Montana picks up first Big Sky win

Saturday, April 20

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

16-27, 0-10

Portland State

17-19, 6-3

Portland State

Montana

Photo by: Coral Scoles-Coburn/University of Montana

4/20/2024 8:58:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

Needing someone to step up after dropping the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader to Portland State at Grizzly Softball Field, Montana got it from both Grace Haegele and Kynzie Mohl.

After the Vikings won the opener 9-3, forcing three Griz pitchers to throw 171 pitches over seven innings, Haegele held Portland State in check as Montana won Game 2 by a score of 9-1.

With Haegele limiting the Vikings to four hits over five innings, Mohl supplied the power, hitting a three-run home run in Montana's five-run third and a bases-loaded triple in the Grizzlies' four-run fourth.

The five-inning run-rule win gave the Grizzlies (17-27, 1-10 BSC) their first Big Sky Conference victory of the season.

"Really proud of our team's overall fight and approach to today," said coach Melanie Meuchel. "It shows us what we're capable of because we've seen it. It's a spot for us to jump onto."

Mohl joins elite company with her six RBIs, the most for a Montana hitter since 2017.

Lexie Brenneis set the program record of seven against North Dakota in 2015. Delene Colburn drove in six on two occasions in 2017, Sydney Stites did it once that season. That's the list.

"We've worked really hard at putting all the aspects together in one game," said Meuchel. "Sometimes we've been bit by an inning but we were the one putting the pressure on in Game 2.

"People in front of Kynzie gave her the opportunity, then she stepped up and answered two times. It gave us so much belief and trust in what we've been doing."

The Vikings (17-20, 6-4 BSC) scored three times in the top of the first in Game 1 and never trailed. They went up 5-1 in the fourth and added four runs in the seventh.

Montana scored an unearned run off PSU starter Grace Kimball in the bottom of the first, then added two more in the bottom of the fourth, scoring twice on four two-out hits.

Kimball scatted eight hits over seven innings to pick up her 11th victory of the season.

After Montana was forced to throw 171 pitches in Game 1, Haegele set the tone from the start in Game 2, getting through the top of the first on 14 pitches.

For as one-sided as the final score was, however, the game could have tilted in Portland State's favor in the top of the third.

After the Vikings went up 1-0, they loaded the bases with two outs against Haegele, who got out of the jam when Jocelyn Eisen fielded a sharply hit ball to third and stepped on the bag for the third out.

Montana quickly answered Portland State's first run of the game.

Riley Peschek tied it in the bottom of the third with an RBI single to center. One batter later, Hannah Jablonski gave Montana its first lead of the day, 2-1, with an RBI double to right.

Two batters later, Mohl made it 5-1 with a three-run home run, her third of the season, the fifth of her career. Her no-doubt blast to left doubled as a pressure release.

"It really set us into ourselves and allowed us to have fun and still get the job done," she said.

Montana blew the game open in the fourth, scoring four times on two hits and two hit batters. Mohl came to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, and immediately fell into a 0-2 hole.

"My problem is when I get down in the count, I tend to tense up, so I kept telling myself to stay loose, stay calm," she said.

She worked the count full, then hit a deep fly ball to the fence in left-center that Portland State couldn't track down.

Just like that, Mohl had a triple, six RBIs and Montana had a 9-1 lead, its largest against a Division I opponent since March 22.

Given all the run support she needed, Haegele worked a quick 1-2-3 top of the fifth to end it, her fourth complete game of the season, her first against a Division I opponent in more than two months.

"Grace was phenomenal, she was determined," said Meuchel. "She came out with the mindset that she knew what she wanted to go with and how to attack, and that's exactly what she did.

"Our defense played really well behind her and gave us a chance to put it all together."

Peschek had three hits in the doubleheader and drove in three, Presley Jantzi went 3 for 7 to keep her season average at .400, and Jablonski had two doubles, giving her 15 on the season.

Only four players in program history – Colburn, Stites, Brenneis and Cami Sellers – have had more doubles in a season than Jablonski has this spring.

The teams will play the series finale at noon on Sunday as Montana tries to pick up its first Big Sky series win since 2022. Sunday's game also will double as Senior Day.