Home stand wraps up with Southern Utah

The Montana softball team's 14-game home stand will conclude this week when it hosts Southern Utah on the second weekend of Big Sky Conference play.

The Grizzlies (17-17, 2-1 BSC), who are attempting to move above .500 for the first time this season, and Thunderbirds (6-17, 2-1 BSC) will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2:30 p.m. The teams will play a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The league schedule is only one-seventh complete but Montana and Southern Utah are the early leaders, along with Idaho State, atop the Big Sky at 2-1.

The Grizzlies won a home series against North Dakota last weekend, while the Thunderbirds were winning two of three at home against Northern Colorado, scoring 26 runs in the process.

Weekend Preview

If the teams' series last year at Cedar City is a predictor of this week's games, 1) keep your head up if you're sitting beyond the fence in the outfield and 2) don't leave early, no matter the score.

In winning two of three against Southern Utah last spring, Montana had seven home runs and 13 extra-base hits, scoring 30 runs. The Thunderbirds scored 25 while pounding out five home runs and 11 extra-base hits.

In the opener, Montana trailed 12-2 after four innings but scored five in the top of the fifth and six more in the top of the seventh to tie it at 13-13, then won it 14-13 on an Ashlyn Lyons RBI single in the top of the eighth.

Kirsten Hostetler held Montana down in game two as Southern Utah won 5-2, but the Grizzlies' bats came back to life in the finale as Montana scored nine times in the sixth and seventh innings to win 14-7.

"They swung the bat pretty well against us last year. We won the series, but it was tightly contested," said coach Jamie Pinkerton.

Last week at this time Southern Utah was just 4-16 under third-year coach Tom Gray, but a 2-1 start to league, and very nearly a sweep, caught the attention of the rest of the teams in the Big Sky.

The Thunderbirds split with the Bears last Friday, winning 6-5 before falling 10-9. On Saturday, SUU run-ruled Northern Colorado 11-3.

Southern Utah hit .400 in the three games to up its season average to .276, the third-best percentage in the Big Sky behind Weber State (.309) and Idaho State (.295).

"When you look at records and body of work, you have to look at a team's nonconference schedule, and I know they played on the road quite a bit," said Pinkerton.

"What it comes down to is that they are 2-1 and we're 2-1. We've got to figure out a way to scratch out a series win at home. We're studying scouting reports and trying to figure out how to attack them."

Southern Utah has four players batting better than .300, twice as many as Montana has, but the team's ERA of 6.48 is second-worst in the league.

"They have some players who swing the bat really well, and they have an experienced pitching staff, with a senior and a junior," said Pinkerton. "You can't overlook upperclassmen. They can rise to the occasion."

Montana Notes:

* The Grizzlies picked up another Big Sky Player/Pitcher of the Week award on Wednesday when Michaela Hood was recognized for last week's pitching performances.

Montana has had three Player of the Week recipients this season -- Bethany Olea, Sydney Stites and Delene Colburn. Hood was the team's first Pitcher of the Week since Sara Stephenson won the award last season.

Hood went 3-0 last week, with one win over Boise State and two against North Dakota. Her three starts were all complete games, and she had 26 strikeouts in 21 innings of work with a 1.00 ERA.

* It was a record-setting Sunday for both Hood and Olea. Hood struck out 12 in Montana's 2-0 shutout of North Dakota, breaking Kenzie Cole's record of 11, set against UND in 2015.

And Olea went 1 for 2 to extend her hitting streak to 15 games, surpassing the program record of 14, held by Ashlyn Lyons and Sydney Stites.

* On her 15-game hitting streak, Olea, who went 7 for 9 in three games against North Dakota, is batting .512, which has upped her season average to .437, the third-best average in the league.

Olea hit .408 last season and reached base in 32 straight games.

"It's all about the way she goes about her business when it comes to hitting," said Pinkerton. "She is patient and works to get hitter counts. And she draws a lot of walks.

"She's been over .400 as a hitter last season and this season, and has been getting on base close to .500 or above. Now you just kind of expect it."

* Montana, which plays four of its seven Big Sky series at home this season, will make its first league road trip next week when the Grizzlies play at Sacramento State, which was picked second in the preseason poll.

Montana will then face Northern Colorado (home), Portland State (road), Idaho State (home) and Weber State (road).

"What we preach is that we try to win every series, home or away," said Pinkerton. "If you win every series, you're going to be where you want to be at the end of the year.

"You're going to be in the postseason and you're more than likely going to be in contention."

Montana three-dot notes: The Grizzlies are 8-3 on their home stand and outscoring their opponents 61-37. ... In five home games last week, against Boise State and North Dakota, Montana's pitching staff had an ERA of 2.40 to drop its season ERA to 3.83. The Grizzlies had an ERA of 4.75 in 2015, 5.26 a year ago. ... Michaela Hood's two losses this season have come against now 29-0 Oregon and Tulsa, against whom she gave up three first-inning runs in a 3-1 loss. The Grizzlies scored one run for Hood in her two losses. ... Montana is one of only four teams to have played undefeated Oregon to a one-run game. The Grizzlies lost to the Ducks 1-0 in Hawaii in February and had the potential tying run on second base in both the sixth and seventh innings. ... Sydney Stites went 3 for 3 against North Dakota on Sunday, her first three-hit game since going 3 for 4 against Santa Clara on Feb. 19. Stites went 5 for 10 in last weekend's series to up her season average to .261. ... Montana's No. 6, 7, 8 and 9 batters went 3 for 32 against North Dakota. ... Delene Colburn has reached base in 24 straight games, one of three active streaks of more than 10. Olea is at 15, Gabby Martinez is at 12.

Around the Big Sky:

* Through one weekend of league games, as could be expected not much can be determined. Montana, Southern Utah and Idaho State are 2-1, their opponents -- North Dakota, Northern Colorado and Portland State -- are 1-2.

Weber State and Sacramento State, the teams picked first and second in the preseason poll, split what turned out to be a two-game series in California, with one game getting rained out. The Wildcats won the opener 3-2 in 10 innings. The Hornets bounced back to win 4-0 in game two behind a four-hit shutout by Taylor Tessier.

* Idaho State's Emma Bordenkecher was named the Big Sky Player of the Week on Wednesday. In five games last week -- a split against Utah Valley and 2-1 series win over Portland State, the freshman batted .583. She had three home runs and eight RBIs in three games against the Vikings.

* This week's matchups: Northern Colorado travels to Portland State, North Dakota plays at Weber State and Idaho State is at Sacramento State.

The Hornets play their first three league series at home, starting last week with Weber State. Idaho State is in town this week, Montana next week. Three of Sac State's final four series are on the road.

Upcoming: Montana will play a doubleheader against Sacramento State next Saturday starting at 1 p.m. (MT), with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. (MT).

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Players Mentioned

Delene Colburn

Michaela Hood

Ashlyn Lyons

Gabby Martinez

Bethany Olea

Sara Stephenson

Sydney Stites

University of Montana Athletics