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Portland State University Athletics

PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS
Darian Lindsey
Megan Connelly
1
Portland State PSU 13-22, 2-4 BSC
9
Winner Montana UM 12-26, 2-5 BSC
Portland State PSU
13-22, 2-4 BSC
1
Final
9
Montana UM
12-26, 2-5 BSC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Portland State PSU 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 0
Montana UM 2 1 0 1 1 4 9 8 1

W: DRISCOLL, Colleen (6-8) L: Burk, Alyssa (3-6)

7
Portland State PSU 13-23, 2-5 BSC
11
Winner Montana UM 13-26, 3-5 BSC
Portland State PSU
13-23, 2-5 BSC
7
Final
11
Montana UM
13-26, 3-5 BSC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Portland State PSU 1 0 0 1 3 2 0 7 15 1
Montana UM 0 0 2 0 0 9 X 11 12 2

W: STENSBY, Maddy (3-6) L: Schimmel, Haley (3-5)

Game Recap: Softball | | Jackson Wagner

Home Runs, Big Inning Cost Vikings in Missoula

Portland State outhit Montana and made fewer fielding mistakes, but timely hitting from the hosts and one big inning in the second game led to an 0-2 day for the Vikings.

The Vikings (13-23/2-5) fall to 0-4 on the road in Big Sky play, but will have a chance to salvage a game from the series when the two teams meet again tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. (MT).

Game One - Montana 9, Portland State 1 (Six innings)

In the first game, Portland State and Montana had nearly the same amount of hits and opportunities. But it was the host Grizzlies that hit four home runs for eight total runs in the run rule victory.

The Grizzlies came into the game with just 12 home runs on the season, the second fewest in the conference. Alyssa Burk and Katie Schroeder each allowed just four hits inside the circle for Portland State, but the home runs led to four earned runs against Burk and five against Schroeder.

Montana started off the game with a two-run homer in the first inning for an early lead. Portland State answered back in the second inning, however. Kaela Morrow led off the inning with a single up the middle. A sacrifice bunt moved her to second, where Marissa Bruno brought her home with a double into right center to cut the lead to one.

The Vikings had a chance to score again in the fourth inning with back-to-back singles by Morrow and Tayler Gunesch, but they stranded the runners on base. The Grizzlies continued to find success with the long ball and ended the game early with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

Morrow led the Vikings with a 2-for-3 day at the plate while also scoring the lone run. Darian Lindsey, Sala Pedebone, Gunesch and Bruno each recorded a hit as well. Burk threw 3.2 innings in the start, allowing four hits and four runs while walking three batters. Schroeder came on in relief and gave up five runs in just under two innings of work.

Game Two - Montana 11, Portland State 7

The Vikings were the better team for much of the game and finished with more hits, but a huge sixth inning from the hosts shocked the Vikings and resulted in a heartbreaking loss. The Vikings held a 7-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, but a nine-run half inning from the Grizzlies was enough for the comeback win.

Lindsey led off the game with a double to right center and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Morrow then brought her home with a sacrifice fly to deep left that gave the Vikings the first lead of the game.

The two sides were scoreless until the bottom of the third, when Montana scored twice to retake the lead. PSU did well to avoid further damage, getting out of a bases loaded jam to keep the Montana lead at just one.

They kept the momentum after getting out of the inning with a run in the top half of the fourth. Riley Casper got on base with a single and Jessica Flanagan delivered a two-out RBI double into left center, tying the game at 2-all.

The Vikings then put together a big inning in the top half of the fifth to take control of the game. A fielding error put Pedebone on base to lead off the inning. Rachel Menlove followed that up with a triple down the right field line to give Portland State the lead. Gunesch brought Menlove home with a single up the middle. Then, a double from Bruno made it 5-2 Portland State.

All momentum was on the side of the Vikings going into the bottom of the fifth, where they rolled a double play to bring the bats back up to the plate. The offense delivered again, opening the inning with back-to-back singles by Flanagan and Morrow. They then used a sacrifice bunt followed by a sacrifice fly to score a run. A passed ball from Montana brought home Morrow and gave the Vikings a 7-2 lead.

But it came crashing down in the bottom of the sixth. The Grizzlies started the inning with four straight singles, scoring two runs in the process. Haley Schimmel came on in relief with two runners still on. A walk loaded the bases, but the Viking defense came up big by cutting down the lead runner on consecutive plays.

The Grizzlies rallied with two outs, picking up seven more runs on five hits. Overall, they scored nine runs in the inning on nine hits, shocking Portland State and giving the hosts an 11-7 lead going into the final frame. The Vikings went down in order in the seventh to end the game.

Portland State finished with 15 hits compared to 12 for Montana. Eight different Vikings finished the game with a hit, including a couple of outstanding performances at the plate. Menlove went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Bruno also had three hits in four at bats, picking up an RBI of her own.

Flanagan had a two-hit, one RBI game while Morrow and Gunesch each scored a teammate as well. The Vikings played good strategic softball as well, successfully advancing two runners on sacrifice hits and scoring two runs on sacrifice flies.

Serafine Parrish got the start for PSU, allowing seven hits and six runs in five innings of work. Schimmel and Burk each made relief appearances, and Schimmel would be credited with the loss.
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