Montana to host Providence in Saturday doubleheader

The Montana softball team has reached its midseason transition weekend: five weeks of tournaments completed, six weeks of league series ahead.

The Grizzlies will use the weekend as a chance to host Providence of Great Falls in a Saturday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Grizzly Softball Field.

Montana went 10-14 through its opening five weeks, with a 1-3 record last weekend against DePaul and Seattle at the Montana Invitational.

Providence goes into Saturday's doubleheader with a record of 0-12.

The Grizzlies opened the season with tournaments in California, Texas, Hawaii and Arizona before playing at home last weekend.

"We will always travel early in our season, so it almost feels like we're never in Missoula," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"I think it teaches us a lot of discipline because we have to be completely focused on what we're doing, whether it's competing or whether it's the two or three days we're in class.

"It's a daunting task at times. I love the grit we continue to find. It's a refresher to be in Missoula and not for just one weekend."

It will be three straight weeks at home when Montana opens its league schedule the following weekend with a three-game series against Portland State, last year's Big Sky tournament champion.

In between the Providence weekend and Portland State series will be spring break on the UM campus.

"This week leads us into spring break, so it's a big week for us academically as we continue to strive to be good students, which our players take a lot of pride in," said Meuchel.

"This week for us is really about settling back into home. Our goal will be to play Griz softball, no matter who our opponent is and continue to work to improve individually as well as a team."

Providence will enter Saturday's games seeking its first win of the season after starting 0-12, all against Cascade Collegiate Conference opponents.

The Argos have played three four-game series against Bushnell, British Columbia and Southern Oregon.

Last weekend, Providence went 0-4 against defending NAIA national champion Southern Oregon in Caldwell, Idaho, getting outscored 44-0.

The Argos, who have more strikeouts (62) than hits (49) this season, have been outscored 106-12 through their first 12 games. They are batting .189 and have a staff ERA of 9.07.

Montana is 8-0 all-time against Providence. The Grizzlies have outscored the Argos 65-8 in the teams' history.

"We're in the middle of the season and have learned a lot about ourselves," said Meuchel. "We're still doing that and still figuring out who the '22 team will be.

"This weekend will be an opportunity to move this program forward and prepare us for what is just around the corner, which is Big Sky Conference play."

Montana will open its league schedule on Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27, against defending Big Sky tournament champion Portland State.

The Vikings (15-10) were picked second in the preseason poll behind Weber State, which is off to a historically great start at 20-6.

Sacramento State is .500 at 12-12, and Idaho State is off to a 12-13 start under a first-year coach.

After opening with Portland State, Montana will visit Southern Utah, then host Idaho State.

The Grizzlies will have back-to-back road series at Weber State and Sacramento State in April before wrapping up the regular season with a home set against Northern Colorado.

"It's going to be flat-out excitement. Programs are stepping up and our teams are making some noise. From top to bottom we're becoming a more competitive conference," said Meuchel.

"I'm excited we get to start at home against a very good opponent. I'm looking forward to setting a tone of who we are."

Game notes:

* Montana and Providence played doubleheaders in Missoula in 2015, '16, '18 and '19.

* After hosting the Argos on Saturday, Montana's only other nonconference game remaining on the schedule will be against Carroll on Tuesday, April 19.

* The Grizzlies went 1-3 against DePaul and Seattle last weekend at the Montana Invitational. Their lone win was a 6-4 victory over the Redhawks on Sunday. DePaul went 3-1, Seattle 2-2, Montana 1-3.

* In two of Montana's losses, the Grizzlies held leads of 4-1 and 3-0.

* Montana batted .283 at the tournament to inch its season average up to .255.

* Maygen McGrath went 8 for 14 (.571) in four games with two doubles and a home run and a slugging percentage of .929 to earn Big Sky Player of the Week honors on Tuesday.

* McGrath was honored for the fourth time in her career, one off the program record of five set by Delene Colburn.

* Freshman Presley Jantzi batted .385 at the tournament, going 5 for 13, to up her team-leading average to .362. She ranks seventh in the Big Sky.

* Julie Phelps (.319), Cami Sellers (.316) and McGrath (.316) also are over .300 on the season.

* One of Jantzi's five hits last weekend was a double. Her nine doubles lead the Big Sky. Sellers is tied for third with six.

* Montana has scored five or more runs in seven straight games, a season high.

* The Grizzlies struck out one time in each of their last three games last weekend. Montana had one strikeout just once in its first 21 games of the season.

* Montana got home runs last weekend from Brooklyn Weisgram, Cami Sellers and Maygen McGrath.

* McGrath has had eight multiple-hit games in Montana's last 14. Her nine multiple-hit games on the season lead the team, as do her four multiple-RBI games.

* McGrath takes a team-best four-game hitting streak into Saturday's doubleheader. Brooklyn Weisgram has the season's longest hitting streak of five.

* Kendall Curtis started at second base the first 19 games of the season. In her absence, Hannah Jablonski and Jaxie Klucewich have started the last five.

* With Klucewich moving to the infield, Elise Ontiveros started the last three games of the Montana Invitational in left field.

* Ontiveros's double on Friday against DePaul was the second extra-base hit of her career. Her RBI on Saturday against Seattle also was the second of her career.

* In Sunday's 6-4 win over Seattle, Allie Brock picked up win No. 6 on the season, Dana Butterfield save No. 2. They pitched all 28 innings for Montana on the weekend.

Montana to host Providence in Saturday doubleheader

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Players Mentioned

Allie Brock

Dana Butterfield

Kendall Curtis

Hannah Jablonski

Presley Jantzi

Jaxie Klucewich

Maygen McGrath

Elise Ontiveros

Julie Phelps

Cami Sellers

Brooklyn Weisgram

University of Montana Athletics