Grizzlies drop two in St. George

Friday, February 19

St. George, Utah

11 AM

Montana

1-5

Utah Valley

1-0

Utah Valley

Montana

Photo by: Derek Johnson

2/19/2021 4:55:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team dropped a pair of games -- one a heartbreaker, one by run-rule -- on Friday as the Grizzlies opened play at the Dixie State Classic in St. George, Utah.

Montana lost 4-3 to Utah Valley in its opener after taking a 3-2 lead into the seventh. The Grizzlies followed that up with a 9-0 setback against BYU. Montana managed just one hit against the Cougars.

After falling behind the Wolverines 2-0, Montana pulled within one in the bottom of the third when a sacrifice fly by Maygen McGrath scored Jaxie Klucewich, who had led off with a walk.

McGrath made it a three-RBI game in the fifth when she hit her team-leading third home run of the season, a shot to left that again scored Klucewich, who had led off with a single.

That gave starter Tristin Achenbach, who gave up a run in the second on a home run and one in the third on an RBI single, a 3-2 lead.

She took that into the seventh but gave up two runs on four hits, all singles, as Utah Valley retook the lead.

Montana started a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh. Kylie Becker walked. Cami Sellers, who was 2 for 3, followed with a walk on four pitches, pushing the potential tying run to second.

Devyn Cretz, who came on in relief for the final inning, picked up the save by ending the game with a strikeout.

Achenbach, who struck out seven, took the loss to drop to 1-3 on the season.

Montana turned right around and faced a BYU team that was coming off a 6-3 victory over Utah State.

The Grizzlies went hitless against BYU starter Autumn Moffat-Korth through three innings. Sellers led off the top of the fourth with a single through the left side.

It would be Montana's only hit, as Moffat-Korth struck out the side in the fifth to finish with nine strikeouts of the 15 outs she needed to throw her 24th complete game, her fifth career shutout.

BYU scored one in the first and two in the second off Griz starter Ashley Ward. Rylee Jensen-McFarland made it 5-0 in the fourth with a two-run home run.

Two batters later, Allie Brock relieved Ward.

The Cougars scored one more in the fourth on an RBI double, went up 7-0 in the fifth on a solo home run and then walked it off when Jensen-McFarland hit her second two-run home run in as many innings.

Montana will face Utah State at 11 a.m. and Dixie State at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday morning, the Grizzlies will face Nevada, which handed No. 2 Washington its first loss of the season on Friday, 8-5.