Griz open league, get shot at Ducks

The Montana softball team, which has won four in a row and six of its last nine, will open its Big Sky Conference schedule this weekend when it plays a three-game series at Portland State.

The Grizzlies (6-23) and Vikings (9-16) will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. (MT) on Field 4 at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex in Hillsboro, a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. (MT).

Montana will extend its stay in the state for an extra day and get a single-game matchup against No. 18 Oregon at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene on Monday at 1 p.m. (MT).

It will be the first matchup between the Grizzlies and Ducks since the 2021 season, Montana's first game against a ranked opponent since facing Arizona State early in the 2021 season.

The Grizzlies are 1-17 all-time against ranked opponents, their lone win coming at No. 23 Arkansas, 5-0 in 2020.

Montana will host a Big Sky series against Sacramento State (April 7-8), play at Northern Colorado (April 14-15) and Idaho State (April 21-22), then close the regular season at home against Weber State (April 28-29).

Coverage: All four games of the road trip will have streaming coverage, the Portland State games on ESPN+, the Oregon game on Oregon Live Stream.

At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies made it two doubleheader sweeps in nine days when they defeated NAIA Providence at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula on Tuesday, 6-4 and 5-1.

Montana opened its four-game home stand, which followed 25 games on the road to start the season, with a doubleheader sweep of NAIA Carroll, 9-1 and 7-5 on Monday, March 20.

The Grizzlies opened the year 0-20, with winless weekends through the season's first four tournaments. Montana broke through with a pair of wins against UNLV at the Seattle Invitational, then added four wins over the Saints and Argos.

Montana was batting .208 through 20 games. In going 6-3 in their last nine, the Grizzlies have upped their batting average to .229.

The team's ERA of 6.46 is the lowest it's been since the middle of February.

Montana ranks last in the Big Sky in batting average, No. 256 nationally out of 295 teams. The Grizzlies rank sixth out of seven teams in the Big Sky in ERA, No. 280 nationally.

In Game 1 against Providence on Tuesday, Montana jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one, then held on as the Argos cut their deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fourth.

Maggie Joseph, in relief of Allie Brock, got the win, her first as a Grizzly. She allowed one hit over the final 3 2/3 innings.

The Grizzlies got off to a quick start as well in Game 2, scoring twice in the bottom of the first, three times in the bottom of the second.

Freshman Grace Haegele made the runs stand up. She threw a four-hitter for her first seven-inning complete game of the season, her second complete game overall. She struck out a season-high six batters.

In Game 1, Riley Stockton went 3 for 4. She drove in three, scored twice. Her three hits and two runs were career highs. She matched a career high with three RBI.

In Game 2, Elise Ontiveros went 2 for 3 to up her batting average to a team-best .307. Grace Hardy also went 2 for 3 while hitting her second career home run.

At a glance (Portland State): The Vikings will enter this weekend's games on a three-game winning streak after picking up non-Division I victories against Saint Martin's and Pacific (Ore.) over the last week.

Tuesday's 10-2 victory over Pacific marked the return of senior star pitcher Olivia Grey, who was second-team NFCA all-region and first-team All-Big Sky last season.

Grey hadn't pitched since Feb. 26. In her absence, PSU went 2-6 with 77 runs allowed.

Grey is 5-4 on the season with a 3.06 ERA. The team's ERA of 7.49, not helped by a 0-3 trip to Boise State when the Broncos put up 47 runs, ranks No. 290 nationally out of 295 teams.

Portland State is batting .281 on the season, an average that ranks third in the Big Sky.

The Vikings, who won the Big Sky tournament title in 2021 behind Grey, the MVP, went 28-18 last season and finished third in the Big Sky at 10-5, then won a pair of games at the Big Sky tournament.

Portland State was picked third in this year's poll, with one first-place vote.

Series history: Montana has gone 18-7 against Portland State, the most wins the Grizzlies have against an opponent in program history.

Montana is 6-3 on PSU's home field, with a three-game sweep in 2021 in the teams' most recent series in Oregon. That's the only series the teams have played on Portland State's home field since 2017.

The teams played series in Missoula in 2018, '19 and '22, with the back half of the 2020 season canceled.

The teams played four games last season. Each of them was decided by one run, with two of the games going to extra innings.

Portland State went 2-1 in the regular-season series in Missoula. Montana won their tournament matchup in Ogden 5-4 in eight innings.

The Grizzlies rallied from a 4-2 deficit with two in the top of the fifth in that game, the winning run in the top of the eighth on a Presley Jantzi RBI double that scored Kylie Becker.

At a glance (Oregon): The Ducks, who dropped a home series against No. 3 UCLA in Eugene last weekend, will play a three-game rivalry series at Oregon State Friday through Sunday.

Oregon improved to 17-4 overall with an 8-6 win at No. 10 Washington to open its Pac-12 schedule but has gone 2-6 in league since then.

The Ducks went 1-2 at Washington, then 1-2 in home series against No. 7 Stanford and the No. 3 Bruins.

Given its success and strength of schedule, Oregon sits at No. 12 in the latest RPI, one of four Pac-12 teams in the top 12. The three teams ahead of them are the teams the Ducks opened league against.

Oregon is batting .304 with 79 extra-base hits. Its team ERA is 3.01. The Ducks rank 43rd nationally in batting average.

