Posted: 5/6/2016 10:46:00 PM
The championship dream is still alive for the Montana Grizzlies after an unbelievable comeback in game two helped them sweep a doubleheader against Weber State on Saturday at
Grizzly Softball Field.
Montana (27-24/14-6 BSC) now can guarantee at least a share of the Big Sky regular season title with a win tomorrow. If Sacramento State (25-20/14-6 BSC) defeats Portland
State and Montana wins, the Griz and Hornets would share the title and Sacramento State would host the tournament.
If Weber State (33-17/14-5) wins, they win the regular season championship outright and will host the tournament.
Montana 5, Weber State 2
Sara Stephenson, fresh off her Pitcher of the Week honors, delivered another sterling performance in game one, throwing a complete game and allowing only two runs, which both came in the final inning, as she improved to 13-6 on the year.
Montana scored before they recorded an out after a double by Sydney Stites scored MaKenna McGill, who led off with a single. A couple batter later Bethany Olea shot a double into the right-center gap to bring home Stites and put Montana ahead 2-0 after one.
In the third, Ashlyn Lyons doubled the lead with a single into left that score McGill and Katie Jo Waletzko, who pinch ran for Lexie Brenneis. Stites hit an RBI single into left to score another run in the fourth, putting Montana up 5-0 with three innings to play.
Weber State looked poised to cut into the lead in the fifth inning, loading up the bases with only one out and defending Big Sky Player of the Week Aubrey Whitmer at the plate. Whitmer ripped a ball, but Lyons reacted quickly at first, snagging a rocket line drive out of the air and tagging first for an inning-ending double play. "Whitmer hit a ballright on the screws right at somebody, and their runners got caught in no man's land," coach Jamie Pinkerton said. "It happens, it's softball. We threw a pitch,
probably not the best one, she hits it on the screws but we make a heck of a play."
Stephenson got into more trouble in the seventh, loading the bases with only one out. She hit a batter to bring in a run and allowed a single that made it 5-2, but she escaped the jam and finished the game off to keep the Griz alive in the title chase.
In seven innings, Stephenson allowed eight hits and two runs for the win. McGill was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in the leadoffspot, scoring two runs. Stites and Lyons finished with two RBIs each.
Montana 5, Weber State 4
One more strike. That is all Weber State needed to lock up the regular season Big Sky championship. Sydney Stites trailed 0-2 in the count with two outs and the Wildcats, who were 20-0 on the season when they led in the seventh, leading 4-2.
But Stites battled and pulled one that hit third base and popped into left field. She slid into second just in time to start a rally for the Griz. Lexie Brenneis followed that with a single that landed just shy of the left fielder and scored Stites.
Delene Colburn stepped up next, hitting a grounder to the left side. Whitmer, playing short, backhanded it deep in the hole and threw to second, trying to cut down Madeline Merritt, who pinch ran for Brenneis. The throw was late, putting runners on first and second for Bethany Olea.
Olea went opposite field with it, blasting a double into right center that scored Merritt and Colburn to clear the Grizzly bench and send the 500-plus crowd at Grizzly Softball Field
into a frenzy.
Weber State nearly put the game out of reach in the fifth inning. With a 2-1 lead already, the Wildcats loaded up the bases with no outs. Pinkerton called on Colleen Driscoll in relief.
She forced a pop-out to the first batter she faced, and Stites made a great play in right, gunning out the runner from third for a double play. Driscollstruck out the next batter to
escape the jam and keep the Griz alive.
"That was the ball game," Pinkerton said of the fifth inning. "I told Mel after Sydney made the great catch and throw home and we got out of it, I said that saved a chance to win the game."
They entered the seventh tied at 2-all, but needed the dramatic comeback after giving up a couple runs in the top half. The Big Sky leader in home runs Sara Hingsberger hit a two run shot into left to put Weber State up 4-2 going into the bottom half.
The rest is history. Montana has now won eight straight games, a program record, and 14 of their last 15.
"I wouldn't want to play us," Pinkerton said. "At some point in time we are going to cool off, but hopefully it's after the season. I'm not saying this with arrogance, I just know I've been around the sport a long time and looked across the dugout at other teams, and I would not want to play us."
Montana improved to 12-5 at home on the season in front of a crowd of 507 at Grizzly Softball Field. The Griz knew what was at stake coming into the weekend, but the home crowd helped them play free.
"I told the kids we were in a position where we are at home and in our own beds, so we just needed to go out and make it happen," Pinkerton said. "If we finish fourth, we finish fourth, if we win it, we win it, but we don't totally control our own destiny so it doesn't matter, just go out and have fun."
The Grizzlies faced Weber State in the final series last year, looking to qualify for the postseason tournament. They were swept. This year, they already have a series win, and will look for the sweep tomorrow that will give them at least a share of the conference title.
The stage is set for a wild Saturday, with the final game of Montana-Weber State starting at the same time as Sacramento State-Weber State.
"Last year, we were in a position where we had to win to get in to the tournament and went down and didn't play well all three games," Pinkerton said. "They went out today and looked like a bunch of seniors instead of sophomores. I'm speechless, they just played with a lot of poise."
