Saturday, April 25
Missoula, Mont.
1 PM
Montana
19-28, 9-4
7
vs
6
Idaho State
32-18, 8-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho State | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| Montana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
Photo by: Ryan Brennecke / University of Montana
Saturday split sets up Sunday showdown
4/25/2026 8:54:00 PM | Softball
The destination for both teams remains the same. The pathway to get there is now shortened and more clearly defined.
After splitting a doubleheader on Saturday at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula, Montana and Idaho State will wrap up their series with a final game at noon on Sunday.
The stakes are simple: The winner of Game 3 claims the Big Sky Conference regular-season championship, takes the No. 1 seed into the Big Sky tournament next month in Pocatello and earns the right to host next spring's conference tournament.
"Who doesn't love a for-all-the-marbles Game 3? This is why you play," said coach Stef Ewing.
"We've got a great opportunity in front of us tomorrow and we know Idaho State is going to bring it. We have to be able to walk off the field tomorrow and say we left it all on the field and did everything we could. No matter what they do, it can't define what we're going to bring."
Montana won the opener on Saturday 7-6, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh, grabbing its first lead of the game on Madison Tarrant's two-run, walk-off single to left.
The Bengals and starter Marley Goluskin held the Grizzlies to five hits in Game 2, a 6-0 Idaho State victory, one of the hazards of playing doubleheaders with so much at stake.
"She did a nice job but I think when you have such a high moment like that, when you come back down, it feels like there is a little bit of a lull," said Ewing.
"We had a couple opportunities early in the game and it didn't happen. After that, I felt like we just ran out of gas."
Montana won Game 1 in the seventh but kept the opener from getting away from its grasp in the top of the first, when Idaho State loaded the bases with nobody out against Griz starter Carah Sweet.
Sweet got Sydney Groves, who leads the Big Sky in home runs and RBIs, to line out to short, then gave up a sacrifice fly before Montana threw a runner out between first and second to escape with a 1-0 deficit.
The Grizzlies quickly tied it in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Anna Cockhill.
Idaho State built a lead in the top of the third that the Bengals would hold until Montana walked it off in the bottom of the seventh, with the Bengals scoring a pair of two-out runs to go up 3-1.
Montana loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third but could only generate one run, on a Kailee Mejia RBI single to right that scored one and had the follow runner thrown out at the plate.
Idaho State went up 4-2 in the fourth and Montana once again loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and once again could only get one run out of it when Mejia drew a bases-loaded walk that made it 4-3.
Idaho State shut down the threat with an infield pop-up and a swinging strikeout, then added runs in the sixth and seventh to go up 6-3.
Megan Meracle replaced ISU starter Kasey Aguinaga in the bottom of the third and allowed one hit over 3 2/3 innings but pitched herself into trouble in the bottom of the seventh when she walked Montana's first three batters.
"Our composure in the seventh was fantastic," said Ewing. "We were going to take pitches until there was a strike and it worked for us. We got a bunch of people on."
Facing a new pitcher, Lizzy Tommasini, Mejia had her third hit and third RBI of the game when she chopped a ball over Tommasini's head that the shortstop couldn't make a play on.
JoJo Christiaens followed with a five-pitch walk to score another run and make it 6-5.
"Going into the seventh, I don't think there were any nerves," said Tarrant. "I feel like we had all the confidence we were going to be able to get it done because we have in the past.
"We always talk about putting our heads down until they say ball game. I felt like everybody was locked in and ready to go, and our energy from the dugout was just incredible."
After a strikeout, Tarrant walked to the plate, watched two pitches go by, then smoked a ball over the third baseman that made its way to the corner, scoring Anna Cockhill and Ava Puttler.
"I love pressure situations. I like being able to regulate myself, is the best way to put it. I love to smile and just enjoy the moment I'm in. I really had no other thoughts other than see the ball, hit the ball," said Tarrant.
"My mindset was, square the ball up and let's see what we can do. Get a pitch and see what you can do with it."
Her hit snapped Montana's eight-game losing streak against Idaho State and set off a jubilant celebration, which the Grizzlies spent the ensuing 30 minutes returning to earth from.
They entered the series needing two wins. They were only halfway there.
"The highs can't be too high, the lows can't be too low," said Ewing. "You have to be steady. You have 30 minutes to dial it back in."
