Bengals win twice as series opens

Friday, April 8

Missoula, Mont.

2 PM

Montana

16-17, 4-3

Idaho State

18-19, 2-5

Idaho State

Montana

Photo by: Derek Johnson

4/8/2022 8:46:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team dropped a pair of games to Idaho State on Friday afternoon as the teams opened a three-game series at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula.

The Bengals (19-19, 3-5 BSC) held off a comeback attempt by the Grizzlies (16-18, 4-4 BSC) to win the opener 7-6, then cruised to a 10-1 win in the day's second game.

Montana's loss in Game 1 snapped its four-game winning streak. The Grizzlies' loss in Game 2 was only the third time in program history Montana has been run-ruled by a Big Sky opponent in Missoula.

Montana never held a lead on Friday, giving up multiple runs in the top of the first in both games.

"We had the fight, we had the determination, we had the love, but I don't know if we had the discipline we needed," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"We got a little outside of ourselves at times during the day, and it caught up with us. I believe in every single player and I know we'll reset and refocus and come out tomorrow with a lot of fight."

After Idaho State struck for a pair of runs in the top of the first in Game 1, Maygen McGrath got Montana on the board in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to right-center.

It was her 10th home run of the season, her seventh home run in 10 games, the 35th of her career.

Montana tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Jaxie Klucewich, but that would be the final deadlock of the game.

The Bengals put up two in the third, two more in the fourth and one in the sixth to build a 7-3 lead.

Montana, which left 13 runners on base, at least one each inning, stranded two in the first, three in the third, two in the fifth and three in the sixth, the same inning the Grizzlies pulled within a run.

Montana scored twice on wild pitches by ISU starter Haley Rainey in the bottom of the sixth and pulled within 7-6 on an RBI single by Elise Ontiveros, but Rainey got out of it with a based-loaded strikeout.

The Grizzlies put the potential tying run on base with one out in the bottom of the seventh when Cami Sellers singled to right.

McGrath, who was 3 for 3 at that point, had a deep fly out down the right-field line for the second out and Presley Jantzi lined out to second for the game's final out.

Rainey, who struck out eight, Montana's third-highest total of the season, got the win to improve to 11-5. Allie Brock (9-10) took the loss for the Grizzlies.

After ripping a solo home run in the first, McGrath had a hard-hit double to right-center in the third and a sharply hit single to left in the fourth before drawing a walk in the sixth.

It was her fourth consecutive multiple-hit game, her 14th of the season, the 52nd of her career.

Ontiveros had a career-high three hits for her third multiple-hit effort in four games.

Idaho State scored three runs in the top of the first in Game 2 and never looked back. The Bengals put up four runs in the third, three in the sixth and pounded out six extra-base hits.

Montana managed just four hits, two coming off the bat of Julie Phelps, who had the Grizzlies' only RBI, as Emma McMurray won her fifth game of the season. Dana Butterfield (7-8) took the loss.

The teams will wrap up their series on Saturday with a game at 1 p.m.