Griz host Bengals as Big Sky schedule reaches midpoint

The Montana softball team will continue its Big Sky Conference schedule and 13-game home stand this weekend when it hosts Idaho State for a three-game series at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula.

The Grizzlies (14-23, 0-6 BSC) and Bengals (18-20, 0-3 BSC) will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 2:30 p.m., a single game on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.

Both teams are looking for their first league victory, Montana after 0-3 series against Weber State and Northern Colorado, Idaho State after a winless series against Portland State and a cancelation of its home series against Sacramento State last weekend.

Montana will play a doubleheader against Carroll on Tuesday, then wrap up its home stand with a series against Portland State on Saturday and Sunday, April 20-21.

The Grizzlies will close out their Big Sky schedule with a series at Sacramento State at the end of April. The Big Sky tournament opens on Wednesday, May 8, in Pocatello, Idaho.

Game day happenings: Friday is Cancer Awareness Day at Grizzly Softball Field. Saturday is Youth Day. Any kids 8th grade and younger who wear a sports jersey to the game will get in free.

Coverage: Montana's series against Idaho State will stream on ESPN+ with Ace Sauerwein calling the action.

What's at stake (Montana): The Grizzlies are seeking their first Big Sky win of the season and will be trying to snap a streak of 11 consecutive Big Sky series losses.

Montana's last series win was a 3-0 sweep at Southern Utah in early April 2022. The Grizzlies have won just two of their last 18 Big Sky series dating back to 2021.

Through six league games this season, Montana has been outscored 49-19. Weber State and Northern Colorado batted .363 against the Grizzlies, leaving Montana with a six-game league ERA of 9.00.

What's at stake (Idaho State): The Bengals made a surprising run to a share of the Big Sky regular-season title last spring and lost to Northern Colorado in the tournament championship series.

Idaho State was picked first in this year's preseason poll and raced out to a 10-1 start to the season.

The Bengals were scheduled to host Portland State in Pocatello two weekends ago, but their home field was unplayable, sending the series across southern Idaho to Nampa and Boise, where the Vikings won all three games, outscoring ISU 19-9.

Three more home games against Sacramento State last weekend in Pocatello were weathered out, meaning Friday's doubleheader will be Idaho State's first games since March 30 as the Bengals try to play their way back into the Big Sky title chase.

Idaho State, which hosts the Big Sky tournament next month, still has not played a home game this season.

At a glance (Montana): After going 0-3 to open their league schedule at Weber State two weekends ago, the Grizzlies returned home and dropped three games to Northern Colorado over the weekend.

Montana was held to one run and two hits in the opener on Saturday against Northern Colorado ace Erin Caviness in a 5-1 loss.

In the second game on Saturday, the Bears scored five runs in the third, four in the fourth and three in the fifth to pull away for a 13-2 five-inning victory behind the pitching of Isabelle DiNapoli.

The Bears never trailed in the series finale on Sunday, building an 11-3 lead by the top of the fourth inning.

The Grizzlies scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a Jessica Stanfield double to extend the game, then pulled within 11-7, which would be the final score, on solo home runs by Kynzie Mohl and Riley Peschek in the bottom of the sixth.

The Bears batted .360 in the series, with seven doubles and five home runs. The Grizzlies had a series ERA of 9.58.

Kelly Sweyer led Montana with four hits in the series. Sweyer, Peschek and Stanfield all had two RBIs, accounting for six of the Grizzlies' eight RBIs in the three games.

Rylee Rehbein, Emmalyn Brinka and Grace Haegele each had a loss in the series as Montana finished with a WHIP of 2.42 for the three games.

For the season, Montana has allowed 77 more hits than any other Big Sky pitching staff, 52 more runs.

At a glance (Idaho State): The Bengals raced out to a 10-1 start to the season and have mostly been playing up to their preseason accolades. They have five run-rule victories and 12 of their 20 losses have come by three runs or less.

Idaho State pairs a solid pitching staff (3.68 ERA) with the Big Sky's most powerful offense. The Bengals lead the league with 25 home runs and in slugging percentage (.415), and have stolen 61 bases, 23 more than any other Big Sky team, on 66 attempts to rank in the top 50 in the nation.

Junior Gracie Smith is batting .403 and is one of four Idaho State players with 20 or more RBIs on the season. Ava Brown, first-team All-Big Sky last season and the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, is batting .250 and has six home runs.

Outfielder Alyssa Yee, catcher Olivia Robinson and first baseman Angelica Cano rank second, third and fourth, respectively, on the team in batting average behind Smith. All three were second-team All-Big Sky last season.

Freshman pitcher Marley Goluskin is 6-6 with a 2.64 ERA that ranks behind only Sacramento State's Marissa Bertuccio (1.75) and Northern Colorado's Erin Caviness (2.05) and Isabelle DiNapoli (2.48).

Taylor Fitzgerald, a transfer from UC Davis, is 6-7 with a 3.28 ERA.

Third-year coach Andrew Rich was the Big Sky Coach of the Year last season.

Series history: Montana holds a 14-12 all-time advantage over Idaho State, through the Bengals have taken three of the teams' last four series, including last year when ISU won two of three games in Pocatello.

The Grizzlies are 5-7 at home against the Bengals, with Idaho State taking three of the four series the teams have played at Grizzly Softball Field.

Game notes:

* Montana is 8-6 at home this season, 91-57 all-time at Grizzly Softball Field. … Montana has gone 6-21 in its last nine Big Sky series at Grizzly Softball Field.

* The Grizzlies rank fifth out of six Big Sky teams in batting average (.268). Montana leads the Big Sky in extra-base hits with 98, 74 doubles, 10 triples and 14 home runs.

* Montana continues to lead the nation in doubles per game (2.00). Presley Jantzi, Hannah Jablonski and Riley Peschek each has 12 doubles to rank in a tie for 35th nationally.

* Jantzi ranks 32nd nationally with 51 hits. Her batting average of .411 ranks third in the Big Sky, 63rd nationally.

* Montana's ERA of 5.15 ranks last in the Big Sky by more than a run per game, 256th nationally out of 296 teams in the national statistics.

* Idaho State's Gracie Smith and Montana's Presley Jantzi are tied for the Big Sky lead in hits with 51.

* Jantzi ranks second in the Big Sky in on-base percentage (.471), Riley Peschek ranks third in slugging percentage (.638).

* Peschek's solo home run on Sunday against Northern Colorado was her team-leading fourth of the season. It gave Peschek her team-leading 23rd RBI.

* Montana had two home runs in Sunday's game, the Grizzlies' third two-home run game of the season.

* Jantzi's 21-game streak of reaching base came to an end on Sunday. Her streak tied for the sixth longest in program history.

* Idaho State has a national RPI of 198. Montana is 286 out of 307 Division I programs. Other Big Sky teams: Sacramento State (81), Weber State (116), Northern Colorado (172) and Portland State (212).

Upcoming: Montana will host Carroll on Tuesday in a doubleheader that starts at 2:30 p.m.

Griz host Bengals as Big Sky schedule reaches midpoint

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Players Mentioned

Emmalyn Brinka

Grace Haegele

Hannah Jablonski

Presley Jantzi

Kynzie Mohl

Riley Peschek

Rylee Rehbein

Jessica Stanfield

Kelly Sweyer

University of Montana Athletics