Griz face Bears as Big Sky tournament opens

Wednesday, May 8

Sacramento, Calif.

12:30 PM (MT)

Montana

Northern Colorado

5/7/2019 4:48:00 PM | Softball

PDF Game Notes

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team, which is making its fourth consecutive postseason appearance, will open play at the six-team, double-elimination Big Sky Conference Championship this week at Sacramento, Calif., with a first-round matchup against Northern Colorado.

The Grizzlies, the No. 3 seed, will face the No. 6 Bears at 12:30 p.m. (MT) on Wednesday at Sacramento State's Shea Stadium.

The tournament will open at 10 a.m. (MT) on Wednesday, when No. 4 Sacramento State squares off against No. 5 Portland State.

No. 1 Weber State awaits the winner of that game at 3 p.m. (MT). The winner of the Montana-Northern Colorado game will play No. 2 Idaho State at 5:30 p.m. (MT).

Three games will be played on Thursday, two on Friday and at least one on Saturday, with the tournament champion advancing to the NCAA tournament.

How they got there:

1. Weber State (23-19, 14-2 BSC) -- The Wildcats, who will host next year's tournament because of their regular-season title this year, finished 4.5 games clear of their closest pursuer and at .875 posted the best league winning percentage in Big Sky history.

2. Idaho State (20-26, 10-7 BSC) -- The Bengals opened league 4-0, lost six straight, then closed by winning six of seven, including a three-game home sweep of preseason favorite Sacramento State last weekend in Pocatello to claim the No. 2 seed. ISU was picked sixth in the preseason coaches' poll.

3. Montana (24-29, 10-8 BSC) -- The Grizzlies enter the tournament on a league-best eight-game winning streak, which includes sweeps of Northern Colorado and Southern Utah. Montana went 9-0 against the bottom three teams in the league, 1-8 against seeds No. 1, 2 and 4.

4. Sacramento State (29-23, 9-8 BSC) -- Last year's tournament champion and this season's favorite has a league-high 29 wins, but the Hornets have faltered down the stretch. They lost two of three at home to Portland State, then got swept at Idaho State, when one win would have clinched the No. 2 seed.

5. Portland State (19-29, 8-9 BSC) -- The Vikings used a home sweep of Southern Utah and two wins in three games at Sacramento State to claim a tournament spot. They dropped two of three at home last weekend to Weber State but won on Saturday, 5-2, handing the Wildcats only their second league loss.

6. Northern Colorado (11-37, 5-12 BSC) -- The Bears were idle last weekend and needed Montana to take care of business at Southern Utah. The Grizzlies did, which sent Northern Colorado to the tournament. The Bears will arrive in Sacramento well rested but on a nine-game losing streak.

Bracket breakdown I (Sacramento State-Portland State): Sacramento State had won 10 of 11 when Portland State visited just two weekends ago, but the Vikings won two of three at Shea Stadium, which changed the postseason trajectories of both teams.

Portland State's pitchers limited the Hornets to just six runs over three games on their home field.

The winner of their game will play Weber State on Wednesday afternoon. The Wildcats went 2-0 against Sacramento State in their weather-shortened series in Ogden, 2-1 against Portland State on the road last week, including a 17-1 beat-down in Game 2.

Bracket breakdown II (Montana-Northern Colorado): Montana swept Northern Colorado in Missoula two weekends ago, but the Grizzlies trailed in each game, including 4-0 in the opener before winning 6-4. Montana won 4-2 in Games 2 and 3.

The sweep gave Montana an 11-4 all-time record against Northern Colorado.

The winner will play Idaho State later Wednesday afternoon. The Bengals won two of three at Missoula, limiting the Grizzlies to just seven runs. ISU got swept by the Bears in Greeley, three of Northern Colorado's five league wins.

History: Montana is playing in its fourth consecutive Big Sky tournament. The Grizzlies have gone 6-4 in their previous appearances, with a three-win title in 2017, when Montana didn't drop a game as the No. 2 seed in Ogden.

The Grizzlies and Bears have never met in the postseason.

Tournament note: In the first six editions of the Big Sky softball tournament, the host school has hoisted the trophy only once, Weber State on its home field in 2016.

There have been five different winners of the six tournaments. Portland State won in 2013 in Pocatello, Southern Utah in 2014 in Pocatello, Weber State in 2015 in Pocatello, Weber State in 2016 in Ogden, Montana in 2017 in Ogden and Sacramento State last spring in Ogden.

It's feeling like 2017 all over again: When Montana won the Big Sky tournament championship in 2017, the Grizzlies entered the postseason having won 13 of their final 16 regular-season games.

