Griz wrap up fall with another sweep - University of Montana Athletics

Sunday, October 25

Missoula, Mont.

Noon

Montana

Carroll (DH)

The University of Montana Grizzlies softball team takes on Carroll College in an exaction game, at the University of Montana, in Missoula.

Photo by: Kassidy Gerono/University of Montana

10/25/2026 7:44:00 PM | Softball

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team wrapped up its fall exhibition schedule with a doubleheader sweep of Carroll on Sunday afternoon at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula.

Montana won by scores of 15-4 and 20-4, with the Grizzlies batting .446 across the two games. All 15 players who had an at-bat had at least one hit, with 10 finishing with multiple hits.

Montana hit five more home runs to up its eight-game fall total to 17. The Grizzlies out-scored their opponents 129-34 and pounded out 51 extra-base hits.

"Our expectation was to dominate the fall," said coach Stef Ewing. "That's a pretty hard thing to achieve, but there is nothing I can't ask this group to do that they don't rise to the occasion to do."

Montana had just one inning out of 12 on Sunday when the Grizzlies did not score. Game 2 had a line score of 8, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4. Ten of the team's 17 hits in the second game went for extra bases.

"We had a lot of quality at-bats and stayed disciplined in the box. We were better at not swinging at bad pitches today," said Ewing.

The eight runs allowed on Sunday may look like a red flag, but the Saints began a majority of the innings with multiple runners on base as both teams used the doubleheader to work on pressure situations.

All eight runs Carroll scored were unearned, the only runners crossing home plate those who began the inning already on base.

Three Montana pitchers had 18 strikeouts over 14 innings pitched with only one walk issued.

For the fall, the team's three healthy pitchers, Carah Sweet, Kaiana Kong and Makenna Burton, each had an ERA under 3.00.

"The biggest improvement on this team, by far, is the pitching staff," said Ewing. "They had a really good fall."

Kong pitched the first five innings of Game 1, with Burton throwing the last two. In Game 2, it was Sweet going five innings, Burton two.

"Our pitchers were phenomenal today," said Ewing. "We put pressure on them by starting every inning with runners on base. They still did their jobs and made good pitches."

Mackenzie Bekofsky and Anna Cockhill both hit home runs in the first three innings of Game 1 to get Montana rolling early. Cockhill drove in three, Kaci Kiblen scored three runs.

In Game 2, Montana led 7-0 in the bottom of the first before Carroll recorded an out, with Mya Ward and JoJo Christiaens both hitting home runs.

Christiaens hit another home run in the bottom of the second, and Montana played error-free softball across 14 innings of defense, most of it with runners on base.

"I challenged the team that we needed to play better defense and we definitely did," said Ewing. "Our communication was better.

"I love that I can press our team, say we need to be better at these couple things and it shows up the next day. Great teams are able to do that."

Montana batted .468 for the fall, with last season's Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year, Kailee Mejia, leading the way.

Mejia had 11 hits in 14 at-bats, hitting four doubles, three home runs and leading the team with 13 RBIs.

Jessica Cherms was 8 for 11 (.727), Montana had eight players who had 11 or more at-bats who hit .500 or better. Christiaens drove in 12, freshman Bobbi Cambra 11, Ward 10.

Montana won't play again until it's for real, when the season opens in early February.

"It's going to make for a really exciting spring," said Ewing. "I think we're going to have a dangerous lineup.

"If we play good defense and our pitchers do what they're doing, we're going to be in a position to win a lot of ball games."