Griz host Hornets in Big Sky home series

The Montana softball team, coming off a four-game road trip to the state of Oregon, will play its first Big Sky Conference home series of the season when it hosts Sacramento State this week.

The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2:30 p.m. at Grizzly Softball Field, a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Montana won't play in Missoula again until wrapping up its Big Sky schedule with a series against Weber State on Friday and Saturday, April 28-29.

The Grizzlies will play upcoming road series at Northern Colorado (April 14-15) and Idaho State (April 21-22).

Coverage: All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ with Riley Corcoran and Ace Sauerwein calling the action.

At a glance (Montana): The Grizzlies went 1-3 on their recent road trip, going 1-2 to open league at Portland State, then falling to No. 18 Oregon on Monday.

Montana's series at Portland State opened with the Vikings winning a pair of run-rule games on Saturday, 12-4 and 9-1. Both games ended on walk-off singles in the bottom of the fifth.

The Grizzlies fell behind 11-0 after three innings in the opener before scoring twice in the top of the fourth, twice more in the fifth.

Julie Phelps had a two-out, two-run double in the fourth, her first hit since March 11. Riley Stockton had an RBI double, Chloë Saxton an RBI single in the fifth.

In Saturday's second game, Portland State led 8-0 after four innings before Montana scored on a pinch-hit home run by Kynzie Mohl in the top of the fifth. It was Mohl's first career home run.

Sunday's finale was delayed more than three hours by rain and required a change of fields. Despite all the waiting and uncertainty, Montana locked down Portland State for a 2-1 win.

Allie Brock threw a three-hitter and her 18th complete game on 101 pitches. The only run she allowed was unearned, a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth that tied the game at 1-1.

Montana went up 1-0 in the top of the first on a bases-loaded, two-out walk drawn by Hannah Jablonski, PSU starter Annie Lemos's fourth walk of the inning.

The game was tied going into the top of the sixth when Montana scored the go-ahead run on a two-out, pinch-hit single by Kelly Sweyer.

Portland State had the potential tying run on second base with one out in the sixth and nobody out in the seventh, but Brock ended both of Portland State's opportunities.

Montana headed to Eugene on Sunday evening for a game against the No. 18 Ducks on Monday afternoon.

Brock again got the start, her third of the four-game road trip. She gave up two in the first, another in the second but had Montana in a 3-0 game going into the bottom of the fifth.

After setting down the first two batters, Brock gave up a single, a double and a two-run single before she was replaced by Maggie Joseph.

Oregon added four more runs on five hits in the bottom of the sixth, walking it off on a bases-loaded, two-out infield single to hand Montana its 12th run-rule loss of the season.

Montana's lone run came in the top of the sixth on a one-out, solo home run by Kendall Curtis, her third of the season, the sixth of her career.

It was Montana's first home run in seven meetings with the Ducks and only the Grizzlies' second run scored. The loss dropped Montana to 1-18 all-time against ranked opponents.

Portland State and Oregon combined to go 34 for 93 (.366) at the plate in the four games. Montana went 17 for 87 (.195).

At a glance (Sacramento State): The Hornets went 2-1 at home last weekend against Northern Colorado and sit atop the Big Sky standings with Portland State.

At 18-12 overall, Sacramento State is the only Big Sky team above .500. Every other league team is at least six games under .500.

The Hornets sit atop the Big Sky because they have the league's top pitching staff, which owns a 3.03 ERA, 1.6 runs per game better than Northern Colorado, which ranks second at 4.63.

Headlining the staff is senior Marissa Bertuccio, a five-time Big Sky Pitcher of the Week this season, a 15-time winner for her career.

Last season's Big Sky Pitcher of the Year and third-team all-Pacific Region selection is 10-5 with a 1.87 ERA, which ranks 93rd nationally.

She has made 14 starts, 17 appearances overall, and thrown nine complete games while holding opponents to a .247 batting average. She has struck out 70 in 93 2/3 innings while walking only 15.

