Bears sweep Saturday doubleheader

Saturday, April 6

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

14-21, 0-4

Northern Colorado

17-19, 2-2

Northern Colorado

Montana

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/ University of Mo

4/6/2024 7:26:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

Montana dropped both games of a doubleheader on Saturday as the Grizzlies opened a three-game series against Northern Colorado at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula.

The Bears (18-19, 3-2 BSC) won by scores of 5-1 and 13-2, hitting four home runs and riding the solid pitching of Erin Caviness and Isabelle DiNapoli to the Saturday sweep.

Montana (14-22, 0-5 BSC) got to Caviness early in Game 1. Leadoff batter Presley Jantzi was hit by a pitch and Riley Peschek followed with an RBI double, giving the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead in the first.

Caviness, first-team All-Big Sky Conference last season, would only allow one more hit as she pitched her 12th complete game of the season. She struck out seven.

Montana starter Emmalyn Brinka mostly matched Caviness for the first half of the game, allowing two hits through four innings and keeping the Bears off the scoreboard.

Northern Colorado took its first lead with a three-run home run off Brinka in the fifth. The Bears added solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings off Rylee Rehbein.

Kelly Sweyer's single through the left side in the bottom of the sixth was Montana's only other hit after Peschek's double in the first.

In Game 2, the teams traded first-inning runs, the Grizzlies getting on the board when Jantzi led off with an infield single and later scored on a Sweyer sacrifice fly.

After a scoreless second, Northern Colorado scored five in the third, four in the fourth and three in the fifth to collect the run-rule victory.

It was the most runs ever scored by the Bears against the Grizzlies in the teams' 30-game history and Northern Colorado's largest margin of victory over Montana.

UNC centerfielder Nya Chacon hit a grand slam in the third, had a two-run single in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth to finish with seven RBIs.

Montana picked up its second run in the fourth. Sweyer singled to left and Hannah Jablonski followed with an RBI double to the fence in center that scored pinch runner Breiana Bonkavich.

Jantzi and Jablonski both had two hits as the Grizzlies were limited to seven hits by DiNapoli, who had a 67-pitch complete game, her eighth of the season.

Jantzi's season batting average sits at .425 after going 2 for 4 in the doubleheader.

Grace Haegele got the start for Montana and pitched through Chacon's grand slam. Nyeala Herndon, making her first appearance since Feb. 23, pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief, as did Brinka.

The teams will close out the series with a game at noon on Sunday.