Montana has once again closed a regular season winning 13 of its final 16 games, a stretch that began with a 9-1 run-rule victory over Portland State and ended on Sunday with a 10-6 win at Southern Utah after rallying from a 4-0 deficit.

Awards season: Montana got a jump on awards week when Morgan Johnson and Tristin Achenbach swept the weekly Big Sky honors on Monday.

Johnson was named Player of the Week after going 8 for 11 with three home runs and six runs batted in in Montana's sweep at Southern Utah. Achenbach won Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 against the Thunderbirds.

It was the first Big Sky honor for either player.

On Tuesday the league announced its annual award winners, and Montana had five players recognized.

Senior Maddy Stensby, at the pitcher/utility position, was on the 12-player first team and one of just three unanimous first-team selections. Sophomore first baseman Cami Sellers made second team and was voted the Newcomer of the Year.

Senior pitcher Colleen Driscoll, sophomore catcher Jessica McAlister and freshman third baseman Kylie Becker all received honorable mention honors.

Montana notes:

* On its current eight-game winning streak, Montana is batting .410. That's upped the Grizzlies' season hitting percentage to .288, the highest it's been this spring and third in the league behind Weber State (.311) and Portland State (.297).

* Montana's team ERA, which dipped to 4.12 after Game 1 at Southern Utah, is at 4.20, which ranks second in the league behind Sacramento State (2.95).

* Cami Sellers ended the regular season ranking first in the Big Sky in hits (66), doubles (21) and total bases (113), and in the top four in average (.375), runs scored (34), RBIs (38) and home runs (8). No one in the league had more extra-base hits than her 30.

* Montana led the Big Sky in extra-base hits during the regular season with 131. That's more than twice as many as the Grizzlies had last season (63).

* Morgan Johnson's six career home runs have all come in the last 12 games.

* Cami Sellers has 21 doubles, tied for the program single-season record with Delene Colburn from 2015. Also tied: Lexi Knauss with Mercedes Bourgeau (2015) with five triples and Maygen McGrath with Lexie Brenneis (2016) with 11 hit-by-pitches.

* Colleen Driscoll's nine wins this season are the third-most in program history. Michaela Hood won 18 games in 2017, Sara Stephenson won 14 in 2016.

* Cami Sellers' program-record 18-game hitting streak ended on April 22, but she has continued reaching base. That streak is now up to 26, third in program history behind Bethany Olea's 32 and Delene Colburn's 28, both set in 2016.

* Two of the program's three highest-scoring innings have occurred in the last three weeks. Montana scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth in an 11-7 home win over Portland State and eight in the top of the first in Game 2 on Saturday in a 15-7 win at Southern Utah.

* Montana finished its home schedule with a 16-3 record, the best mark in the five-year history of Grizzly Softball Field.

* With 10 home runs since April 26, Montana has 31 on the season, one shy of the program record of 32 set in 2016.

* Twelve of Montana's last 13 home runs have come off the bats of Morgan Johnson (6), Cami Sellers (4) and Maygen McGrath (2). Maddy Stensby has the other.

* Seven of Cami Sellers' eight home runs this season have come since April 5.

* Montana's 20 hits in Game 2 at Southern Utah on Saturday were the most for the Grizzlies since knocking out 25 in a 14-13 win at Southern Utah in 2016.

* Morgan Johnson hit a home run in all three games at Southern Utah. Lexie Brenneis holds the program record with a home run in four straight games, set in 2015. Delene Colburn hit a home run in three straight games in 2017.

* Jessica McAlister takes an eight-game hitting streak into the postseason. Maygen McGrath has reached base safely in 12 straight games.

* Of Montana's three four-hit games this season, two came last weekend at Southern Utah. Maddy Stensby went 4 for 4 in Game 2, Morgan Johnson 4 for 5 in Game 3.

* Maddy Stensby has a base hit in her last five at-bats. Those at-bats have resulted in six RBIs.

* Tristin Achenbach has picked up the win in her last three pitching appearances.

* Cami Sellers has a hit in 27 of Montana's last 30 games.

* Montana is batting .410 since Kylie Becker moved into the leadoff spot in the batting order eight games ago. The Grizzlies are also 8-0 in those games.

* Maygen McGrath has an RBI in five straight games, matching a streak that Cami Sellers had earlier this season. The hard-to-beat program record is 10, set by Lexie Brenneis in 2015.

* When Katie Pippel was inserted into the starting lineup 18 games ago, she was batting .200. Over the last 18 games she has batted .420 to raise her season average to .338.