Sky with wins against Web St, S Utah, and N Dak.
 
North Dakota comes to town with a 12-18 record after playing some pretty tuff competition. Their best win is probably against UConn who they defeated 4-0. They've had some tuff games though. A 22-5 loss to Michigan St 22-5 in 5innings, a loss to La Tech (10-2 in 5), James Madison (8-0 in 6), and two losses to #2 Auburn (6-0 and 8-0 in 6). There team batting average is a lowly .222 and they only average 3 runs per game while the team era is 4.15.
They do have a couple real good players on the team though. Sr OF Rachael Waynick is batting .357 after hitting .169 as a Jr. Jr OF Taylor Nadler has .269 ba but leads the team with 6hr and 18rbi. She played at Valparaiso as a Fr and was a 2nd team Horizon and all Fr team. Jr P Kaylin VonDomelen who we will probably see once on sat and sun has a 1.77 era with 89 k's in 83 innings although she only has a 6-7 record due to lack of run support. As a RSSo she was All big Sky.
 
Outstanding. Couple the meteoric rise on the field with academics.. this classy group has an APR of 1000.

Young team too, perhaps we may make some noise in NCAA. Hopefully a decent draw in first round.
 
first11 said:
Outstanding. Couple the meteoric rise on the field with academics.. this classy group has an APR of 1000.

Young team too, perhaps we may make some noise in NCAA. Hopefully a decent draw in first round.
will find out tonight at 8pm on ESPN2.
 
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