Big road series ahead for Griz softball team

Saturday, April 8

Sacramento, Calif.

5:00 PM (MT)

Montana

Sacramento State

4/6/2017 4:22:00 PM | Softball

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team will play the third of its seven Big Sky Conference series this weekend -- its first on the road -- when it travels to Sacramento State.

The Grizzlies and Hornets will play a doubleheader on Saturday (weather permitting; there is a good chance of rain in Sacramento this weekend) starting at 1 p.m. (MT) and a single game on Sunday, also at 1 p.m. (MT).

Where they stand: Montana (19-18, 4-2 BSC), above .500 for the first time this season, has used series wins over North Dakota and Southern Utah, taking two of three in both, to position itself near the top of the Big Sky standings.

Weber State, which had one of its games at Sacramento State two weeks ago rained out, is atop the league at 4-1, as could be expected for the preseason Big Sky favorite. Montana and Idaho State are one back in the loss column at 4-2.

Sacramento State (12-18-1, 2-3 BSC), picked second in the preseason poll, is in jeopardy of squandering a scheduling gift if it doesn't come up with a successful weekend against the Grizzlies.

The Hornets opened league with Weber State and Idaho State at home, and now get the Grizzlies in Sacramento. They are still seeking their first series win. With three of its final four series coming on the road, Sacramento State could use some wins this weekend.

Coverage: This weekend's game can be monitored through Sacramento State's audio coverage and/or live stats. Links to all available options are available at gogriz.com.

Montana-Sacramento State series notes:

* The series has been heavily one-sided, with the Hornets holding a 7-1 advantage. When the teams met in Sacramento in 2015, in Montana's first season, the Hornets took all three games, outscoring that young Grizzly team 27-10.

Montana lost a nonconference game to Sacramento State last season at UC Davis's tournament, dropped two of three in the teams' series in Missoula and fell 10-4 at the Big Sky tournament in Ogden, a loss that ended the Grizzlies' season.

* The series matches the teams with the best ERAs in the Big Sky. Sacramento State, which has three pitchers who have thrown between 60 and 74 innings this season, has the lowest in the league at 3.03.

The Hornets are led by junior Celina Matthias, last year's Big Sky Pitcher of the Year, who is 5-5 this season with a 3.39 ERA. She splits starts with senior Taylor Tessier, who is 4-6 with a 3.00 ERA. Freshman Danielle Sperry, who has the staff's best ERA of 2.67, has been used mainly in relief.

Montana ranks second in the Big Sky in ERA at 3.65, thanks largely to the first-year performance of freshman Michaela Hood. The winner of the last two Big Sky Pitcher of the Week awards, Hood has an ERA of 2.23, which ranks second in the Big Sky behind North Dakota's Kaylin VanDomelen (2.09).

The teams also rank first (Montana, at .969) and second (Sacramento State, at .967) in team fielding percentage.

* The key, then, for the series will be hitting and finding ways to score runs. Sacramento State, holder of a .249 team batting average, has scored more than four runs just once in its last 10 games and fell 2-1 at Santa Clara on Tuesday, a team Montana put 15 runs on in two games back in February.

The Hornets scored just 11 runs in their first four Big Sky games before putting 10 across the plate on Saturday in a 10-1 win over Idaho State that allowed Sacramento State to salvage the final game of the series.

Montana is batting .269, well below the .326 average it enjoyed last year, but still the third-best average in the Big Sky. Last year's team averaged 5.75 runs per game. This year's team is scoring 4.49 runs.

Montana has scored more than five runs just five times in its last 16 games. The Grizzlies were shut out on two hits last Friday by Kirsten Hostetler, who entered the game with an ERA of 5.76.

"We've got to manufacture runs. When we load the bases, we've got to get a sac fly or a base hit. And then we have to defensively and pitching-wise do what we've been doing," said coach Jamie Pinkerton.

"We've got to pitch and defend and find a way to get back to scoring five runs a game like we did last year. If we can do that, I feel pretty confident we can put some pressure on teams. My worry is producing enough runs."

