Griz split in California

Saturday, February 18

Santa Clara, Calif.

Noon (MT)

Montana

3-3

Santa Clara

0-3

Montana

Santa Clara

2/18/2017 8:07:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team used a big inning to win one and gave up a big inning to lose one on Saturday as the delayed Bronco Classic got underway in Santa Clara, Calif.

The Grizzlies came through with a six-run seventh inning to pull away for an 8-1 victory over Santa Clara in the team's first game of the day. In game two, Montana gave up five runs in the bottom of the fifth to spoil an early 3-0 lead in a 6-3 loss to Seattle.

In the opener, freshman Michaela Hood started and pitched four strong innings, which gave her team's offense, limited to three singles through the first four innings, a chanced to get on track.

Gabby Martinez tied the score 1-1 in the top of the fifth when she singled to right to drive in Tori Lettus, and Delene Colburn made it 2-1 in the top of the sixth with a solo home run, her team-leading third of the season.

Hood made it through four innings, allowing just an unearned run. Sara Stephenson (1-1) pitched the final three innings without allowing a hit to pick up her first win of the season.

"Michaela threw well. It was a cool day, and she had some tightness, so we went to Stephenson to start the fifth," said coach Jamie Pinkerton.

Montana took a one-run lead into the seventh, when it broke the game open.

Madison Saacke started the inning with a single, which was followed by a Lettus walk. Two batters later, with two outs, MaKenna McGill singled home pinch runner Kylie Hayton, and Sydney Stites followed with a three-run home run, her first of the season, to make it 6-1.

Colburn singled to extend the inning, and Bethany Olea drove her in with a double to left. Olea would later score on an error, giving the Grizzlies a six-run inning, their largest of the season.

"On a day when the wind was blowing in and you're not expecting the ball to carry, we were able to have some extra-base hits, and that was huge," said Pinkerton.

Hood and Stephenson combined to allow just four hits and one unearned run in the victory.

Colleen Driscoll started game two and continued the effectiveness of Montana's pitchers, allowing only some scattered singles through the first four innings.

The Grizzlies went up 3-0 in the top of the second with a string of two-out hits. With runners on first and second, Anne Mari Petrino singled up the middle to score Olea, the freshman's first collegiate RBI.

Martinez followed with a single to score Saacke, and Petrino scored on a McGill single, a play that was extended by an error on the center fielder, leading to an unearned run.

The bottom of the fifth started innocently enough, with a ground out and fly out for the first two batters. The next seven batters all had base hits.

The first four were given up by Driscoll. The score was 3-3 when she was relieved by Maddy Stensby, who gave up hits to the next three batters. By the time the inning was over, Seattle led 5-3.

"That was on me," said Pinkerton. "I left Colleen in too long. She was throwing well, but I pushed her too far. Sometimes in a game things roll up on you before you can get somebody else in there."

Montana went down in order in the sixth and seventh, and matched a season low with just six hits off Alyssa Reuble, who went the distance to pick up her first win of the season.

"We hit the ball today, but except for the seventh inning against Santa Clara, we didn't have any frenzy hitting," said Pinkerton.

"It might have been all the sitting around we did yesterday, but something was a little off today. We weren't doing anything wrong, but we weren't clicking on all cylinders offensively either."

Driscoll (1-2), who gave up four runs, took the loss.

But outside of that inning, Montana's pitchers gave up just two runs, only one earned, in the other 12 innings against the Broncos and Redhawks. The pitchers were aided by a defense that only had a single error in the two games.

"Except for that big inning against Seattle, we pitched well. And for the first time on dirt, I thought we played well defensively," said Pinkerton.

It was also the third loss this season when Montana could not hold a three-run lead. "We have to find a way as a coaching staff to curb that," said Pinkerton.

In the final game played on Saturday, Santa Clara picked up its first win of the season with a 9-5 victory over Seattle.

Montana will play Santa Clara at 10 a.m. (MT) and Seattle at 12:30 p.m. (MT) on Sunday.