Final early-season tournament on tap

The Montana softball team will play in its fifth and final early-season tournament this week when the Grizzlies head south for the Grand Canyon Lopes Up Classic in Phoenix.

The Grizzlies will play five games over three days against Saint Joseph's, Grand Canyon and UNLV at GCU Softball Stadium.

Montana went 3-1 at UC Riverside's tournament last week, including a win over Michigan State, to improve to 9-10 on the season, the Grizzlies' best four-weekend start in program history.

The schedule:

Friday, 2:30 p.m. -- vs. Saint Joseph's
Friday, 7 p.m. -- at Grand Canyon
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. -- vs. UNLV
Saturday, 5 p.m. -- at Grand Canyon
Sunday, 11 a.m. (MT) -- vs. Saint Joseph's

The field:

Montana is 9-10 after winning three of four at the Amy S. Harrison Classic last weekend at UC Riverside. The Grizzlies, who batted .324 and had a staff ERA of 2.33 in four games, opened with three wins before dropping its final game against the host Highlanders, 3-1 on Sunday.

Saint Joseph's has played just nine games to date in two tournaments. The Hawks went 2-3 in Orlando three weeks ago and 1-3 two weekends ago in Raleigh, N.C. They are batting .235 and have a team ERA of 5.10.

Saint Joseph's went 28-25 last year and finished fifth in the Atlantic 10 with a 13-10 league record. The Hawks were picked fifth in this year's preseason coaches' poll.

History: Montana and Saint Joseph's will be meeting for the first time. The Grizzlies are 0-2 against the Atlantic 10, dropping two games to George Washington in 2018 at UC Riverside's tournament.

Grand Canyon is 4-16 and has gone 2-8 at home in two early tournaments. Two of the Lopes' losses this season came against Big Sky Conference favorite Weber State. Grand Canyon, which is batting .263 with a 6.06 ERA, also has a 6-2 loss to Texas Tech, a team Montana lost to 2-1 in 10 innings.

The Lopes went 33-24 last season and tied for second in the WAC with New Mexico State at 12-6 in league. Both teams finished behind 15-3 Seattle. Grand Canyon was picked second in the preseason coaches' poll behind Seattle, collecting two of seven first-place votes.

History: Montana is 1-3 against Grand Canyon, with all four previous meetings taking place on GCU's home field. The Grizzlies and Lopes split at Grand Canyon's tournament in 2016. In 2018, the Lopes won twice, 6-2 and 5-2, in a season-opening doubleheader for both teams.

UNLV, which opened the season 1-3, is rolling at 16-5, which includes 8-0 and 2-0 victories over Montana last month at its Marucci Desert Classic. The Rebels, who have won nine of their last 10, are batting .299 with a 1.76 ERA.

UNLV went 36-14 last season and just missed out on an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Rebels finished third in the Mountain West at 14-9 and tied for third in this year's coaches' poll, behind San Jose State and San Diego State, and tied with Colorado State.

History: UNLV leads the all-time series with Montana 3-2, including two wins earlier this season in Las Vegas. The teams' other three meetings took place in 2017, with the teams splitting two games in Hawaii and Montana winning in St. George.

This week's storylines:

* Montana goes 3-1 at UC Riverside: The Grizzlies had a successful trip to Southern California last weekend, winning three of four games.

Montana won its first three games, against UC Riverside, Nebraska-Omaha and Michigan State, by putting up 17 runs and trailing just once, in the fifth inning in a 6-5 comeback victory over UNO.

On Sunday, the Grizzlies lost their second game against the host Highlanders, getting three-hit in a 3-1 loss.

"I liked the way we competed. We played loose but we were determined. I thought we went after games. We went after innings, we went after pitches," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"We're starting to complete our overall game, as a collective team. We're starting to catch a little of who we are."

* Montana gets another shot at UNLV: The Grizzlies fell twice to the host Rebels at the Marucci Desert Classic three weeks ago.

UNLV put up a six-run third in what would be an 8-0 no-hitter in the teams' first game. The next day, Michaela Hood threw a two-hit complete game but lost 2-0 on a two-run home run in the fourth.

The Grizzlies had six hits in the two games, all singles.

"I think we're in a better place now as the season has gone along," said Meuchel. "We're feeling a little more established and grounded in who we are.

"We weren't playing bad ball (at UNLV's tournament), we just weren't playing all-around ball. I feel like we're a little more whole. We're excited to see them again."

