Griz drop first two games in Grand Forks

Friday, March 30

Grand Forks, N.D.

4PM (MT)

Montana

15-18, 3-1

North Dakota

17-18, 3-1

Montana

North Dakota

3/30/2018 9:07:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

North Dakota limited Montana to eight hits over two games on Friday and opened the teams' series at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks with 3-0 and 3-1 victories.

Kaylin VanDomelen, last season's Big Sky Conference Pitcher of the Year, struck out 11 Grizzlies in the opener and had the game-winning hit in the second game, a two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth that broke a 1-1 deadlock.

The wins, which made it four straight for the Fighting Hawks (18-18, 4-1 BSC), vaulted North Dakota to the top of the Big Sky standings.

Montana (15-19, 3-2 BSC), which had its eight-game winning streak come to an end, dropped into a three-way tie for second with Northern Colorado and Weber State.

The opener was a matchup between two of the Big Sky's best pitchers, VanDomelen and Montana's Michaela Hood, who defeated North Dakota's ace twice last season in Missoula in their head-to-head starts.

This time the win went to VanDomelen.

North Dakota tagged Hood, the reigning Big Sky Pitcher of the Week, for 10 hits in her five innings of work, scoring twice in the third and adding one in the sixth.

"They came out aggressive against Michaela," said coach Melanie Meuchel, whose team will lose its first league series in nearly two years. "The ball got up on Michaela a little bit, and when it did they jumped on her."

Seven of Montana's first eight outs against VanDomelen came by strikeout, and the Grizzlies managed just four singles, none in the same inning.

"She had control most of the game. There were a few balls we hit fairly solid, but for the most part she had control of our offense," said Meuchel. "She was the aggressor and was able to expand the zone."

Maddy Stensby, coming off a complete-game five-hitter last Saturday at Idaho State, had another excellent outing in the second game, taking a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth.

The Grizzlies scored their only run of the day in the second. Jessica McAlister led off with a single to center and she advanced to third on a single up the middle by Anne Mari Petrino. Alex Wardlow scored McAlister with a sacrifice fly to right.

Stensby allowed just three hits through the first five innings, but North Dakota got to her for three runs on three hits in the sixth, the big blow coming off the bat of VanDomelen.

"Maddy had a great outing. She made some aggressive pitches. In the sixth they were able to tag her for a couple of hits back-to-back that let them back into it," said Meuchel.

Trailing for the first time in the game, Montana went down in order in the seventh. The Grizzlies did not have a hit after the fourth inning against UND starter Hannah Bergh, who won her eighth game of the season.

"They were the aggressor today compared to what we were. It felt like we never struck the ball well, never really got after pitches," said Meuchel, whose team was playing indoors for the first time since opening weekend of the 2017 season.

"It was definitely better than playing in 20-degree weather. It's pretty bitter here. Some balls played a little differently than they would have on a grass field, but it wasn't a factor in how the games went. They did a great job getting the field ready."

The teams will wrap up their three-game series at 1 p.m. (MT) on Saturday.