Griz close Champions Classic with shutout victory

Sunday, March 2

Northridge, Calif.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

5-15

Fairleigh Dickinson

4-9

Fairleigh Dickinson

Montana

3/2/2025 3:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team wrapped up play at the CSUN Champions Classic with a 6-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday at Matador Diamond in Northridge, Calif.

It was the Grizzlies' first shutout of the season, their first in more than a year against a Division I opponent and gave them multiple tournament wins for the first time this season.

Montana (5-15) also defeated the Knights (4-9) on Friday.

Brianna Lachermeier collected her first win as a Grizzly on Friday and got the start again on Sunday, and she was even better in her second appearance against the Knights.

She allowed four hits over five innings, facing 21 batters while throwing 78 pitches. She was replaced in the fifth by Siona Halwani, who got the final six outs for Montana.

"She's just throwing strikes and getting mishit contact. She has really owned the approach that she doesn't have to be perfect," said coach Stef Ewing of Lachermeier.

"She's trusting herself and going out there and getting the job done. That's what we've told everybody. Do your job and the person next to you will do her job and that makes everybody's job easier."

Lachermeier sliced her ERA from 9.55 before the tournament to 5.71 as Montana had a five-game team ERA at the Champions Classic of 3.86.

Montana's pitchers got all the run support they would need when the Grizzlies opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. They added three in the second and one run in the fifth and sixth innings.

Five players drove in runs, five players scored runs, with Breiana Bonkavich going 2 for 2 with two runs scored, her second career multi-hit game.

"We had some new people step up and own their moments," said Ewing. "When you're able to put some runs across, it takes some pressure off the pitchers."

Applying the pressure to FDU's pitchers was freshman Anna Cockhill, who got on three times and stole a base each time, swiping third in the sixth inning.

Her three steals were the most for a Grizzly since 2015 and one off the single-game program record. She is 12 for 13 this season, already closing in on Gabby Martinez's program record of 18 from 2015.

Cockhill led off the bottom of the first with a walk, stole second, then scored on a Kynzie Mohl RBI single up the middle, Mohl's first RBI of the season.

Montana built a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Jocelyn Eisen, Makena Strong and Bonkavich hit consecutive doubles, with Cockhill later making it 4-0 with an RBI single.

Sveva Sweeney made it 5-0 in the fifth when she led off with a single and scored on a fielder's choice. Bonkavich scored in the sixth for the game's final run.

"We talked about our situational hitting and having productive at-bats with runners on and moving runners, and we were able to do it this game," said Ewing.

"We capitalized on the opportunities we had and kept putting pressure on them and things went our way. You keep playing the game the right way and things are going to go your way."

Montana will play Washington (15-7), which is on a nine-game winning streak, twice next weekend at the Black and Orange Classic in Pocatello, Idaho, Boise State (15-5) once.