grizzlyjournal
Well-known member
Montana finished fifth in Big Sky conference play after dropping their home finale to Sac State. It was the only game I saw this season where the team looked out of sorts. Hoping they can put that behind them. I fully believe this team has the goods to compete for the tourney title. But, they'll need some offensive production to do so.
Their 5th place finish seems a bit misleading. Why? Montana finished conference as the #1 defensive team in the Big Sky with a .971 fielding percentage, slightly better than Sac State (.968) and clearly better than every other team. In addition, Montana finished as the conference 2nd-best team in pitching ERA (3.10), second to Sac State's 2.90 ERA and, again, well ahead of the rest of the conference. All that despite the absence of sophomore Michaela Hood (2.78 era) over the final month of play. Junior pitchers Colleen Driscoll (2.91) and Maddy Stensby (3.38), joined Hood among the Big Sky's Top 10 Big Sky pitchers in ERA, while freshman Tristin Achenbach (3.70) was 12th.
Offensively, Griz seniors Delene Colburn (.359) and Ashlyn Lyons (.344) had the league's 5th and 7th best batting averages in conference, while Colburn was the league's 3rd best home run hitter, with 9. The problem: Montana as a team finished conference play with the 6th ranked batting AVG (.246). The Griz simply left too many runners on the base paths in winnable games. Their team batting average, interestingly, is the most accurate statistical gauge of how they finished in league play.
But a double-elimination tourney is a different challenge. Teams with the deepest pitching staffs usually do well. As a result, I've got high hopes that Montana's young pitchers can keep them in games. I've also got hopes that the Griz can push a few more runs home. The tourney bracket is below. I'd love to see this senior-laden team put it all together this weekend. Go Griz!
[tweet]https://twitter.com/MontanaGrizSB/status/993237956637802496[/tweet]
Their 5th place finish seems a bit misleading. Why? Montana finished conference as the #1 defensive team in the Big Sky with a .971 fielding percentage, slightly better than Sac State (.968) and clearly better than every other team. In addition, Montana finished as the conference 2nd-best team in pitching ERA (3.10), second to Sac State's 2.90 ERA and, again, well ahead of the rest of the conference. All that despite the absence of sophomore Michaela Hood (2.78 era) over the final month of play. Junior pitchers Colleen Driscoll (2.91) and Maddy Stensby (3.38), joined Hood among the Big Sky's Top 10 Big Sky pitchers in ERA, while freshman Tristin Achenbach (3.70) was 12th.
Offensively, Griz seniors Delene Colburn (.359) and Ashlyn Lyons (.344) had the league's 5th and 7th best batting averages in conference, while Colburn was the league's 3rd best home run hitter, with 9. The problem: Montana as a team finished conference play with the 6th ranked batting AVG (.246). The Griz simply left too many runners on the base paths in winnable games. Their team batting average, interestingly, is the most accurate statistical gauge of how they finished in league play.
But a double-elimination tourney is a different challenge. Teams with the deepest pitching staffs usually do well. As a result, I've got high hopes that Montana's young pitchers can keep them in games. I've also got hopes that the Griz can push a few more runs home. The tourney bracket is below. I'd love to see this senior-laden team put it all together this weekend. Go Griz!
[tweet]https://twitter.com/MontanaGrizSB/status/993237956637802496[/tweet]