Griz drop series finale

Sunday, April 23

Hillsboro, Ore.

2:00 PM (MT)

Montana

26-20, 0

Portland State

7-31, 0

Montana

Portland State

4/23/2017 5:59:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana won its series at Portland State over the weekend, taking two of three, but the Grizzlies will look back with regret at letting a possible sweep slip away with a loss on Sunday that knocked them out of first place in the Big Sky Conference.

Despite holding the Vikings to just three hits, Montana lost 2-1 after going 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

The Grizzlies, who batted .200 in the three games, were 4 for 29 in the series when given RBI opportunities and left 28 runners stranded on base.

"We weren't very good at the plate all weekend, especially with runners in scoring position, and that's been a trend for most of the year," said coach Jamie Pinkerton.

"It finally caught up with us and cost us an opportunity to have a sweep on the road."

In a tight series that could have gone 3-0 for either team -- the Grizzlies' two wins on Saturday both came in eight innings -- it was Montana's pitching that allowed it to at least leave town with a pair of wins.

The pitching staff allowed just four earned runs in the series and limited the Vikings to .220 hitting.

After riding Michaela Hood and Colleen Driscoll to complete-game victories on Saturday, Montana went with Maddy Stensby on Sunday.

A pair of walks and two wild pitches in the bottom of the second, plus a three-base throwing error, allowed the Vikings to score the only two runs -- both unearned -- that they would need to pick up their seventh win of the year.

That's because Montana left runners on base in six of seven innings, including the first when the Grizzlies couldn't add to an early 1-0 lead when they had the bases loaded with one out.

Gabby Martinez opened the game with a double to center and later scored on a throwing error by the PSU third baseman.

After Sydney Stites had an infield single to load the bases with one out, a fly out and a strikeout ended the threat and set a trend. Montana left two on in the third, two more in the fifth.

"We just didn't hit well enough to win," said Pinkerton. "You're not going to come through every time, but it was disappointing.

"We just didn't handle key situations this weekend. We were lucky to win the series, but we also had opportunities to get the sweep."

Hood replaced Stensby, who was saddled with the loss, with two outs and runners at the corners in the bottom of the second and got out of the jam with a groundout.

She pitched the rest of the way, giving up a single hit.

Montana finished with 17 hits in the three games, the fewest the Grizzlies have had in a Big Sky series this season. At a time of the year his offense should be rolling, Pinkerton's has gone quiet.

Montana's No. 4 and 5 hitters, Delene Colburn and Stites, who usually make the most noise, were 2 for 20 in the series, with no runs driven in and no runs scored.

"We're almost 50 games in, so we're in the grind of the season," Pinkerton said. "I've got to figure out a way to keep the energy level up, because we were pretty flat all weekend.

"Pitching-wise and defensively, we played really well, but offensively we got in our own way."

Montana will attempt to break out of its funk when it hosts Carroll on Wednesday for a doubleheader before welcoming Idaho State to Grizzly Softball Field for a weekend series on Saturday and Sunday.

The Grizzlies (26-20, 11-4 BSC) will enter the week a half game behind Weber State (27-14-1, 11-3 BSC), which plays its final two series of the season at home, where the Wildcats are 32-4 since the start of the 2015 season.