Sacramento State, Northern Colorado Advance on Day One of #BigSkySB Championship
Tournament Bracket (PDF) | Tournament Central
OGDEN, Utah (May 10, 2018) – Top seed Sacramento State took down Montana while No. 6 seed Northern Colorado pulled off a pair of upsets over North Dakota and Weber State on Thursday to join the Hornets in the winner’s bracket on the first day of the 2018 Big Sky Conference Softball Championship.
#5 Montana 6, #4 Portland State 3
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Montana overcame a 2-0 first inning deficit and used a four-run fifth inning to claim the first win in the 2018 Big Sky Championship with a 6-3 victory over Portland State. Madison Saacke and Anne Mari Petrino each totaled three hits to pace the Grizzlies while Colleen Driscoll went the distance with six strikeouts to record her eighth win in the circle. Montana broke open a 2-2 game in the top of the fifth with five singles to help the Grizzlies plate four runs.
#6 Northern Colorado 7, #3 North Dakota 4
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Northern Colorado responded to a four-run fifth inning by North Dakota with three runs in the sixth to upset the third-seeded Fighting Hawks 7-4 in game two. After North Dakota knotted the game at four apiece, the Bears tallied a pair of triples, a single, walk and sac fly to score three runs and regain the momentum. Madi Schmidt, Mady Young and Natalie Joyner each recorded two hits with Schmidt driving in a team-high three runs to carry the Bears to victory. Kelli Kleis came on in relief to earn the win, allowing just one hit and no runs in 2.1 innings of work.
#1 Sacramento State 7, #5 Montana 3
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A grand slam by Sydnee Strong in the first inning set the tone for top-seeded Sacramento State en route to a 7-3 win over Montana. The Hornets plated five runs in the opening frame before Suzy Brookshire added to the Sacramento State lead with a solo shot in the second inning. The Hornets stretched their lead to 7-0 before the Grizzlies scored three runs in the sixth with Tori Lettus driving in all three scores on a double. Celina Matthias threw a complete game for the Hornets while Sydney Rasmussen went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the offense.
#6 Northern Colorado 6, #2 Weber State 3
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After Weber State jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the first inning, Northern Colorado plated four runs on three hits over the next two frames with a two-run blast by Rachel Johnson giving the Bears the lead for good at 4-2 in the third. Kaley Garcia led UNC with two hits including a solo home run to left field in the fifth, while Valerie Vidal claimed the win in the circle with five strikeouts in a complete game performance.
Friday’s Schedule
Sacramento State and Northern Colorado will square off in the winner’s bracket game at 2:30 p.m. MT Friday following a pair of elimination matchups. No. 3 seed North Dakota and No. 5 Montana meet in tomorrow’s opener at 9:30 a.m. before No. 4 Portland State and No. 2 Weber State face off at 12 p.m. The winners of the two elimination games will look to stay alive one more time in a 5 p.m. game to wrap up the day.