After two scoreless innings in Game 2 between Goluskin and Montana starter Kaiana Kong, the Bengals went small-ball pressure to score what would be the game-winning runs in the top of the third.
After a lead-off double, Idaho State went bunt single, bunt single to load the bases, then scored on a pair of groundouts and went up 3-0 on the Bengals' second double of the inning.
"We have to field a bunt. We have to be able to take that away tomorrow," said Ewing.
Montana's best chances to score came in the first and second innings. A Mejia double in the first put runners on second and third with two outs. That was followed by an inning-ending ground out.
The Grizzlies had two hits in the second but came up empty again. "It felt like when we didn't score in the first and didn't score in the second that we just got a little flat," said Ewing.
"Nobody in this ballpark felt Idaho State was going to come out flat in Game 2. That's a seasoned team with a lot of veterans who have been in these types of moments. You knew they were going to bring it."
Montana had just two hits over the last five innings against Goluskin, Idaho State's likely Game 3 starter on Sunday. "She did a great job keeping us off balance. Why wouldn't we see her again? She shut us out," said Ewing.
Sweet allowed four earned runs over 6 1/3 innings in Game 1, with Kong getting the final two outs to collect the win.
Kong got the start in Game 2 and allowed four runs. Audri Elias pitched the final four innings, allowing four hits.
In both games, Montana held Idaho State just under its season average of 6.2 runs per game. "Our pitchers did everything we asked them to do," said Ewing. "We have to swing the bats better."
Now it's just waiting, sleeping and preparing for one final game with so much on the line.
"We have to make sure we're locked in and ready to go tomorrow," said Ewing. "We'll have our pitchers ready to go and get our hitters dialed.
"This group believes. We're not intimidated going into tomorrow. The hardest thing is how many hours we have to wait until it comes tomorrow."
After splitting a doubleheader on Saturday at Grizzly Softball Field in Missoula, Montana and Idaho State will wrap up their series with a final game at noon on Sunday.
The stakes are simple: The winner of Game 3 claims the Big Sky Conference regular-season championship, takes the No. 1 seed into the Big Sky tournament next month in Pocatello and earns the right to host next spring's conference tournament.
"Who doesn't love a for-all-the-marbles Game 3? This is why you play," said coach Stef Ewing.
"We've got a great opportunity in front of us tomorrow and we know Idaho State is going to bring it. We have to be able to walk off the field tomorrow and say we left it all on the field and did everything we could. No matter what they do, it can't define what we're going to bring."
Montana won the opener on Saturday 7-6, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh, grabbing its first lead of the game on Madison Tarrant's two-run, walk-off single to left.
The Bengals and starter Marley Goluskin held the Grizzlies to five hits in Game 2, a 6-0 Idaho State victory, one of the hazards of playing doubleheaders with so much at stake.
"She did a nice job but I think when you have such a high moment like that, when you come back down, it feels like there is a little bit of a lull," said Ewing.
"We had a couple opportunities early in the game and it didn't happen. After that, I felt like we just ran out of gas."
Montana won Game 1 in the seventh but kept the opener from getting away from its grasp in the top of the first, when Idaho State loaded the bases with nobody out against Griz starter Carah Sweet.
Sweet got Sydney Groves, who leads the Big Sky in home runs and RBIs, to line out to short, then gave up a sacrifice fly before Montana threw a runner out between first and second to escape with a 1-0 deficit.
The Grizzlies quickly tied it in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Anna Cockhill.
Idaho State built a lead in the top of the third that the Bengals would hold until Montana walked it off in the bottom of the seventh, with the Bengals scoring a pair of two-out runs to go up 3-1.
Montana loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third but could only generate one run, on a Kailee Mejia RBI single to right that scored one and had the follow runner thrown out at the plate.
Idaho State went up 4-2 in the fourth and Montana once again loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and once again could only get one run out of it when Mejia drew a bases-loaded walk that made it 4-3.
Idaho State shut down the threat with an infield pop-up and a swinging strikeout, then added runs in the sixth and seventh to go up 6-3.
Megan Meracle replaced ISU starter Kasey Aguinaga in the bottom of the third and allowed one hit over 3 2/3 innings but pitched herself into trouble in the bottom of the seventh when she walked Montana's first three batters.
"Our composure in the seventh was fantastic," said Ewing. "We were going to take pitches until there was a strike and it worked for us. We got a bunch of people on."
