Griz fall in eight to Wolf Pack

Sunday, February 21

St. George, Utah

11 AM

Montana

2-8

Nevada

7-3

Nevada

Montana

Photo by: Derek Johnson

2/21/2021 2:31:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team wrapped up play at the Dixie State Classic with a 6-5 eight-inning loss to Nevada on Sunday in St. George, Utah.

The Grizzlies (2-8) scored four times in the first and held the lead until the Wolf Pack (7-3) tied it 4-4 in the sixth.

Nevada took its first lead of the game, 6-4, with a two-run home run in the top of the eighth.

Montana scored once in the bottom half of the inning and had runners on first and second when the game ended on a strikeout.

The Grizzlies got after the Wolf Pack early, with their first six batters in the bottom of the first reaching base.

Kylie Becker led off with a single, Cami Sellers doubled to left-center and Maygen McGrath walked to load the bases.

Kendall Curtis, Jessica McAlister and Riley Stockton all followed with run-scoring singles before Nevada had recorded an out.

After scoring four runs on five hits in the first, Montana would manage just one hit over the next six innings, McGrath's single in the bottom of the third.

Nevada scored twice in the third on a two-run home run off Griz starter Tristin Achenbach and added another in the fourth on an RBI double.

With runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the sixth, the Wolf Pack came through with a run-scoring extra-base hit off Ashley Ward.

Montana cut down the potential go-ahead run at the plate for the inning's final out to keep the game tied.

With a runner placed on second to open the eighth, Nevada took its first lead of the game on a one-out, two-run home run to center off Ward, who took the loss despite having one of her best performances as a Grizzly.

Becker started the bottom of the eighth on second and was moved to third on a Sellers single. McGrath drove Becker in on a fielder's choice to make it 6-5.

With two outs, Jessica McAlister singled to left-center to put the potential tying run at second base.

Nevada freshman pitcher Blake Craft, who came on in relief with nobody out in the first and didn't allow an earned run over the next eight innings, got a strikeout to end the game.

Sellers and McAlister both had a pair of hits, Stockton drove in two and Becker scored twice.

Montana will be off next weekend, then travel to El Paso, Texas, for the UTEP Orange and Blue Classic the opening weekend of March.