Montana to face Southern Utah this week

The Montana softball team will reach the midpoint of its Big Sky Conference schedule this week when it plays a three-game series at Southern Utah.

The Grizzlies have played three league series and will have three remaining after facing the Thunderbirds at Kathryn Berg Field.

Montana and Southern Utah will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 1 p.m., a single game on Saturday, also starting at 1 p.m.

Coverage: The three-game set will have video coverage through WatchBigSky.com and Pluto TV, as well as live stats.

Where they stand:

Montana (16-22, 4-5 BSC) snapped a five-game losing streak with a rain-shortened 5-3 victory at home on Saturday afternoon over Weber State at Grizzly Softball Field. The Wildcats swept the Friday doubleheader, winning 3-0 and 11-5. Montana sits alone in fifth place in the Big Sky.

Southern Utah (6-27, 3-6 BSC) is in a three-way tie for sixth in the Big Sky and has picked up half of its wins since the start of league. The Thunderbirds have lost each of their Big Sky series but have not been swept in any of them, going 1-2 against Weber State, Northern Colorado and North Dakota.

Last week in review:

G1: Weber State 3, Montana 0 -- In another matchup of two of the Big Sky's top pitchers, Kirtlyn Bohling came out on top after throwing a three-hit shutout. Michaela Hood took the loss despite also allowing just three hits. The Wildcats scored two in the second and added another in the seventh.

G2: Weber State 11, Montana 5 -- The Wildcats struck for six runs in the top of the third and never looked back. It was the most runs allowed by the Grizzlies since April 2016. Montana scored four runs in the bottom of the third on four hits and three Weber State errors.

G3: Montana 5, Weber State 3 -- The Grizzlies rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, tying the game in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out single by Delene Colburn. Ashlyn Lyons followed one pitch later with the game-winning hit, a two-run home run. The game was called in the top of the sixth due to rain.

Series history: Montana has gone 7-3 against Southern Utah, including a 2-1 series win over the Thunderbirds last spring in Missoula.

On the Grizzlies' only other trip to Cedar City, they won the series 2-1 in 2016, a series that opened with one of the more memorable games in program history.

Montana trailed 12-2 after four innings but scored five in the fifth and six in the seventh to tie it at 13-13. Ashlyn Lyons had the game-winning RBI single in the top of the eighth in the 14-13 victory, with Delene Colburn finishing with five RBIs.

The Grizzlies would score another 14 runs in the final game of the series, a 14-7 victory.

Southern Utah last week:

The Thunderbirds, who have the worst ERA in the Big Sky and the entire nation, opened their home series last weekend against North Dakota with a surprising 3-0 shutout victory. The Fighting Hawks responded with 21 hits and 16 runs the next two games, winning 10-8 and 6-4.

The state of Montana:

The highly anticipated matchup last weekend between Montana and Weber State at Grizzly Softball Field failed to deliver the type of epic series that fans have come to expect when the Grizzlies and Wildcats get together.

It was an across-the-board issue for Montana on Friday as Weber State opened the weekend with a convincing sweep. Montana didn't hit in the opener, losing 3-0, and could not stop the Wildcats in the second game, allowing a season-high 11 runs while matching a season high with three errors.

Montana was shut out at home for the first time in more than a year and surrendered the most runs at Grizzly Softball Field since Sacramento State scored 11 more than two years ago.

"When we left the ballpark on Friday, as a team -- coaches, players, everybody -- we were not okay with the performance we had just put out," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"I was very proud of the way we approached Saturday. We settled in and really attacked and played well on every side of the ball. They know what that feeling is and want to have it at all times."

One day after taking a tough-luck loss, Michaela Hood had another effective outing, allowing just one earned run through five innings.

The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the second, but the Grizzlies pulled within one on a Gabby Martinez single in the bottom half of the inning and tied it in the third on a two-out single by Madison Saacke.

After Weber State built a 3-2 lead in the fourth, Montana won it in the bottom half. Delene Colburn snapped a 1-for-14 stretch with a two-out line-drive single to right-center that scored McKenzie Philips to tie the score at 3-3.

Ashlyn Lyons welcomed Weber State's new pitcher with a home run to right-center on the first pitch she saw.

Montana led 5-3 in the top of the sixth when heavy rains set in. Weber State had a runner on third base with nobody out when the game was called.

Southern Utah, with its 8.54 ERA, which ranks dead last in the nation, would appear to arrive on the schedule at the perfect time for a Montana offense that could use any spark it can find, even if it's provided by the other team.

Montana batted just .203 last week against Weber State to only slightly up its average through nine league games to .179, worst in the Big Sky by far. The top six teams all are hitting .270 or better.

The Grizzlies have a league-low seven extra-base hits through nine Big Sky games. By comparison, Northern Colorado has a Big Sky-leading 41. Colburn hasn't had an extra-base hit in her last 20 at-bats, the longest stretch since her sophomore year.

So Southern Utah comes along at just the right time. At least that's the trap.

"It's something we've been talking about this week. Every time you go into a game, numbers might indicate something, but it's a true competition when you step on the field," said Meuchel.

"Something may look a certain way statistically, but it's about who shows up that day. You can never take anyone too lightly by looking at statistics."

That may have been what cost North Dakota in its series opener at Southern Utah last weekend. The Fighting Hawks were limited to just three hits by a team that had allowed 10 or more in 12 of its previous 18 games.

The Thunderbirds may be tied for last in the Big Sky and have just six wins on the season, but they also took games from Weber State and Northern Colorado in earlier series.

"They've taken a game from every series, so you can't take any opponent lightly," said Meuchel.

"If we play the Griz way, if we play with a lot of pride and passion from pitch one, a lot of commitment to the process of what we're trying to accomplish and attack our pitches and play solid defense, inning in and inning out, we should be in a good place."

If Montana can get on track offensively and score this weekend, the matchup will come down to the Grizzlies' pitching staff against a salty Southern Utah offense.

The Thunderbirds are batting .320 in league and no other team comes within four of their 14 home runs.

Kalei Watkins (7), Taylei Williams (6) and Kendall Kapitzke (6) all have at least six home runs and, along with Sarah Murphy, have combined for 50 extra-base hits this season.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

North Dakota lost a game at Southern Utah last weekend but still started this week atop the Big Sky standings at 7-2, one game up on surging Sacramento State (6-3), which is coming off a home sweep of Portland State.

It doesn't appear the Fighting Hawks will be on top much longer.

Because of ongoing issues with weather in Grand Forks, North Dakota continued its stay in Utah and is playing its series against Weber State in Ogden on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of in Grand Forks this coming weekend.

Weber State, now 6-4, won the opener of Tuesday's doubleheader 4-0.

Northern Colorado (5-4) also goes into the midpoint of the league schedule with a record above .500.

Montana is in fifth place at 4-5, with Portland State, Idaho State and Southern Utah all sitting a game back.

League series this week: North Dakota at Weber State, Montana at Southern Utah, Portland State at Northern Colorado, Sacramento State at Idaho State.

Upcoming: Montana will enjoy a five-game home stand next week at Grizzly Softball Field, hosting Carroll on Wednesday in a doubleheader, then facing Portland State on the weekend, with a doubleheader on Saturday, a single game on Sunday.

Then, a tough close to the regular-season schedule, with three games against Northern Colorado in Greeley and three at home against Sacramento State.

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Players Mentioned

Delene Colburn

Michaela Hood

Ashlyn Lyons

Gabby Martinez

Madison Saacke

University of Montana Athletics