Griz sweep, move into tie for first in Big Sky

Saturday, April 18

Ogden, Utah

Noon

Montana

18-28, 8-4

Weber State

13-36, 4-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Montana	2	3	2	1	1	1	1	11	18	1
Weber State	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	3	8	0

Photo by: Coral Scoles-Coburn/University of Montana

4/18/2026 5:10:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana softball team scored early, late and every inning in between to finish off a series sweep of Weber State with an 11-3 victory over the Wildcats in Ogden on Saturday afternoon.

It was the Grizzlies' first-ever sweep of Weber State and moved Montana into a tie for first place in the Big Sky with Idaho State, which took two of three at home from Sacramento State this week.

Both teams are 8-4 in league. The Bengals were the heavy preseason favorites and expected to be in this spot. The Grizzlies? They were a unanimous vote to finish last by the league's coaches.

And rightfully so. Montana went 2-32 against league opponents the previous two seasons. But now the Grizzlies are two wins away from their first-ever regular-season championship.

"There are a lot of people who never thought we'd be in this position except the people in our dugout," said coach Stef Ewing. "This group is just on a different level of focus and belief right now."

In a perfect world, Montana and Idaho State would square off on the final weekend of the regular season to decide things. In an even more perfect world, that series would take place in Missoula.

Wish granted. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Grizzly Softball Field, the finale on Sunday.

With Montana and Idaho State now two games clear of the rest of the Big Sky field, one team will raise a trophy next weekend as outright champion. No other teams can factor in, no tiebreakers will be needed.

It might be the juggernaut. Then again, it might be the other team, the one no one saw coming, except for them, the ones who always believed this was not just possible but doable.

"We've got a big challenge ahead of us in Idaho State. We're going to have a great week of preparation and be ready to go," said Ewing.

"Why not? Why not give it a go and see if we can surprise the world and surprise the Big Sky. We have an opportunity to do something really special."

Montana put itself in that position by slowly squeezing the life out of Weber State on Saturday, going up 2-0 in the first, 5-0 in the second and 7-0 in the third, with runs tacked on in each of the last four innings.

The Grizzlies, who won 11-6 in Game 2, scored 11 or more runs in back-to-back games for the first time in more than four years. Their 18 hits on Saturday were the sixth most in program history.

Brianna Gutierrez had her first career four-hit game, JoJo Christiaens had three more extra-base hits, giving her six over the last two games, and seven players drove in runs.

"We continue to swing the bat really well," said Ewing. "There are no hitters you can take a pitch off. That's what makes a pitcher's job really hard, when there is nobody you can take a breath on.

"Our numbers are off the charts right now with how productive our at-bats are and how quality the at-bats are."

Christiaens had a two-run double in the first, Montana scored three times on four hits in the second, then scored twice in the third on bases-loaded walks.

Christiaens smoked a home run to left-center in the fourth, then led off the top of the 6th with an opposite-field double to right-center.

She totaled 16 bases over her final seven at-bats of the series, hitting two home runs and collecting three doubles and a triple.

All of that offense combined to give Griz starter Kaiana Kong, making just her second start of the month after mostly relief appearances, plenty of support.

Yet she pitched like she was in a one-run game, allowing five hits through five innings. The plan was for her to pitch two times through the order but she went two batters into the sixth. She was that good.

"That was a long outing for her but she was phenomenal today," said Ewing. "She was lights out."

Kong spent her first two years at Western Washington, playing big games late in the season as a freshman and as a sophomore. Now she is getting a chance to do it again at Montana.

"If you look at her past and the kind of pitcher she's been in April and May, there is a reason she's had a lot of success when there is a lot of pressure. She handles it really well," said Ewing.

Carah Sweet, who got the win in Game 1, pitched the final two innings and got the final six outs. "She did a nice job of just being Carah, throwing her change-up and trusting her spin," said Ewing.

Montana could have run-ruled Weber State, which would have been a program first, but the Wildcats stayed alive with a run in the bottom of the fifth, another in the bottom of the sixth.

That allowed Ewing to get 16 players into the game and gifted Kailee Mejia a fourth at-bat in the top of the seventh.

She singled up the middle to extend her hitting streak to 11 games, the longest streak for a Montana freshman since Sydney Stites had a 13-game streak in 2016.

Montana has won 13 times since March 23, a late-season turnaround that few would have predicted in late February, when the Grizzlies' pitching coach left the team.

Instead of a four-person staff, Montana was left with three: Ewing, assistant coach Marc Kendrick and graduate assistant Makenna Strong, who was in uniform last season.

"Really proud of the girls and really thankful for Marc and Kenna, with us being down a coach," said Ewing. "There's been a lot of hours and a lot of time put in by everybody.

"These kids have put in a lot of work and it's paying off. We're not done. This weekend was fun. We'll enjoy it. Then we'll start looking at Idaho State and see what we have to do to win another series."

And if Montana pulls that off, the Grizzlies would have done the unimaginable. They would be Big Sky Conference champions.

Griz sweep doubleheader on historic afternoon

Friday, April 17

The University of Montana Grizzly softball team faces University of Northern Colorado at a home game on April 4, 2026 in Missoula, MT.

Griz look to stay in hunt for Big Sky title

Thursday, April 16

The University of Montana Grizzly softball team defeats Portland State at a home game on March 29, 2026 in Missoula, MT.

Montana drops doubleheader to Utah

Wednesday, April 15

The University of Montana Grizzly softball team faces University of Northern Colorado at a home game on April 3, 2026 in Missoula, MT.

Griz get shot at Big 12 Utes

Tuesday, April 14

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Idaho State

Apr 25 (Sat)

1 PM

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Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Kong, Kaiana (4-7)

L: McCraw, Cali (5-8)

Montana

Batting:

2B: Lopez, Grace 1 ; Cockhill, Anna 1 ; Christiaens, JoJo 2 ; Cherms, Jessica 1

HR: Christiaens, JoJo 1

RBI: Lopez, Grace 1 ; Saxton, Chloe 2 ; Cockhill, Anna 2 ; Mejia, Kailee 1 ; Christiaens, JoJo 3 ; Kiblen, Kaci 1 ; Tarrant, Madison 1

SH: Tarrant, Madison 1

SF: Cockhill, Anna 1 ; Mejia, Kailee 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Lopez, Grace 2 ; Saxton, Chloe 1 ; Cockhill, Anna 2 ; Christiaens, JoJo 1 ; Kiblen, Kaci 1 ; Bekofsky, Mackenzie 1 ; Gutierrez, Brianna 2 ; Cherms, Jessica 1