SOFTBALL DROPS A PAIR OF NAIL BITERS BY IDENTICAL 3-2 SCORES TO MONTANA

Athletics News


Apr 09, 2017





SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Softball, at times, can be a game of inches and breaks, and Sacramento State was on the bad side of both today. In a doubleheader the Hornets could have easily swept, nothing seemed to go the home team's way as Montana won both games by 3-2 scores on Sunday afternoon at Shea Stadium.A ball lost in the sun on a routine infield popup cost the Hornets the win in the first game, and a bang-bang call at first base that would  have resulted in a tie game in the bottom of the seventh went against Sacramento State in the nightcap. And what could have been a series sweep by Sacramento State resulted in two of the more gut wrenching losses the Hornets have played at Shea Stadium.The Hornets, who opened the series yesterday by defeating Montana, 5-3, fell to 13-20-1 overall and 3-5 in the Big Sky Conference after today's losses. Meanwhile, Montana improved to 21-19 overall and 6-3 in the conference. The Grizzlies entered the day 0-4 all-time against the Hornets in Sacramento.Despite the losses, the eight-team Big Sky is still up for grabs as only 2.5 games separate the first and last place teams in the league standings. Montana now sits in first place with its 6-3 league record while both North Dakota and Sacramento State are tied for seventh with 3-5 conference marks.Breaks have not gone the Hornets' way this season as the team is now 1-7 in one-run games, and each of the team's last three losses have come by just one run. Sacramento State, which received solid pitching today, did not help itself in clutch at-bats. In the two losses today, the Hornets were a combined 2-for-12 (.167) with runners in scoring position, 3-for-18 (.167) with two outs and 3-for-21 (.143) with runners on base. In addition, the Hornets saw ...

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