* The big question for Montana: Can Michaela Hood keep it going? She is 9-3 with a 2.23 ERA and has taken on a big role the last three weeks.

She started games one and three against North Dakota two weeks ago. Last weekend, against Southern Utah, she pitched a complete game in the series opener, then came back in game two of the doubleheader to pitch the final two innings in relief to collect the save.

In the series finale on Saturday, she pitched six innings and was pulled after allowing the first three batters to reach base in the top of the seventh with Montana holding an 8-2 lead.

"I think throwing the sixth and seventh innings in game two tired her out," said Pinkerton. "She probably could have gotten out of the seventh in game three, but she probably would have given up some runs. We had a six-run lead, so I didn't see any sense in keeping her in there.

"We'll keep an eye on her. If she minimizes her number of pitches and doesn't have a lot of stressful innings, which she hasn't had, I think she can continue to be a game one and three starter. What we had her do last weekend was a little too much to ask."

* Since starting center fielder MaKenna McGill was lost for the season on March 17, second baseman Gabby Martinez has taken over leadoff duties and has been thriving. She has hit safely in 10 of the 12 games and is batting .324 since the injury.

But the moving of Martinez from the No. 9 batter to No. 1 has made the bottom of Montana's order less effective. In the 10 games following McGill's injury, Montana's six, seven, eight and nine hitters batted .168.

"Since MaKenna went down, I've kind of been going with the hot hand," said Pinkerton. "There has been a lot of pressure to pick up the slack, so I've been moving the lineup around to find the right pieces to put in there.

"We've been using kind of a revolving door, and that can be tough on players. They go in thinking that if they don't perform, they are not going to play the next game, and that's not the mindset you need to have.

"The mindset I'm trying to teach is that I want them to look it as a chance to take advantage of the opportunity, and that's what Dani did."

Starting at catcher in game two against Southern Utah, Dani Walker went 2 for 3 at the plate. That led to her starting at designated player in game three, and she came through with another 2-for-3 performance, with two runs batted in and two runs scored.

Those four hits in two games was one more than the batters hitting in the 6-9 spots had in the previous four games combined. Normally a 2-for-3 line wouldn't raise eyebrows, but it did last weekend. Twice.

"As for right now we'll ride the hot hand," said Pinkerton. "We'll start her on Saturday in Sacramento at catcher/DP and see where it goes. If she stays hot, she'll continue to play. If not, we'll continue to move the pieces around."

* This week's shout-out: Gabby Martinez, whose quick fielding-to-throwing transition to turn slow grounders into outs at first base is a thing of beauty. Runner-up: Bethany Olea's ongoing gold-glove work at third base.

Montana three-dot notes: Gabby Martinez's three RBIs in the series finale against Southern Utah matched her career high, previously accomplished as a freshman in 2015 against Great Falls. ... Montana finished its 14-game home stand with a record of 10-4. No doubt coach Jamie Pinkerton wishes he could have three of those games back for a do-over. A play here or hit there could have resulted in a 13-1 record. ... Bethany Olea's 17-game hitting streak, the new program record, ended on Saturday with a 0-for-3 line, but she is still hitting .423, which ranks third in the Big Sky. She leads the league in runs scored with 29. ... Delene Colburn ranks sixth in the Big Sky in batting at .377. She ranks first in the league in doubles (13), home runs (9), total bases (80) and RBIs (35). ... Montana won its series against Southern Utah despite hitting .257. On the other hand, the Grizzlies only won two of three despite holding the Thunderbirds to .182 hitting over three games. ... Ashlyn Lyons went 2 for 4 on Saturday, her fifth multi-hit game of the season. More of those would be beneficial to Montana's offense, since she is now batting in the No. 2 position, right ahead of Olea and Colburn. ... Sydney Stites has had a hit in five of Montana's first six Big Sky games.

Around the Big Sky Conference: If you're wondering about the schedules of the teams hanging with Montana at or near the top of the standings, Weber State plays at Northern Colorado this weekend. Idaho State hosts North Dakota. In the other series, Southern Utah is in Portland to face the Vikings.

Upcoming: Montana will host Northern Colorado next week, with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2:30 p.m. and a single game on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.