Montana splits Saturday games

Saturday, March 5

Phoenix, Ariz.

9:30 AM

Montana

8-10

San Jose State

10-7

San Jose State

Montana

3/5/2022 5:40:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

For the second straight day, the Montana softball team defeated San Jose State and lost to the host Lopes as the Grand Canyon Invitational continued at GCU Softball Stadium in Phoenix.

The Grizzlies knocked off the Spartans 2-1 in eight innings on Saturday morning in their sixth consecutive game decided by two or fewer runs.

In the afternoon session, Grand Canyon scored five runs in the first and rolled to a 9-1 victory, only the second time this season Montana has been run-ruled.

The Grizzlies played a pair of dramatic games on Friday, defeating San Jose State 5-3 and falling 5-4 to Grand Canyon when the Lopes scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh, three with two outs.

The dramatics continued in the opening game on Saturday, when Kendall Curtis had a walk-off single to right in the bottom of the eighth, Montana's first extra-innings win in more than two years.

The Grizzlies grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Curtis tripled to right with one out, the team's first triple of the season.

The next batter, Julie Phelps, had an RBI bunt single that made it 1-0.

Starter Allie Brock gave up at least one hit in each of the first five innings, but she worked through it each time and took a 1-0 lead to the sixth.

A one-out solo home run in the top of the sixth by San Jose State evened the score at 1-1.

Dana Butterfield came on in relief of Brock in the top of the seventh after a one-out single. She got an out, then gave up a single on a play that left runners on second and third with two outs.

She got a fly out to right to end the threat.

Montana couldn't score in the bottom of the seventh and got out of the top of the eighth without a run allowed, even with a runner starting the inning on second base.

In the bottom of the eighth, Presley Jantzi had a leadoff double that advanced pinch runner Elise Ontiveros to third. Curtis followed with a walk-off single to right.

The win snapped Montana's five-game losing streak in games that went to extra innings.

Brock scattered eight hits over 6 1/3 innings while striking out five. Butterfield got the win in relief to improve to 4-4. She needed just 10 pitches to get through 1 2/3 innings.

Curtis went 4 for 4, Montana's first four-hit game since Maygen McGrath did it at Grand Canyon's tournament in 2020.

Jantzi and Phelps both had two hits.

In Montana's heartbreaking loss to Grand Canyon on Friday night, the Lopes exploded for four runs on five hits in the bottom of the seventh.

They carried that into Saturday's game, scoring five runs on four hits in the bottom of the first off Butterfield, including a three-run home run.

Montana's lone run came in the top of the fourth, when a Brooklyn Weisgram RBI fielder's choice made it 5-1.

Grand Canyon scored four runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth, then held Montana scoreless in the top of the fifth to end it early.

McGrath had two of Montana's six hits, moving her into a tie with Phelps and Cami Sellers for the team lead with six multiple-hit games.

McGrath has improved her batting average from .129 to .271 over the last nine games. In five of those she's had multiple hits.

Montana will conclude play at the Grand Canyon Invitational with a game against Binghamton on Sunday at 9 a.m.