Griz hit the road for first ever softball action
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The Montana Griz softball team travels to Billings this weekend to compete in the program's first ever exhibition games.
The Griz will face Dawson Community College and Great Falls on Saturday, and Minot State and MSU Billings on Sunday.
The Saturday games are at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. and the Sunday games take place at 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Head coach Jamie Pinkerton said his main concern is that the team isn't fully prepared.
Pinkerton said he will be switching the lineup around as well, trying to determine if his team is a power or speed team.
"I think we are just going out there this weekend, and we are going to let them be athletes and let them play," Pinkerton said. "Then we will come back and work on what we need to."
Delene Colburn, a freshman from Auburn, Wash., said she is nervous, but mostly excited.
"After two weeks of practice, I feel like we're a lot closer than most teams," Colburn said. "We want to work together and find ourselves, being that we are a brand new program."
In Montana's first game of the weekend, they will face off against the Dawson Community College Buccaneers. The Buccaneers went 27-18 last season, finishing with a 16-2 in their conference.
After facing Dawson Community College, the Griz will take on the Great Falls Argos. The Argos finished last season 17-17, going 2-4 in their conference.
Assistant coach Melanie Meuchel said this weekend is really important for creating a relationship between the pitchers and the catchers.
"We want to see who can step up in those positions and lead and compete," Meuchel said. "They are going to have times when they get hit, and we want to see how fast they can stop the rallies."
Meuchel also said she is going to try and get senior Kenzie Cole some innings to help her get back to 100 percent faster.
On Sunday, the Griz will face Minot State, who finished last season 29-20 with a 15-13 record in conference. Montana's last game of the weekend will come against MSU Billings. MSU Billings went 20-20 last season.
The tournament this weekend will be held at MSU Billings softball complex.
"This fall I'm more concerned about us and what we are doing," Pinkerton said. "And we are less concerned with who we are playing."
