Griz, Hornets meet for key Big Sky series

The Montana softball team, off to a 3-0 start in league, will continue its Big Sky Conference schedule this week when it hosts Sacramento State at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula.

The Grizzlies (9-18, 3-0 BSC) and Hornets (9-15, 3-0 BSC) will play a three-game series, with a Friday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. and a single game on Saturday, with first pitch at 1 p.m.

Sacramento State and Montana, picked second and third in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll behind Weber State, both opened league with sweeps last weekend.

The Grizzlies won three games at Portland State, the Hornets took care of business at home, defeating Northern Colorado three times.

Note: Montana's home doubleheader against Providence, scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m., has been canceled.

At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies went into Big Sky play last week with a record of 6-18, but opened league with a bang, sweeping Portland State in Hillsboro, Ore.

Montana opened and closed the series with tense, one-run victories, 2-1 in Game 1, 9-8 in Game 3. The Grizzlies had their first run-rule victory of the season in Game 2, winning 10-1.

Montana batted .345 for the series and had a 3.15 ERA, with Tristin Achenbach and Allie Brock allowing just three extra-base hits in the three games.

Kylie Becker, from the top of the order, sparked Montana offensively. She batted .500 and led the team with six RBIs and five runs scored.

It marks the third time in program history Montana has opened league 3-0. The 2016 (at Northern Colorado) and 2018 teams (at Idaho State) also started 3-0. The Grizzlies have never started 4-0.

At a glance (Sacramento State): The Hornets, like the Grizzlies, opened league without much momentum, having lost five straight while getting outscored 43-1 by Pacific, Oregon State and Oregon.

Then arrived Northern Colorado, and Sacramento State righted things with 7-2, 5-4 and 3-2 home wins. The Hornets trailed in all three games but rallied for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Sacramento State batted .359 with 10 extra-base hits in the series while limiting the Bears to a .231 batting average. Three Hornet pitchers combined for a weekend ERA of 2.33.

Sacramento State has the Big Sky's lowest batting average (.201) but second-best ERA of 4.64.

Series notes:

* Sacramento State leads the all-time series with Montana 15-4. Of the teams the Grizzlies have played seven or more times in their history, the Hornets have the best winning percentage against Montana.

* The Hornets have won the last seven meetings between the two schools, including a four-game sweep in 2019 in their most recent matchups.

* That included a three-game series sweep in Sacramento during the regular season and another win in Sacramento in the Big Sky tournament.

* The teams' last game, an 8-2 Hornet victory on their home field, ended Montana's season in 2019 at the Big Sky tournament.

* The teams have played just six of their 19 games in Missoula. The Hornets are 4-2 at Grizzly Softball Field, taking two of three in both 2016 and '18.

* The teams' last meeting in Missoula was memorable for the Hornets. They claimed a share of the 2018 Big Sky regular-season title with an 8-0 run-rule victory and celebrated like it.

Summary:

Montana opened its Big Sky schedule last week with a three-game sweep of Portland State on the road, a series in which the Grizzlies had the upper hand in almost every area.

Montana batted .345 and had a 3.15 ERA while limiting the Vikings to .276 hitting and just three extra-base hits in three games.

"I'm really proud of our players. We had a very intentional week of practice. We had a vision and some goals, and were very excited to start Big Sky play," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"We took that excitement forward and played with a lot of confidence."

Montana trailed just once in the series, and it didn't last long. Portland State scored once in the bottom of the first in Game 3 to go up 1-0. The Grizzlies responded with four in the top of the second.

"It felt like we won every inning, whether it was offensively or defensively," said Meuchel. "We really had a lot of control of the games.

"Two games were one-run games but we felt very confident in what we were doing and very confident in what the players are capable of doing. It showed in the way they played and it showed in the outcomes."

Montana was led offensively by junior third baseman Kylie Becker, who batted lead-off. She went 4 for 8 and also reached base twice on walks and twice after being hit by a pitch.

She had a .667 on-base percentage and scored a team-high five runs. "She's such a competitor and really thrives on those opportunities," said Meuchel.

She also led the team with six RBIs, which is one more than she had through the season's first 24 games.

A large part of that was due to players in the bottom of the order getting on base. Julie Phelps and Jaxie Klucewich also batted .500 in the three-game series. They would combine to score seven runs.

"(Kylie's six RBIs) doesn't happen without other people on the team doing their job, and the bottom part of our lineup had a good weekend," said Meuchel.

"We had a real team offense. We felt comfortable in what we were doing. It felt like everything clicked."

Tristin Achenbach and Allie Brock both threw complete games on Saturday.

Achenbach came through in a 2-1 victory in Game 1. Brock took a 7-1 lead into the bottom of the third in Game 2 and cruised from there.

In the series-opening doubleheader, Portland State scored two runs and had 10 hits in 14 innings.

The pitchers teamed up to get Montana a 9-8 victory on Sunday in Game 3. Achenbach threw the first four innings, Brock the last three.