In common opponents with Montana this season, Oregon went 5-0 against UC Riverside, San Diego State, Fresno State and Seattle.

Series history: Montana is 0-6 all-time against Oregon, getting outscored 37-1.

The teams played two games at Hawaii in 2017, two games in Eugene in 2018 and two games at Grand Canyon in 2021.

Summary:

Earlier this month, Montana returned home from the San Diego Classic after a 16-0 loss to San Diego State, a defeat that had the Grizzlies sitting 0-20.

What a difference a few weeks makes.

The Grizzlies knocked off UNLV twice at the Seattle U Invitational for their first wins of the season, then swept doubleheaders against Carroll and Providence in their first home games of the season.

The last four victories have come against NAIA opponents but they'll do.

"There are a lot of things you get excited about in a year. Our program always gets excited for Big Sky Conference play and always gets excited to play at home," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"It was an opportunity for us to come home and play and put forward what we've learned along the way, what we've battled to try to win along the way, and we saw some successes with that."

First up as Montana begins league play will be Portland State, which has become an upper-level program within the Big Sky under seventh-year coach Meadow McWhorter.

The Vikings won the Big Sky tournament title in 2021, went 28-18 last year, 10-5 in league, and were one point behind co-favorites Weber State and Sacramento State in this year's preseason poll.

It's a matchup that has reached rivalry status, both because of the familiarity of some of the players on both teams and because of the teams' typical close outcomes.

"Portland State is a team we have a lot of respect for," said Meuchel. "The teams have a lot of former teammates through different club organizations.

"I think it will be a complete battle against them, and we're willing to take on that battle."

All four games that Montana and Portland State played last season were decided by one run, with two of the games going to extra innings. Six of the teams' last seven games have been decided by one run.

"That's what conference series are all about," said Meuchel. "It comes down to taking advantage of opportunities that are in front of you, being present and being ready for those opportunities."

After wrapping up the series against Portland State on Sunday afternoon, Montana will head south for Eugene and a single game against the Ducks at one of the nation's top softball facilities: Jane Sanders Stadium.

Oregon is 20-10, with seven of its losses coming to teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation.

In late February, at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., the Ducks had three straight wins over ranked opponents: 2-1 over No. 19 Northwestern, 8-0 over No. 3 Florida and 6-4 over No. 24 Missouri.

Oregon will get its own rivalry series this weekend, playing three games at Oregon State.

Montana will be seeking its second-ever victory over a ranked opponent, the first a 5-0 shutout of No. 23 Arkansas in Fayetteville back in 2020.

"Oregon is a program that is talked about at the national level and competes well," said Meuchel. "It will be great to go into their place at a Pac-12 stadium and get to see that environment.

"Getting those experiences are important but it's also knowing that any day you show up at the field, anyone can win. That's the mindset we'll have."

Montana notes:

* Montana is 0-15 against Pac-12 opponents, having faced Arizona (0-1), Arizona State (0-2), California (0-1), Oregon (0-6), Stanford (0-2), Utah (0-1) and Washington (0-2).

* The Grizzlies have four times faced Portland State ace Olivia Grey as a starter. Montana is 3-1 against the Vikings in those games, including last spring's Big Sky tournament win.

* Montana has won four straight games for just the second time in the last two seasons. The Grizzlies had a season-high winning streak of four games in 2022.

* Chloë Saxton has Montana's current longest hitting streak of four games. Kendall Curtis owns the team's highest this season of five.

* Montana has allowed 100 of its 198 runs given up this season in the first three innings of games. … The Grizzlies are still seeking their first shutout of 2023.

* Elise Ontiveros has had multiple hits in five of Montana's last nine games. She leads the Grizzlies with seven multiple-hit games this season. At .307, she is the only Grizzly batting better than .256.

* Riley Stockton had four RBI in Montana's four-game home stand to up her season total from one to five.

* Grace Hardy went 2 for 3 in Game 2 against Providence on Tuesday. It was the first multiple-hit game of her career.

* Freshman Breiana Bonkavich, in left field, made her first collegiate start in Game 1 against Providence. She had a hit, an RBI and a run scored.

* Grace Haegele has won three of her last four decisions while cutting her ERA to 7.36. … Chloë Saxton went 4 for 7 for Montana's four-game home stand.

Around the Big Sky:

* Big Sky RPIs entering league play: Sacramento State (125), Weber State (138), Northern Colorado (202), Portland State (204), Idaho State (244), Montana (267).

* Sacramento State, at 15-11, takes the Big Sky's only winning record into league. Northern Colorado, at 12-14, is the only other league team with 10 or more wins.

* The Hornets lead the Big Sky in both batting average (.286) and ERA (3.36).

* Weekend series: Montana at Portland State, Idaho State at Weber State, Northern Colorado at Sacramento State.

Upcoming: Montana will return home and host Sacramento State for a three-game series, with a doubleheader on Friday, April 7, a single game on Saturday, April 8.

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Players Mentioned

Kylie Becker

Breiana Bonkavich

Allie Brock

Kendall Curtis

Grace Haegele

Grace Hardy

Presley Jantzi

Maggie Joseph

Elise Ontiveros

Riley Stockton

University of Montana Athletics