Caroline Evans is 2-3 with a 1.81 ERA, Savannah Wahl is 4-3 after shutting out then 24-6 Nevada on Tuesday in Sacramento, 4-0.

The Hornets also lead the Big Sky in batting average at .291, with sophomore Gwen Ludwig ranking second in the Big Sky at .373.

Senior third baseman Lewa Day, first-team All-Big Sky last season, is batting .326 and leads the league in RBIs with 30. She is tied for second in home runs with five.

Senior Carley Morfey, second-team All-Big Sky last season, is batting .326.

Sacramento State gets three of its five Big Sky series this spring at home, hosting Northern Colorado, Weber State and Idaho State. The Hornets will play a big series at Portland State in two weekends.

Bertuccio led Sacramento State to a series win over Northern Colorado last weekend. Starting Games 1 and 3, Bertuccio went 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA. She allowed 10 hits over 14 innings with 16 strikeouts.

The Bears defeated the Hornets in the second game of the series, scoring three runs in the top of the first in a 3-0 victory against Evans.

Sacramento State went 30-25 last season and finished second behind Weber State at 12-6 in league.

The Hornets are coached by Lori Perez, the second-winningest coach in Big Sky history behind Weber State's Mary Kay Amicone. She coached Sacramento State to the 2018 NCAA tournament.

Series history:

* Montana is 6-22 all-time against Sacramento State. It's the most losses for the Grizzlies against any opponent in program history and the worst record, by a large percentage, against a Big Sky opponent.

* Montana is just 2-7 against Sacramento State in Missoula, without a win since 2018.

* In 16 of the teams' 28 previous matchups, Montana has scored three or fewer runs against a program that has traditionally been strong at the pitcher position.

* Sacramento State has won the teams' last four matchups, all coming last season, three at Sacramento, one at Ogden, Utah, at the Big Sky tournament, with the Hornets outscoring the Grizzlies 24-6.

Game notes:

* Montana is 1-5 against Sacramento State in games started by Bertuccio, winning behind Tristin Achenbach in the 2021 Big Sky tournament.

* In those six starts by Bertuccio, Montana has scored 16 runs in 41 innings.

* In the latest NCAA RPI, Sacramento State is 104, the highest in the Big Sky. Montana is 274 (out of 306), the lowest in the Big Sky.

* Out of 295 teams in the NCAA rankings (the RPI includes programs that are reclassifying to Division I, the national statistics don't), Montana ranks 295th in hit batters with 45.

* The Grizzlies rank in the bottom 10 percent in both batting average (.225, 270th) and ERA (6.60, 282nd).

* Sacramento State ranks 69th nationally in batting average, 106th in ERA. … The Hornets are 15-6 since opening the season 3-6 through the first two weekends of the season.

* Riley Stockton's six-game hitting streak came to an end against Oregon. It was the longest by a Montana player this season.

* Montana has allowed 121 runs through the first three innings in 33 games this season while scoring 34. Overall the Grizzlies have been outscored 229-87.

* Nine of Hannah Jablonski's 20 hits this season have gone for extra bases. She has five doubles, four home runs.

* Makena Strong, who hadn't played since Feb. 25, pinch ran in all three games at Portland State.

* Montana is 3-26 against Division I opponents, with all three wins coming in one-run games.

* Montana is 4-0 at Grizzly Softball Field this season, with four wins against NAIA Carroll and Providence.

Around the Big Sky Conference:

* Idaho State has not played a game since March 18. Weber State has not played since March 19. Their series last weekend, scheduled for Ogden, was snowed out.

* The teams will play a make-up series the first weekend in May, between the scheduled end of the regular season and the start of the Big Sky tournament in Ogden on Wednesday, May 10.

* This week's other series: Northern Colorado at Idaho State, Portland State at Weber State.

Upcoming: Montana will play a three-game series at Northern Colorado next week in Greeley.

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Players Mentioned

Allie Brock

Kendall Curtis

Hannah Jablonski

Maggie Joseph

Kynzie Mohl

Julie Phelps

Riley Stockton

Makena Strong

Kelly Sweyer

University of Montana Athletics