GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence softball team got off to a hot start and never looked back, defeating Northwest 10-0 in the only game played on Friday.

Taylor Mathews got things going in the first inning with a leadoff solo homerun. The momentum was carried after a double from McKenzie Staats brought home Ashlee Anderson. Sarah Bury continued the hot streak with a grand slam to make it 6-0. Ashlee Anderson hit an RBI single, scoring Macy Mangold to take a 7-0 lead after the first inning.

"That first inning was exciting," head coach Joey Egan said. "Having Taylor Mathews start as the leadoff hitter and hit one over was the momentum-starter. That meant everything for the whole game."

The score remained 7-0 until the bottom of the fourth inning, when a Peyton Elliot double brought Anderson home. Elliot then scored off a ground-rule double from Staats to expand the lead to nine. Staats then scored the tenth run of the afternoon on a sacrifice fly from Alivia Atlee. The Argos forced three quick outs in the top of the fifth to solidify the victory.

As a team, that Argos were aggressive from the batter's box. The team recorded eight hits on the afternoon. They also had success on the mound - Brie Clifford pitched three innings and allowed no hits or runs while striking out five batters.

"I had a good feeling that we were moving in the right direction," Egan said. "We were playing really tough top teams in the country. Northwest is not a bad team at all, they're a very good team. It just proved that we were pushing through some of our obstacles and growing as a team."

The coaching staff hopes the win will change the outlook on the season. After struggling in the beginning of the season, the staff believes the team's improvement will begin to show.

"We were just so rusty after being off for a year," Egan said. "After not seeing a live pitch, or pitchers not pitching to anybody. We just had so much to clear up and straighten out. We had to work on  our confidence, plate approaches and attacking zones for the pitchers. We controlled the game and attacked the zone. We went from 10-walk games earlier in the year to a 2-walk game."

The Argos will have to prove their improvement tomorrow – with another doubleheader. The two teams will take play at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

"We have a motto that we get stronger every inning," Egan said. "That's every inning all the way through the two days of game. It's going to be colder tomorrow but we're used to that. We practice all week in this weather. As long as we stay motivated and our connection as a team is still strong, we're going to be good."