* Montana to get four games against Hawks, Lopes: The Grizzlies will get one shot at 16-5 UNLV, four against Grand Canyon and Saint Joseph's, teams that are a combined 7-22.

"I expect it to be very similar to last weekend, when records don't always indicate what a team is," said Meuchel. "You have to be ready for anyone you play.

"We'll be ready to compete in all five. It does not matter who your opponent is. You have to play who you are and play your best ball against whoever is in the other dugout."

* Griz rolling compared to 2018: Montana finished off its fifth tournament last season, at Fresno State, with a 5-20 five-weekend record.

Snow and ice kept the Grizzlies off their home field all of January, February and early March. There were various illnesses going around. And a young team was trying to establish its identity.

What a difference a year makes. Montana is established, it's winning and it's been on its field much of the winter.

"Last week we were able to get on our field, and that made a big difference going into the weekend. (The team) always brings effort, but it's just a different feel at practice when we can be outside and working at full speed," said Meuchel.

"You could feel the energy level change after being inside for three weeks. It's just different, and that fed into the weekend at Riverside. We were able to play a little more freely."

* A break upcoming: After playing five games in three days in Phoenix, Montana won't play again until a doubleheader at Utah Valley on Wednesday, March 18, nine days without games.

That will be Montana's longest break of the season. After playing three games at BYU against the Cougars and North Dakota State as part of the road trip to Utah, the Grizzlies will go into their Big Sky schedule, then go without break until the postseason.

"It would be good for us to go in and play Montana Grizzly softball this weekend," said Meuchel. "Weekends 4 and 5 are a critical time, of catching wind of who you are."

Montana notes:

* Montana's victory over Michigan State on Saturday was its second win of the season over a Power 5 opponent and third in program history. The Grizzlies defeated No. 23 Arkansas last month and Texas Tech in 2017.

* Kendall Curtis, Julie Phelps and McKenna Tjaden have all had six-game hitting streaks this season. Curtis takes the team's longest active streak, at three, into this week's games.

* Montana, at 2.73, has the second-best ERA in the Big Sky, behind Sacramento State (2.29) and leads the league in fielding percentage at .970.

* Michaela Hood ranks second in the Big Sky in ERA at 1.90, Tristin Achenbach leads the league in strikeouts with 66. Hood is second with 55.

* Maygen McGrath hit her sixth home run of the season in last Friday's 5-3 victory over UC Riverside. She is tied for the Big Sky lead with Portland State freshman Emily Johansen.

* Montana batted .324 in four games at UC Riverside while holding its opponents to a .248 batting average. Hood and Achenbach had a combined ERA of 2.33.

* Morgan Johnson went 3 for 4 in Montana's 6-0 victory over Michigan State on Saturday, a season high in hits for the senior.

* Anne Mari Petrino went 2 for 3 against the Spartans, her first multi-hit game of the season.

* Tristin Achenbach's complete-game shutout of Michigan State was her 10th career complete game, her second career shutout. Her previous was against NAIA Providence.

* Cami Sellers had seven hits in four games at UC Riverside last week, with three two-hit games. She batted a team-best .467 to up her season average to a team-leading .344.

* Kylie Becker had three-hit and two-hit games at UC Riverside after entering the week with one on the season.

* Ashley Ward had her first collegiate home run on Saturday. Her three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth gave Montana a 3-0 lead on Michigan State. The Grizzlies would add three more runs in the inning and win 6-0.

* McKenna Tjaden has started the last six games at catcher. ... In Montana's final two games in Riverside last weekend, Julie Phelps started in center, Kendall Curtis in right. Both are freshmen.

* Montana had 33 hits in its three wins at UC Riverside before being held to three by UC Riverside in the Grizzlies' lone loss on Sunday.

* Montana had 11 extra-base hits at UC Riverside, with six doubles, two triples and three home runs.

* The Grizzlies did not strike out once against Nebraska-Omaha, the first time that's happened this season.

* In Montana's wins over Arkansas and Michigan State, the Grizzlies' pitchers did not allow a single extra-base hit.

Upcoming: Montana will play five games in three days in Utah from March 18-20, with a doubleheader at Utah Valley on Wednesday, March 18, a single game at BYU on Thursday, March 19, and back-to-back games against North Dakota State and BYU on Friday, March 20.

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Players Mentioned

Tristin Achenbach

Kylie Becker

Kendall Curtis

Michaela Hood

Morgan Johnson

Maygen McGrath

Anne Mari Petrino

Julie Phelps

Cami Sellers

McKenna Tjaden

Ashley Ward

University of Montana Athletics