Hornets open series with two wins

Friday, April 7

Missoula, Mont.

2:30 PM

Montana

7-27, 1-3

Sacramento State

19-12, 3-1

Sacramento State

Montana

Photo by: UM Photo / Ridley Hudson

4/7/2023 9:35:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team dropped a pair of results to Big Sky Conference leader Sacramento State on Friday afternoon as the teams' three-game series opened at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula.

Marissa Bertuccio, last year's Big Sky Pitcher of the Year, threw a five-hit complete game in the opener as the Hornets, who hit three home runs, won 6-0.

The teams were deadlocked at 2-2 in Game 2 entering the top of the seventh before Amber Rodriguez hit a pinch-hit, two-out, three-run home run as the Hornets pulled out a 5-2 victory.

Caroline Evans, who struck out six over six innings, picked up the win in a battle against Griz starter Maggie Joseph, who took the loss. Bertuccio threw the seventh for her first save of the season.

If Game 1 had a one-sided final score, it hinged on a tense moment in the bottom of the third.

After Lewa Day and Carley Morfey hit solo home runs in the top half of the inning to give Sacramento State a 2-0 lead, Montana loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half against Bertuccio.

Presley Jantzi led off with an infield single, and Jaxie Klucewich and Julie Phelps followed with one-out singles to load the bases, but a pair of fielder's choices ended the threat.

Montana had just two more hits the rest of the game.

The Hornets went up 3-0 in the fourth, 5-0 in the sixth on Day's second home run of the game.

Allie Brock got the start for Montana and went 4 1/3 innings. Grace Haegele threw the final 2 2/3 innings.

If Game 1 swung on missed chances in the bottom of the third, Montana had opportunities throughout in Game 2 against Evans.

The Grizzlies left two on in the first, the bases loaded in the third and one on in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings in a tight game.

Montana's lone runs on Friday came on a Kelly Sweyer RBI single in the third and a Grace Hardy RBI double in the sixth.

"Those are moments every athlete loves and plays for. We need to be able to step up and push through in those opportunities," said coach Melanie Meuchel.

"We've given ourselves opportunities, but we haven't punched through."

Sweyer's RBI single cut Sacramento State's lead in the third to 2-1. After Joseph kept the Hornets off the scoreboard in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, Hardy tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth when she hit a line drive over the head of the right fielder that scored Jantzi from first.

"We had Kelly come through in that spot and then Grace did, but we also had runners on and we didn't put it away when we could have," said Meuchel. "That's the part we need to step up as a team and be able to do."

Facing a team that had just put up six runs in the opener and blasted three home runs, Joseph had her best outing as Grizzly in Game 2.

She scattered seven hits through the first six innings, allowing a run in the second, another in the third.

"That's Maggie Joseph," said Meuchel. "Not a lot sits in front of her that she's intimidated by. She's willing to compete, and she's willing to go in and give her full effort. She gave that to us today."

She got Morfey to fly out to right leading off the seventh but then walked the next batter on four pitches, which sparked the Hornets' late-game dramatics.

A single put two runners on, and Montana made a key defensive play when a ground ball with runners on second and third went from Kendall Curtis at second to Hardy to Stockton to Hardy to Jablonski to cut down the lead runner between third and home.

The other Hornets moved up to second and third on the play, which is where they were when Rodriguez walked up to the plate as a pinch hitter with two outs.

Joseph got ahead in the count 1-2 but Rodrigues hit the next pitch over the fence in center for what would be the game-winning hit.

"Maggie kept us in the game. She gave us a chance for a long time," said Meuchel. "She pitched a well-thought game. She just got caught by a pitch at the very end."

Bertuccio hit the first batter she faced in the bottom of the seventh but then had three straight strikeouts to end it.

The teams will wrap up their series with the finale at 1 p.m. on Saturday.