Griz hang tough against conference favorites

Saturday, February 8

Phoenix, Ariz.

2:30 PM

Montana

1-2

Wichita State

4-0

Montana

Wichita State

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

2/8/2025 8:46:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

Saturdays in early February don't get much more challenging than the schedule the Montana softball team faced at the GCU Kickoff Classic in Phoenix, the Grizzlies taking on a pair of preseason conference favorites in back-to-back games.

Facing Wichita State of the American Athletic Conference and later Grand Canyon of the Western Athletic Conference, the Grizzlies didn't win either game but had a successful Saturday at GCU Softball Stadium nonetheless.

Montana was in a one-run game against the now 4-0 Shockers in the bottom of the fifth before falling 8-1 and lost 3-1 against the now 4-1 Lopes, the game ending with two runners on base and the Grizzlies' most dangerous hitter and potential go-ahead run at the plate.

"One of those days where the scores were not at all indicative of how well we played," said first-year coach Stef Ewing. "We believe that as long as we have a chance to swing the bats, we are in every single game."

Wichita State outscored its first three opponents of the season, including Grand Canyon, 20-5 before facing Montana.

Starter Siona Halwani held the Shockers to two runs on four hits through the first four innings, the Grizzlies scoring their run in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly to center by Presley Jantzi with the bases loaded.

"Through five innings, we were right in it," said Ewing. "We were all over them, barreling the ball, lining out left and right."

Wichita State scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the fifth to make it 4-1, then added four runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth.

Grace Hardy, making her second appearance of the tournament, relieved Halwani with two outs in the sixth and ended the inning with a swinging strikeout with the bases loaded.

Montana loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh but couldn't add any more runs.

Later, facing a Grand Canyon team that had outscored Montana 37-4 over their previous four match-ups, the Grizzlies struck first, going up 1-0 in the top of the first.

Jantzi had a one-out single to right, Sveva Sweeney a two-out single to right-center. Madison Tarrant followed with an RBI single up the middle.

Like she did in her collegiate debut on Friday against Northern Illinois, freshman Cameryn Ortega gave up a run before recording an out in the first inning, but it hardly ruffled her.

She gave up a sacrifice fly in the second and later an unearned run in the inning as Grand Canyon built a 3-1 lead after two.

Ortega allowed just one hit over Grand Canyon's final four innings of at-bats, with no Lopes reaching second base.

"She did a great job of mixing the ball around and keeping them off-balance and hitting her spots," said Ewing. "She's a gamer. The later she goes, the better she gets.

"Late in the game, when they were seeing her for the third time, that's the hardest time to get people out and she did a great job."

After pounding out three hits in the top of the first inning, Montana had just two more over the next four innings before coming to life late in the game.

The Grizzlies put two on with nobody out in the top of the sixth but didn't score.

In the top of the seventh, Grace Lopez came through with a two-out infield single before Anna Cockhill was hit by a pitch, bringing Jantzi to the plate with two on.

She had a quality at-bat before ultimately grounding out to first. She is still hitting .500 through the season's first four games.

"We had the situation we wanted, with Presley up with two on. She had a great battle," said Ewing. "They won that battle, but for us to be in those situations and believe and know we can do it and are right there, huge steps forward for us."

Montana will get another chance at Grand Canyon on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. The game will be available on ESPN+.