Pennant race takes a break

The Montana softball team will take a break from its pursuit of a Big Sky Conference championship and host Carroll on Wednesday in a doubleheader at Grizzly Softball Field.

The Grizzlies (26-20) and Saints (13-18), who are counting Wednesday's games as exhibitions, will play their first game at 3 p.m. The second game is scheduled to start at approximately 5 p.m.

Midweek games are unusual for Montana, but they are the norm rather than the exception for most teams who play a weekend conference schedule. And who are in a geographic position to take advantage of it.

Consider the advantage a team like Weber State has. The Wildcats hosted Utah State for a single game last Wednesday before sweeping a three-game series from Idaho State last weekend. Single-day, single-game road trips were scheduled the next two Wednesdays, to Utah and Utah Valley.

"Midweeks are essential. We just don't get a chance to schedule a lot of them because of where we're located," said coach Jamie Pinkerton. "But I'd have midweek games every week if I could.

"It keeps your timing. It keeps you sharp, so there are a lot of advantages to it. But it's not something we have the ability to do, so we have to be creative in how we practice."

Beyond staying sharp, the extra games give opportunities for players who spend most of the weekend on the bench, something that can be hard to come by if every game is a league game, when the only priority needs to be winning.

So don't expect Madison Saacke, who has started the last six games at catcher, to be in the lineup on Wednesday, unless it's in the DP position. And don't expect Michaela Hood to start, not when the games are a chance for pitchers who are not in the regular rotation to get innings.

"It gives you a chance to get some other people some work. We haven't quite determined how we're going to handle our pitchers (on Wednesday), but it should provide an opportunity to help sharpen some pitchers who aren't getting a lot of work right now," said Pinkerton.

"And it gives an opportunity to give someone like Madison Saacke a break from behind the plate and let her DP and let someone else step in. But we still have to go out and be focused and try to win two games."

Montana will face a Carroll team that is 13-18 overall, 8-13 in Cascade Collegiate Conference games. The Fighting Saints knocked off No. 18 Southern Oregon 4-3 in Helena on Saturday in their most recent game.

Carroll is hitting .277 for the season, a few points better than Montana's .272, but the Grizzlies have the better pitching numbers. Behind Hood's 2.22 ERA, Montana is at 3.31 for the season, the best average in the Big Sky. Carroll's team ERA is 5.04.

The teams -- both are in their third year of existence -- have played doubleheaders in Missoula the last two seasons. Montana won 10-0 and 12-0 in 2015, 11-1 and 10-0 last year.

The games give Montana, which might be showing the strain of being in its first extended pennant race, a break from the pressure of another Big Sky opponent.

The Grizzlies have played five straight weeks of league games and have won all five series and sit a half game out of first place with an 11-4 record, but there were some unexpected struggles last weekend.

Facing a team with a Big Sky-worst 7.75 ERA, Montana struggled offensively against Portland State on the road, scoring just seven runs in three games, with 17 hits in 21 innings.

The Grizzlies went 4 for 29 with runners in scoring position in the series and left 28 runners on base.

With a chance to pick up a series sweep and remain atop the Big Sky standings after a pair of tight, eight-inning wins on Saturday, Montana was 1 for 10 in RBI opportunities on Sunday, an infield single that didn't drive in a runner from third the only hit.

"I'd like to think (it's not the pressure of trying to win a Big Sky championship), but the players are fully aware of what's going on, and this is a new experience for our program," said Pinkerton.

"They know what's going on, so maybe they're pressing a little bit. The thing I try to stress is that it doesn't matter what anyone else does as long as we take care of our business. That's the approach I try to take."

What allowed Montana to pick up its fifth series win in five Big Sky weekends was the support of the Grizzlies' pitching and the team's defense, which had two errors in three games to up Montana's Big Sky-leading fielding percentage to .969.

Hood pitched an eight-inning complete game in the doubleheader opener on Saturday, with Colleen Driscoll following with her own eight-inning complete game as Montana won 4-3 and 2-1.

Maddy Stensby allowed two unearned runs early in the third game of the series, with Hood coming in to pitch 4 1/3 innings of one-hit relief. But with the bats struggling, even a 2-1 deficit was too much to overcome.

After Wednesday's games against Carroll, the championship race resumes. While first-place Weber State is hosting third-place Southern Utah in Ogden this weekend, Montana hosts Idaho State, a team the Grizzlies are 1-5 against when they've met in league.

Montana will likely travel to Weber State next week on the final weekend of the Big Sky schedule with a chance to play itself to a championship, whether that requires one win, or two, or full-on sweep.

For the second straight season the third-year program will be poised at the Jordan River, in view of the Promised Land, just needing to cross.

But first Carroll, then the next task: win one more game to clinch a Big Sky tournament spot. Everything beyond that is for hosting and seeding purposes. Important, but that can't happen until a spot is clinched.

"We're right in the thick of it, but my main concern right now is getting that last win to qualify for the tournament," said Pinkerton.

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Players Mentioned

Colleen Driscoll

Michaela Hood

Madison Saacke

Maddy Stensby

University of Montana Athletics