Grizzlies fall to Ospreys, Lopes as Purple Classic concludes

Sunday, February 22

Phoenix, Ariz.

9 AM

Montana

4-10

North Florida

14-5

North Florida

Montana

Grizzlies fall to Ospreys, Lopes as Purple Classic concludes

2/22/2026 5:15:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team dropped games to North Florida and Grand Canyon on Sunday as GCU's Purple Classic came to an end in Phoenix.

The Grizzlies lost 7-2 to the Ospreys, then fell 8-0 to the Lopes in five innings for the second time in three days.

North Florida improved to 14-5 on the season, Grand Canyon remained perfect at 16-0. Montana dropped to 4-11.

The Grizzlies batted .170 over five games and were limited to six runs as all five of their opponents got quality starts from five pitchers who ate up 27 2/3 of the 31 innings thrown with Montana at the plate.

"We had some teams that had some really good pitching performances and we struggled offensively," said coach Stef Ewing, whose team went 7 for 42 with runners on base.

"We had multiple opportunities for someone to have a big moment and come through. All weekend we really struggled with our situational hitting to move runners effectively.

"When you're not able to move runners and have some situational hits and you're chasing three or four runs, it feels like you're chasing even more."

North Florida had a four-run second inning in the early game on Sunday, Grand Canyon had a six-run bottom of the fourth to break open what had been a tight game through three and a half innings.

Montana's five opponents scored 36 runs over three days, those runs coming in chunks, in 13 innings. The Grizzlies threw 17 scoreless innings.

"We had moments when our pitchers were doing well, then some moments when we gave up some big innings," said Ewing.

In Sunday's opener, the Ospreys scored four in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth to build a 7-0 lead.

Montana's two runs came in the bottom of the sixth when Mackenzie Bekofsky drove a pinch-hit double to right-center to score a pair.

Grace Lopez and Chloe Saxton both had two hits against North Florida. Bekofsky had the team's only other hit.

Montana had the first base-runner of the game against Grand Canyon, when Jessica Cherms singled up the middle in the top of the second.

Grand Canyon would score the game's first run on a lead-off home run by Jada Cooper in the bottom half of the inning.

Danielle Biehl had what would be Montana's only other hit when she sliced a double down the left-field line with one out in the third.

Cameryn Ortega got the start and took a 1-0 game to the bottom of the fourth. That's when the Lopes put up six runs on three hits, three walks and a hit batter.

Grand Canyon walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.

"We're a young team that's confident but we have to learn that we've got to be consistent. Our highs area little too high, our lows are a little too low," said Ewing.

"We're certainly a team that is capable. We need to stay consistent and do the things we need to do."

Montana will be off next weekend and won't play again until a four-game series at Seattle from March 6-8.

The Grizzlies will only play doubleheaders or multiple-game series for the remainder of the regular season.

"We have a week to regroup, then we get ready for the next phase of our season, when we're not playing four different teams in a weekend," said Ewing.

"We've got to have a good week and a half of practice and get on the bus for Seattle and continue moving things in the right direction."