Griz pull out finale, win 3-2

Saturday, April 28

Greeley, Colo.

1PM

Montana

23-26, 9-9

Northern Colorado

25-23, 7-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Montana	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	3	7	0
Northern Colorado	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	4	0

4/28/2018 4:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

A three-run third inning and a stellar relief appearance by freshman Tristin Achenbach allowed the Montana softball team to salvage the final game of its series at Northern Colorado on Saturday.

Achenbach came on in relief of starter Colleen Driscoll in the bottom of the fourth with a runner on third and two outs in a 3-2 game. She got her team out of that predicament and threw 3 1/3 innings of hitless relief as the Grizzlies held on to win 3-2.

It wasn't a perfect relief appearance. Achenbach walked a batter and hit another to load the bases in the fifth, but she worked out of every sticky situation to win her fourth game of the season.

"Tristin is a competitor and always has been a competitor, so she thrives in situations like that. She never wavered in her emotions," said coach Melanie Meuchel. ""She did a great job keeping them at bay and giving us a chance."

It was the fifth consecutive game for Montana that came down to the final at-bat. The Bears opened the series on Friday by winning both games on walk-off hits, just as the Grizzlies did six days earlier against Portland State.

"It's been a couple of weeks now of what I feel is championship-level play," said Meuchel, whose team is one win away from clinching a spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament for the third consecutive season.

"We're getting to the point of the season when everything is to the seventh inning. You're starting to see things tighten up and scores being closer and really competitive, and that's championship play. We had it last weekend, and we had it again this weekend."

It was a freshman who pitched Montana to the win and another who put her in a position to do so. With two outs in the top of the third and the bases loaded in a 1-1 game, Jessica McAlister doubled to center to score Delene Colburn and Ashlyn Lyons.

Madison Saacke got Montana on the board earlier in the inning when she singled in MaKenna McGill, who started the big inning with a one-out single to left-center, one of two hits for her on the day. Colburn followed with a single, Lyons with a walk.

"We're a team right now that is really trying to step up for each other," said Meuchel. "It gets to the end of the season, and it can be a grind. Everybody is trying to step up for the collective unit and play hard for each other."

The pitching matchup -- Driscoll for Montana, Valerie Vidal for Northern Colorado -- was the same as Friday's opener, won 1-0 by the Bears on a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth.

Northern Colorado got to Driscoll for a run in the first when a leadoff walk was moved around the bases and brought in on a run-scoring single.

Montana scored three times in the third to take a 3-1 lead, Northern Colorado pulled within 3-2 in the fourth when Driscoll, who worked 7 1/3 innings on Friday, gave up a two-out walk, followed by a run-scoring triple.

That prompted Meuchel to make the call for Achenbach, who got out of the fourth with a line-drive out to third.

She loaded the bases in the fifth, only to get out of it with a two-out infield pop-up, and walked the leadoff batter in the sixth before setting down the final six batters she faced.

It was Achenbach's first win in more than a month. "Tristin has always had that in her, and she proved that at the high-school level," said Meuchel.

"Every ball player gets tested a little bit when they get to college. She's been tested at times during the course of the season, but she's really settled in to who she is. There is a lot more to come from her as well."

Montana (23-26, 9-9 BSC) will host Big Sky co-leader Sacramento State (27-16, 12-6 BSC) next Friday and Saturday at Grizzly Softball Field as the regular season comes to a close.

The six-team Big Sky tournament will open on Thursday, May 10, at Ogden, Utah.