She took a 9-8 lead into the bottom of the seventh with Portland State's 2-3-4 hitters coming up and allowed nothing more than a one-out walk. She ended the game with a strikeout.

"That's what it's all about, the growth, the belief and the confidence," Meuchel said of her freshman pitcher.

"A lot of people were in good places. It was fun to watch and feel like we had control in everything we were doing, even during circumstances that might feel a little bit tighter.

"Watching Allie do that in some tighter situations and overcome it was awesome. After Game 3 and the celebration and excitement, it was fun to stand in the dugout and watch them be paid back for everything they've put in."

With Sacramento State sweeping Northern Colorado to open league, it sets up an important series this week in Missoula.

Montana will not only face a quality opponent but one that has mostly had its way with the Grizzlies over the years, the only Big Sky team that can say that, with 15 wins in 19 games between the two programs.

"Whether they come into Missoula or we go out there, we know it's going to be a battle," said Meuchel, whose team has typically been near the top of the league in ERA with Sacramento State.

"They are notorious for having great pitchers and some people in their offense who can supply some power. I think they'll exemplify that."

Sophomore Marissa Bertuccio might be the next standout pitcher for Sacramento State, which has had the Big Sky Pitcher of the Year five of the last six seasons that had a league schedule.

She went 2-0 last weekend with a 2.00 ERA to earn Big Sky Pitcher of the Week honors on Wednesday. She is tied for the league lead in wins with seven.

"It will be a very competitive battle against an opponent who has been very good in the Big Sky," said Meuchel.

"We're excited to be able to take on that challenge. We have the team that can step up to the challenge."

Montana notes:

* This is the third time in program history that Montana has opened league 3-0. All three have come from a sweep on the road.

* Montana upped its season batting average eight points at Portland State. The Grizzlies are now hitting .287, which ranks third in the Big Sky behind Idaho State (.301) and Weber State (.290).

* Montana had a team ERA north of 8.0 just a few weeks ago. It's now down to 6.84, the lowest it's been since Week 1. The Grizzlies rank fourth in the Big Sky behind Weber State (4.09), Sacramento State (4.64) and Northern Colorado (4.73).

* Maygen McGrath ranks fifth in the Big Sky with a .376 batting average. She has more extra-base hits (14) than all but one other player in the top 20 in the league in batting average.

* McGrath ranks second in the league in hits (32), doubles (7), home runs (7), runs scored (22) and RBIs (25).

* Tristin Achenbach ranks third in the Big Sky in wins (6), first in strikeouts (96). She has 50 more strikeouts than any other pitcher in the league.

* Achenbach leads the league in starts (16) and complete games (10).

* Montana leads the Big Sky in hits with 209. The Grizzlies' 20 home runs rank second behind Southern Utah's 30.

* Montana, which entered the season with a 66-25 record at Grizzly Softball Field, went 1-5 at home this month against Seattle and Utah Valley at the Montana Classic.

* Sacramento State is 0-9 away from home this season. The Hornets have played 15 games at home, going 9-6.

* Montana hit three home runs at Portland State, all off Katie Schroeder, all in the sixth inning.

* Kylie Becker and Maygen McGrath got to Schroeder in the sixth in Game 2. Cami Sellers had the hit of the series, a three-run home run in the top of the sixth in Game 3 that broke a 6-6 deadlock.

* McGrath had a hit in all three games at Portland State and takes a team-high seven-game hitting streak into this week's series. Sellers and McKenna Tjaden are on five-game hitting streaks.

* Achenbach has thrown more than 100 pitches in her last six appearances, all starts. She has 12 appearances this season with more than 100 pitches thrown.

* Sellers has gone without a hit just six times this season, never in consecutive games.

* Kylie Becker's three RBIs in Sunday's win matched a career high. Her three runs scored in Game 2 set a new career high, as did her two walks in that game.

* Jaxie Klucewich had her first career extra-base hit on Sunday, a second-inning double that drove in two. It was her first game with multiple RBIs, her first game with three runs scored.

* Julie Phelps' three hits on Sunday were a career high.

* Allie Brock went 2-0 in two appearances in the Portland State series with a 2.33 ERA. She didn't allow an extra-base hit in 9.0 innings of work.

* Montana's six-run third in Game 2 on Saturday was its highest-scoring inning of the season.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Like Montana and Sacramento State, preseason favorite Weber State also got off to a 3-0 start to league with a sweep of Idaho State by a combined score of 34-7. That included a 19-0 thumping in Game 2.

* This week's series: Sacramento State at Montana, Southern Utah at Idaho State, Portland State at Northern Colorado

Upcoming: Montana will play a three-game series at Northern Colorado next week, a doubleheader on Friday, April 9, a single game on Saturday, April 10.

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Players Mentioned

Tristin Achenbach

Kylie Becker

Allie Brock

Jaxie Klucewich

Maygen McGrath

Julie Phelps

Cami Sellers

McKenna Tjaden

University of Montana Athletics