PHOTO GALLERY
POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State softball team lost 1-0 and 6-1 to Montana on Saturday afternoon in the home opener at Miller Ranch Stadium. Montana is the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky Conference championship.
ISU got solid pitching from
Ashlyn Ames and
Mariah Mulcahy. Ames took the loss in the 1-0 game, pitching seven innings, allowing four hits, one run, two walks and striking out five.
Mulcahy took the loss in the second game, allowing seven hits, six runs (two earned), five walks and three strikeouts.
While the pitching kept ISU in the game, the bats struggled.
Idaho State had only seven hits in the two games. All seven hits came from seven different players. The Montana offense had only 11 hits and combined to hit .208 in the two games.
"I thought Ashlyn pitched well and Mariah pitched a good game," Idaho State coach
Candi Letts said. "We played really good defense but we did nothing at the plate. Montana has experience and they have all their returners back. You could see they are an older team. When they got runners in scoring position they went right for the jugular."
In the first game, Montana scored its only run in the first inning. The Bengals had a chance to win the game as they had the winning run on second base in the seventh inning but Griz pitcher Michaela Hood got her team out of the jam to earn the win. Hood struck out seven in the complete game win.
In the second game, Montana led 3-0 after five innings. Ames hit a homer in the sixth inning but Montana tacked three more runs on the scoreboard in the seventh inning.
Idaho State had five hits and committed two errors in the field.
The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
