Big Sky Conference standings

MISSOULA, Mont. — In a matchup of the two unbeaten teams in the Big Sky Conference, Sacramento State and Montana split their doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Grizzly Softball Field. The Hornets won the first game by a 7-5 score before the Grizzlies were victorious in the nightcap, 9-2.

The teams will play the rubber game of their three-game set tomorrow at noon PDT. Sacramento State and Montana began the day with 3-0 conference records, and, with the split, there is now a three-way tie for first place among the Hornets, Grizzlies and Weber State. All three teams are 4-1 in league play.

Sacramento State saw its record move to 14-14 overall while Montana is now 13-17. The Hornets were playing for the first time ever in Missoula as Montana's first year of softball was 2015.

The Hornets' pitching staff, which has been good all season, allowed 24 hits and 14 runs over 13.0 innings. All four pitchers made appearances and each allowed runs. Offensively, Sacramento State had 21 hits and pushed across nine runs against Grizzly pitching, including home runs from Jessica Ravetti, Kailey Olcott and Sasha Margulies. In fact, today's three home runs surpassed the team's total output of round trippers from the entire season (2) prior to the doubleheader. Olcott finished the doubleheader 4-for-7 with two runs, a home run and two RBIs.

GAME 1

Sacramento State pounded out a season-high tying 13 hits as the Hornets scored in four different innings, including once in the first and fourth innings, three times in the fifth and twice in the seventh. Juniors Ravetti and Olcott both hit their first career home runs in a Sacramento State uniform to highlight the victory.

Five different Hornets had multiple-hit games, including Ravetti (3), Olcott (2), Sydney Rasmussen (2), Kayla Papez (2) and Kortney Solis (2). In fact, the team's Nos. 1-5 batters all scored at least one run, as the fivesome combined to go 9-for-20 with six runs scored and five RBIs.

Ravetti had an RBI-single in the first inning and connected on her home run in the seventh. That home run, which banged off the left field scoreboard, proved to be the game-winning hit as it gave Sacramento State a 6-3 lead. Later in the inning, Papez doubled home Olcott to make the score 7-3, but Montana did score twice in the bottom of the seventh and had the tying runner at the plate when starter Celina Matthias recorded the final out.

Olcott's home run was a two-run blast that came during the Hornets' three-run fifth inning. In fact, each of the first three batters of the inning scored as Zamari Hinton led off the inning with a bunt single, followed by a Sasha Margulies single, and Olcott's blast which cleared the center field wall.

Solis recorded her second multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3 with an RBI, including a double which scored Papez in the fourth inning.

Matthias (9-9) went the distance in earning her ninth win of the season, as she allowed eight hits and five runs over seven innings. Montana's Sara Stephenson (7-4) picked up the loss, yielding five runs and nine hits over 4.1 innings of work. Sacramento State also scored a pair of run off Montana reliever Haley Young.

GAME 2

Montana combined for nine runs and 16 hits over six innings against three Sacramento State pitchers. The 16 hits were easily the largest output allowed by the Hornets' pitching staff this season. Matthias got some much-deserved rest as the sophomore had made appearances in the circle in 19 straight games prior to sitting out the nightcap. In the two games where Matthias hasn't pitched this season (today's nightcap and the game against Kansas), it hasn't been pretty as Hornet pitchers have allowed 18 runs and 25 hits over a span of 10 innings.

The Grizzlies scored single runs in the first, second and third innings, and put the game away with six runs in the sixth. Sacramento State's lone bright spot was a two-run homer by Margulies to center field in the top of the first inning. However, it was all Grizzlies from there as Montana had hits in every inning of the game. The home run for Margulies was her second in a span of three days (she also went yard on Wednesday at Cal).

In the sixth inning alone, Montana pushed across six runs on eight hits while sending 10 batters to the plate. Six different Grizzlies had multiple-hit games, including Lexie Brenneis and Madison Saacke who both had three hits and two RBIs. Six of the nine Montana starters had at least one RBI.

Meanwhile, after Sacramento State scored its two runs in the first inning, the team was blanked the rest of the way. Montana starter Maddy Stensby (1-6) went the distance in the win, allowing two runs and eight hits while walking zero and striking out four over seven innings.

Taylor Tessier (2-1), Savanna Corr and Kaitlyn Yerby all pitched two innings apiece, and it was Tessier that got the loss. Margulies and Olcott both finished with two hits, as the pair combined for half of the Hornets' eight hits.

Margulies now has a five-game hitting streak while Olcott has hit safely in four straight games.