Griz go 1-1 on final day in Hawaii

Sunday, February 26

Honolulu, Hawaii

1:00 PM (MT)

Montana

5-8

UNLV

9-6

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Montana	1	0	0	5	0	0	0	6	13	0
UNLV	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3

2/26/2017 9:09:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team got a complete game shutout from freshman Michaela Hood to defeat UNLV and lost to the host Rainbow Wahine as the Bank of Hawaii Invitational wrapped up in Honolulu on Sunday.

The Grizzlies (5-9) finished the tournament with a 1-4 record, with two losses coming against No. 5 Oregon and another in a one-run decision against UNLV.

"We played better than our 1-4 record. We compete and continue to be scrappy, and that's all I can ask of the team," said coach Jamie Pinkerton, whose team got outhit by a narrow 37-34 margin in Hawaii.

Junior second baseman Gabby Martinez, who led the team with seven hits and batted .467 in five games, was named to the all-tournament team.

After losing twice in competitive games to Oregon and 5-4 to UNLV on Friday and Saturday, Hood got Montana in the win column with a dominating performance in Sunday's opener.

Going up against Morgan Ettinger, UNLV's senior ace who entered the game with a record of 8-0 and 1.41 ERA, Hood went the distance, allowing just four hits, all singles, in seven innings while striking out a season-high eight batters.

Two of the Rebels' hits were bunt singles as Hood picked up her first collegiate win.

"She went out and threw really well today. She had command of the zone. She was in control from start to finish and was never really threatened," said Pinkerton.

"She's starting to get a little more comfortable and established. I'm really proud of her to have a game like that."

Montana saw Ettinger the last two innings of Saturday's one-run loss, and the familiarity must have helped.

Facing a pitcher who was allowing 6.0 hits per seven innings worked, the Grizzlies had a season-high 13 hits, 11 against Ettinger, and chased her after just four innings with the score 6-0.

Madison Saacke drove in Martinez in the top of the first with an RBI groundout.

In the fourth, Martinez, Sydney Stites, Bethany Olea, Delene Colburn and Ashlyn Lyons all hit Ettinger. When the inning was over, it was 6-0.

"They brought her in yesterday right when we were starting to come out of it with our bats a little bit," said Pinkerton. "This morning we got on a roll and started to break out a little bit."

After allowing a leadoff single in the fifth, Hood buckled down and put down the last nine batters she faced for the first complete game of the season for Montana.

Montana rode that high into the next game and took a 2-0 lead on Hawaii in the top of the first. Olea doubled to left center with two outs, and Colburn followed with her team-leading fourth home run of the season.

But the Grizzlies couldn't hold down Hawaii's offense. The Rainbow Wahine scored in the first, second, third, fourth and sixth innings against three Montana pitchers. All three gave up runs.

"For the first time in nine games, the three options we threw out there weren't as sharp as they have been," said Pinkerton. "But like I told them, if we have only one of those out of nine, I'll take that."

A grand slam in the bottom of the first off starter Haley Young were all the runs Hawaii would need.

After scoring twice in the first, Montana had just two singles over the next four innings. Stites belted her third home run of the season in the top of the sixth, but that only cut the Grizzlies' deficit to 8-3.

Hawaii scored six off Young, two off Colleen Driscoll and added one more in the bottom of the sixth off Sara Stephenson in her only inning of work.

"We got off to a good start, but they answered right back and after that we were reeling a little bit," said Pinkerton. "It was one of those games where someone got ahead of us and never let us back in the game.

"We weren't real patient at the plate and got ourselves out, but credit their starter for getting us to swing at those pitches."

Montana will play five games next weekend at the Red Desert Classic at St. George, Utah.