Spring softball schedule finalized

Just two more flips of the calendar until February, then just seven days into next year's second month before the Montana softball team opens its spring season against Central Arkansas in New Orleans.

The Grizzlies will get going early that day -- 8:30 a.m. (MT) -- and won't have to wait long -- 1:30 p.m. (MT) -- before they're tested against Louisiana Tech, the host of the Big Easy Classic and an NCAA tournament team last year.

The regular season won't conclude until Montana takes on defending Big Sky Conference champion Weber State at Grizzly Softball Field on Saturday, May 2, with the postseason to (hopefully) follow.

In between is a schedule that takes Montana to tournaments in Nevada, Arkansas, California and Arizona, followed by a pre-league road trip south for four games in Utah.

Griz fans wanting to see their favorite team in action will have to wait until April 1, the latest Montana has played its home opener.

The usual mid-March Missoula debut had to be abandoned after a pair of teams pulled out of an agreed-upon tournament, leaving the Grizzlies with just 13 home games, the fewest in program history.

It will be mostly new names on the uniforms of the opposing teams at the Big Easy Classic the opening weekend of the season.

Central Arkansas, Louisiana Tech, Jackson State and Alabama A&M will all be first-time opponents for Montana.

Louisiana Tech won 45 games last season and the Conference USA tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament.

Montana will close the Big Easy Classic with a game against Texas Tech, which is coming off a 42-win season. The Red Raiders advanced to the NCAA tournament and were ranked as high as No. 12 nationally during the season.

"I thought Louisiana Tech's tournament would be a great experience to be able to play against different opponents than we typically see," said coach Melanie Meuchel, who spent two years coaching in the state at McNeese State.

"And being able to experience that part of the country will be great for our players."

Weekend 2 will take Montana to UNLV's tournament, for two games against the Rebels, who are coming off their best season, at 36-14, since 2007, two against Utah Valley and one against Weber State.

The trip will get three Grizzlies -- senior pitcher Michaela Hood (Las Vegas), sophomore third baseman Kylie Becker (Henderson) and freshman pitcher Ashley Ward (Henderson) -- back near their hometowns.

"We have some current players from that area, and we spend time recruiting that area as well," said Meuchel.

The team's toughest of its five early-season tournaments will be the Razorback Invitational, on Weekend 3, hosted by Arkansas, where Meuchel's brother, Matt, is an assistant coach.

The Razorbacks were an NCAA tournament team last season, as was Boston University. And Montana will get two games against South Dakota State, which advanced to the NISC.

The tournament's other team, Marist, won 35 games last spring. In all, Montana's four opponents at the tournament were 66 games over .500 last season.

The trip will get senior outfielder Anne Mari Petrino back to Fayetteville, where she spent a handful of formative years while her dad, Paul, was the offensive coordinator for the Razorback football team.

"We're excited to be able to compete in a big environment. Anytime you can go to a Power 5 school, you're going to get an environment that everybody desires to play in," said Meuchel.

"And we have a player who spent some of her childhood in that area. It will be a fun experience for her to go back to that area and play."

Montana will get a crack at Michigan State on Weekend 4, at UC Riverside's Amy S. Harrison Tournament, and get five games at the Grand Canyon Lopes Up Classic in Phoenix the first weekend of March.

What was scheduled to be a home tournament -- March 13-15 -- will now be a breather and the team's lone weekend off during the season, a well-deserved break after five straight tournament road trips.

The Grizzlies won't be idle for long. They'll play five weekday games the following week, two at Utah Valley and three at BYU, two against the host Cougars and a neutral-site game against North Dakota State.

It will be Montana's first meeting against BYU, which made the NCAA tournament a year ago. So did NDSU. The Bison have made the NCAA tournament 10 of the last 11 years.

Montana will open league on the road, with three games at Idaho State, before finally getting home for a midweek doubleheader against Providence (MT) on Wednesday, April 1.

That will be followed by a home series against Southern Utah.

The Grizzlies' first two Big Sky series will be against teams under new coaches -- Cristal Brown, formerly of Whitworth in Spokane, is at ISU; Don Don Williams, formerly of North Idaho in Coeur d'Alene, is at SUU.

The back half of Montana's league schedule has both Sacramento State and Weber State traveling to Missoula, with a trip to Northern Colorado in between.

The Hornets hosted last year's Big Sky tournament, but they were not around at the end. Playing for the title were Northern Colorado and Weber State, with the Wildcats coming out on top.

"I'm really excited about the opponents who will be in Missoula. You can look to the end, but if you overlook anything in the front side while going through the process, then it doesn't matter on the back side," said Meuchel.

"I think our conference each year keeps getting stronger and stronger. There is not a series in which you can overlook an opponent."

The regular season ends with a home series against Weber State, which has won or shared the Big Sky regular-season championship the last four years and won tournament titles in 2015, '16 and '19.

The Big Sky tournament will open in Ogden, Utah, on Wednesday, May 6.

"I'm excited for our fans to see our 2020 Griz softball team," said Meuchel, whose team won its eight fall exhibition games by a combined score of 156-3. "I'm looking forward to seeing where this team can go."

University of Montana Athletics

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