Griz sweep Saturday doubleheader from Vikings

Saturday, March 28

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

9-22, 1-0

Portland State

10-20, 0-1

Portland State

Montana

Photo by: Casandra Evans/University of Montana

3/28/2026 8:16:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

With Montana's first win on Saturday, it collected its 100th all-time victory at Grizzly Softball Field, the team's home since the program began playing in 2015.

With the Grizzlies' second win on Saturday, they did something more significant than ceremonial: They put an end to a 19-series losing streak in Big Sky Conference play that dated back to 2022.

And if you thought that was a burden that Montana would carry into its league-opening series against Portland State, then you didn't watch the Grizzlies, who were loose and confident, play on Saturday.

Montana got a complete game from Carah Sweet in Game 1 and home runs from Grace Lopez and Anna Cockhill to win 5-0.

In Game 2, it was Mackenzie Bekofsky and Cockhill hitting home runs and three pitchers getting it done in the circle as Montana won 10-5.

The sweep extended the Grizzlies' winning streak to five games, their longest since 2021, which was also the last time Montana started 2-0 in league.

"This group believes and is so relaxed in the way they are playing right now. They are not feeling any pressure. They are just going out and playing the game," said coach Stef Ewing.

"They've found their groove and it's going. It's clicking on all sides, offense, defense, pitching. We'll take it."

Montana went with Sweet, a sophomore, in its Big Sky opener and she was fantastic, throwing Montana's first complete-game shutout against a Division I opponent in more than two years.

She allowed four hits over seven innings and struck out five while throwing just 89 pitches. She was efficient and in control from pitch 1 to pitch 89 to win her third straight decision.

"She's really trusting her stuff and trusting her spin," said Ewing. "She's really gotten into that groove and is just being her.

"She is confident and going out there and trusting her stuff. And she wants the ball. She has that mentality right now: Give me the ball."

What would be the game-winning hit came in the bottom of the first inning, when Grace Lopez, who sat out the three-game Seattle series earlier in the week, hit a solo home run over the fence in left-center.

"It was hard (to sit out) but I had faith in my team," said Lopez. "I had some FOMO but seeing them succeed and play so relaxed, I loved that for them."

Lopez would be a thorn in the Vikings' side all afternoon, going 4 for 4 with three walks, three extra-base hits and five runs scored, which matched Portland State's total for the doubleheader.

It raised Lopez's season batting average to .430. Seventeen of her 40 hits as a sophomore have gone for extra bases. She has struck out only eight times in 93 at-bats.

"Coach Stef is always saying, this is the same game you've been playing your whole life, so staying simple and not making the moment too big," said Lopez. "Just trying to piece hits together."

It was only eight days earlier that Portland State starter Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung no-hit North Dakota. Montana would get to her for another run in the fourth, then three in the fifth to pull away.

Cockhill led off the fourth with a bunt single to third and advanced to second on a throwing error. Bekofsky followed with a sacrifice that also had an error, allowing Cockhill to score and make it 2-0.

In the fifth, Jessica Cherms had a bunt single. She scored on a Lopez double to left-center. Two batters later Cockhill homered to left-center.

"Every time we step on the field now, we have that belief in ourselves that we can win the game," said Cockhill, who was asked if the Seattle series earlier in the week jump-started that belief.

"I don't think anything changed. I just think we kept the belief in ourselves and our coaching staff kept their belief in us always.

"They never got down on us. That's a big part of why we're succeeding right now, because they keep pushing us in such a positive way."

Things could have gone the other way early in Game 2, when Portland State opened with three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out.

But if there is a pitcher for that moment, with runners on base and outs needed, Cameryn Ortega, who got the start, is the Grizzly you want in the circle.

She got a swinging strike out, an infield fly to second and a come-backer to herself to keep Portland State off the scoreboard.

The Grizzlies scored two runs in the bottom of the first – on a ground out and a hit batter with the bases loaded – and led to the finish line.

"We could have panicked in the first inning with the bases loaded and no outs, but Cam settled in," said Ewing. "There was no panic in the team."

Bekofsky hit a three-run, opposite-field home run in the bottom of the second, on a 0-2 pitch, to make it 5-0.

Portland State scored its first runs of the day in the top of the third, loading the bases with nobody out off Ortega, who was relieved by Kaiana Kong.

Kong gave up a two-run double and sacrifice fly, then would hold Portland State to one hit over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Cockhill hit a two-run home run in the fourth to make it 7-3.

Montana went up 8-3 in the fifth on an infield single by Kaci Kiblen, 10-3 on a two-run single up the middle by Chloe Saxton.

The Vikings got to Kong for four hits in the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded with two outs when Ewing went to Audri Elias.

The freshman ended the game on one pitch, getting the save with a ground out to second.

Montana's staff finished the day with an ERA of 1.50.

"We knew this group could do that. They are just owning it and doing a great job of staying pitch to pitch and trying to win a pitch," said Ewing.

"You don't have to try to blow it by someone. They are just trusting their stuff. That's why they are getting the results they are right now."

Montana batted .300 for the day, with eight of its 15 hits going for extra bases, with four doubles and four home runs.

The Grizzlies will try for a series sweep on Sunday when the teams play at noon. Montana has not swept a series since winning three times over Southern Utah on the road in 2022.

"Even in (non-conference) we were fighting through all the games. We weren't giving up," said Lopez. "We carried that over to the Seattle series and were playing loose. We carried that over to this series.

"We're playing loose and not feeling tense on the field. We're just playing with that energy and that vibe."