Facing a new pitcher, Lizzy Tommasini, Mejia had her third hit and third RBI of the game when she chopped a ball over Tommasini's head that the shortstop couldn't make a play on.
JoJo Christiaens followed with a five-pitch walk to score another run and make it 6-5.
"Going into the seventh, I don't think there were any nerves," said Tarrant. "I feel like we had all the confidence we were going to be able to get it done because we have in the past.
"We always talk about putting our heads down until they say ball game. I felt like everybody was locked in and ready to go, and our energy from the dugout was just incredible."
After a strikeout, Tarrant walked to the plate, watched two pitches go by, then smoked a ball over the third baseman that made its way to the corner, scoring Anna Cockhill and Ava Puttler.
"I love pressure situations. I like being able to regulate myself, is the best way to put it. I love to smile and just enjoy the moment I'm in. I really had no other thoughts other than see the ball, hit the ball," said Tarrant.
"My mindset was, square the ball up and let's see what we can do. Get a pitch and see what you can do with it."
Her hit snapped Montana's eight-game losing streak against Idaho State and set off a jubilant celebration, which the Grizzlies spent the ensuing 30 minutes returning to earth from.
They entered the series needing two wins. They were only halfway there.
"The highs can't be too high, the lows can't be too low," said Ewing. "You have to be steady. You have 30 minutes to dial it back in."
After two scoreless innings in Game 2 between Goluskin and Montana starter Kaiana Kong, the Bengals went small-ball pressure to score what would be the game-winning runs in the top of the third.
After a lead-off double, Idaho State went bunt single, bunt single to load the bases, then scored on a pair of groundouts and went up 3-0 on the Bengals' second double of the inning.
"We have to field a bunt. We have to be able to take that away tomorrow," said Ewing.
Montana's best chances to score came in the first and second innings. A Mejia double in the first put runners on second and third with two outs. That was followed by an inning-ending ground out.
The Grizzlies had two hits in the second but came up empty again. "It felt like when we didn't score in the first and didn't score in the second that we just got a little flat," said Ewing.
"Nobody in this ballpark felt Idaho State was going to come out flat in Game 2. That's a seasoned team with a lot of veterans who have been in these types of moments. You knew they were going to bring it."
Montana had just two hits over the last five innings against Goluskin, Idaho State's likely Game 3 starter on Sunday. "She did a great job keeping us off balance. Why wouldn't we see her again? She shut us out," said Ewing.
Sweet allowed four earned runs over 6 1/3 innings in Game 1, with Kong getting the final two outs to collect the win.
Kong got the start in Game 2 and allowed four runs. Audri Elias pitched the final four innings, allowing four hits.
In both games, Montana held Idaho State just under its season average of 6.2 runs per game. "Our pitchers did everything we asked them to do," said Ewing. "We have to swing the bats better."
Now it's just waiting, sleeping and preparing for one final game with so much on the line.
"We have to make sure we're locked in and ready to go tomorrow," said Ewing. "We'll have our pitchers ready to go and get our hitters dialed.
"This group believes. We're not intimidated going into tomorrow. The hardest thing is how many hours we have to wait until it comes tomorrow."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kong, Kaiana (5-7)
L: Tommasini, Lizzy (6-4)
Batting:
2B: Kearns, Jenna 1
HR: Day, Kira 1
RBI: Yee, Alyssa 1 ; Groves, Sydney 2 ; Kearns, Jenna 1 ; Day, Kira 1
SH: Dudley, Kennedy 1
SF: Kearns, Jenna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Yee, Alyssa 1 ; McDonald, Camryn 1 ; Brown, Ava 2 ; Day, Kira 2
CS: Brown, Ava 1 ; Chavez, Renay 1
Batting:
RBI: Cockhill, Anna 1 ; Mejia, Kailee 3 ; Christiaens, JoJo 1 ; Tarrant, Madison 2
SH: Saxton, Chloe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lopez, Grace 4 ; Saxton, Chloe 1 ; Cockhill, Anna 1 ; Puttler, Ava 1
CS: Cockhill, Anna 1
HBP: Saxton, Chloe 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
1
R
4
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF/C
/ SoftballINF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballUM vs Weber State Highlights
Saturday, April 04
Griz Softball vs. Seattle Highlights - 3/24/26
Monday, March 30
2026 Griz Softball Hype Video
Monday, March 30
2006 Griz Basketball Flashback: NCAA Tournament Win Over Nevada
Monday, March 30
