POCATELLO, Idaho — It will go down as a Forever Team, only the second in program history, the type that gets remembered by a number, by a year, by a season.
First, it was 2017, the team that won the Big Sky tournament title in Ogden, Utah, in just the program’s third year of existence, catching the fancy of Griz fans who love a winner.
Now, 2026 joins the short list, not necessarily for what it won but for how it took back a program, taking it from mediocrity to within a few plays of challenging for another tournament championship.
That journey, which had more rough patches than smooth ones early before becoming one that won’t be forgotten, came to an end Wednesday.
After rallying from a pair of four-run deficits to knock off No. 2 Northern Colorado 11-7, Montana, the No. 4 seed, fell to No. 3 Sacramento State 10-7 at the Big Sky Conference Championship.
The Hornets advance to face No. 1 Idaho State for a championship on Thursday while Montana leaves us with dueling emotions: ‘How fun was that?’ mixed with ‘How long until next season starts?’
That’s what Forever Teams do.
“The run they made throughout the course of Big Sky play and this tournament is something that will last forever,” said coach Stef Ewing, who took her program from eight wins in 2025 to 22 this season.
“It was a really special experience to be with this group and see all the things they accomplished and how many streaks and records they broke. Big Mama Bear is proud of them.”
Montana rode the right arm of Carah Sweet hard over the back half of the season, and the sophomore consistently delivered.
The Grizzlies looked again to Sweet in Pocatello, giving her the start against Weber State, then Idaho State, then Portland State, against whom she threw a complete game on Tuesday.
She got the start against Northern Colorado on Wednesday and faced four batters who went single, home run, double, home run. It wasn’t the desired outcome but it wasn’t surprising either.
The Grizzlies trailed 4-0 in the bottom of the first before they had even recorded an out.
“Carah was incredible this whole tournament. She pitched her heart out until her arm couldn’t go in a circle anymore,” said Ewing.
“We knew we were going to run her out there and see what we could get, with (Kaiana) Kong ready to go. It wasn’t a problem. We knew we could score some runs, too.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Montana fell behind at Weber State 6-0 and didn’t panic. Rather, the Grizzlies stuck to their game plan and above all else just believed. Final: Montana 11, Weber State 6.
Montana got a run back against the Bears in the top of the second on a JoJo Christiaens home run, then gave up another run in the bottom of the second to fall behind 5-1.
Anyone not in Montana’s dugout was likely thinking the same thing: uh-oh, this isn’t looking good. What was happening in the dugout was another story.
“The hitters were coming back and saying, we can hit this pitcher,” said Ewing. “The in-dugout conversations were incredible. There was no doubt we were going to get it done.
“The kids knew they were going to be fine. You just let them go do their thing and make the adjustments they need to make.”
Montana tied it with four runs in the third, on a Chloe Saxton sacrifice fly, on a Christiaens RBI double, on a two-run single by Mackenzie Bekofsky, then took the lead for good in the fourth.
Jessica Cherms, who put together Montana’s third four-hit game of the season against the Bears, tripled down the right-field line and Grace Lopez got her home with a ground-out.
It’s hard to say whether Northern Colorado was more shell-shocked by Montana’s counter-punch or the Bears’ inability to do much of anything against Kong, who replaced Sweet in the bottom of the first.
After the Bears went up 5-1, Kong allowed no hits in the third, no hits in the fourth, no hits in the fifth, no hits in the sixth. “She came in and was phenomenal,” said Ewing.
The death blow came in the top of the fifth, in the form of a three-run home run by Lopez that had Northern Colorado centerfielder KK Christie throwing her glove to the ground in frustration.
When Lopez emphatically stomped on home plate, it was the last of 10 straight runs for Montana that had the Grizzlies up 11-5.
Christie led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run and the Bears later added an RBI ground-out as Ewing went from Kong to Audri Elias to get the game’s final three outs.
It was the most runs scored by the Grizzlies against the Bears since 2017, Forever Teams finding common ground.
Lopez drove in four, the ninth time this season a Montana player has driven in as many. Christiaens had her fourth three-hit game of the season, Kong collected her sixth win.
And then there were only three left standing: Montana, Sacramento State and Idaho State, though the Bengals had the winners-bracket advantage of sitting and watching on Wednesday.
Montana’s fifth game of the tournament felt like the 10th round of a hard-fought fight. You knew the Grizzlies would keep swinging, but could they keep the fresher Hornets from doing the same thing?
“Our pitchers by that point had all thrown a lot,” said Ewing. “We were just trying to figure out who could get us some outs.”
Elias got the start and pitched herself both into and out of trouble in the bottom of the first, loading the bases with nobody out but only allowing one run, on a hit-by-pitch.
Montana scored once in the top of the first to go up 1-0, Lopez doubling, Saxton RBI singling, and left the bases loaded, as Sacramento State did in the bottom of the first.
Montana’s last lead of the game came in the top of the second, 2-1, and came in similar fashion, Lopez hitting a double, Saxton driving her in with a single.
Lopez would end her sophomore season, in which she hit .368, going 3 for 4. Saxton also would go 3 for 4 in her final game in a Montana uniform, the lone senior on this year’s team.
Montana walked four batters in the first two innings and hit another, allowing the Hornets to go up 4-1 while hitting three singles.
“The walks and hit-by-pitches were just crippling,” said Ewing. “We just gave them some runs.”
Sacramento State began pulling away from there, adding two in the fourth, one in the fifth, three in the sixth to go up 10-3.
But Forever Teams don’t just concede. Hailey Boer had a pinch-hit double and scored in the top of the sixth.
In the seventh, Bekofsky hit a two-run home run, Montana’s program-record 51st of the season. Then Brianna Gutierrez singled and Cherms doubled to left-center to bring up the top of the order.
Could they do it again? They could, almost. Lopez singled to center to drive in two but the game ended with her trying to get to third, striving to do just a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more.
“Love this team’s fight. They never stop playing until the final out. We made some mistakes but we just keep going. We made every swing count and every out count,” said Ewing.
Montana’s one and two hitters in the lineup had six hits. Four, five and six all had two. In between was Anna Cockhill who went 0 for 3 with three line-drive outs that Hornets will be feeling in the morning.
“They said they were going to come out here today and empty the tank, and they did,” said Ewing. “We came up short but it was a great day for Griz Softball and a great Big Sky tournament for Griz Softball.
“If some line drives fall, we could still be playing. It’s bittersweet that it’s over but an incredible run and incredible job by these kids.”
The first Forever Team, in 2017, showed what the Montana softball program is capable of. The next Forever Team rekindled that belief, with all those underclassmen carrying that torch forward.
“We talked from the beginning about changing this program,” said Ewing. “It started with these kids showing up every day and just doing it. They bought in and believed it.
“We have some great kids and some great leaders. I’m thankful for what they’ve done for this program. It hurts that it’s over but the future is bright.”
