2020 seniors to get their due

The Montana softball team will open its fall exhibition season on Sunday, Sept. 26, when the Grizzlies host North Idaho in a doubleheader at Grizzly Softball Field starting at noon.

But before any pitches are thrown or batted by the 2022 team, the 2020 senior class will finally get some overdue recognition.

Before the Grizzlies and Cardinals play, Kylie Hayton, Michaela Hood, Morgan Johnson and Anne Mari Petrino will get the Senior Day ceremony that the coronavirus stole from them so many months ago.

"I'm excited they are going to be back with us so that we can honor them in front of our fans and in front of our current team, and celebrate what they did for our program," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"I hope that our fans and everyone who wants to see them can come out and celebrate them and then get a look at our 2022 team."

That quartet and their teammates authored the best start to a season in program history.

Who can forget how they put a jolt into the season on opening weekend when they went down to New Orleans and started 4-0 before falling 2-1 in 10 innings to nationally ranked Texas Tech?

Or how they went to Fayetteville two weeks later and knocked off No. 23 Arkansas on its home field, blanking the Razorbacks 5-0 behind Hood's three-hitter for the first win in program history over a ranked opponent?

Or how they shut out another Power 5 opponent the next weekend by shutting down Michigan State 6-0 in California?

They returned to Montana from Grand Canyon's tournament, where they won three of five, on March 8, never envisioning they would not get another game that season.

The days that followed would be when the dominoes started falling, one after the other, with games getting canceled, then seasons, conferences and leagues all going dark.

Montana's spring was at first put on hold, giving them a flicker of hope that this would be short-lived, that play would resume by the time league arrived, that a championship could still be pursued in May.

On March 13 the Big Sky Conference suspended all spring sports with an eye on possibly restarting in mid-April. Then five days later the league canceled all spring competitions and championships.

The season that generated so much excitement wouldn't end at the NCAA tournament or even with a chance to compete for it at the Big Sky championship. It ended on a fielder's choice against Saint Joseph's.

"It turned into an ending that no one ever foresaw happening. It was an abrupt end to a career for four people who had so much on the line and so many dreams still sitting in front of them," said Meuchel.

"That was a really special class and that was a pretty exciting season for us. They are tough, they are resilient, they are great leaders and wonderful women, and great representatives of Griz Softball."

And at long last they'll be recognized for it.

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Kylie Hayton

Michaela Hood

Morgan Johnson

Anne Mari Petrino

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