Yellowjackets split Sunday to wrap up weekend in St. George

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Sunday, February 14, 2016 Yellowjackets split Sunday to wrap up weekend in St. George

Cody Cooper is outstanding in his 2016 debut and the ‘Jackets have plenty of offense with 19 runs in a split on Sunday with a 10-5 win over Holy Names and a 10-9 loss to Dixie State.

ST. GEORGE, Utah – Luke Reinschmidt drove in five of Montana State University Billings’ 19 runs and Cody Cooper made a strong 2016 debut on the mound as the Yellowjackets defeated Holy Names University 10-5 and lost to Dixie State University 10-9 Sunday afternoon in a pair of games at Bruce Hurst Field.

Among Reinschmidt’s five hits on the day was his first home run of the season, while Casey Merritt and Kevin Toon contributed three RBIs each at the plate. Zach Robinson crossed the plate four times, and finished the day 5-for-6 with a couple of RBIs. The Yellowjackets finished their first weekend of the season with a record of 2-3, while Dixie State remained undefeated at 8-0 and Holy Names fell to 2-8.

“I am pleased with how our team competed today,” said MSUB head coach Rob Bishop. “We will get better as we see more field time, and we are looking forward to our next series.”

Game 1 – MSU Billings 10, Holy Names University 5 With the Yellowjackets allowing 23 free baserunners in their last two games, Cooper reversed the trend as he struck out 10 batters and walked only one in seven stellar innings against the Hawks. Although he allowed five runs, only one was earned as HNU capitalized on several defensive miscues by MSUB. Six of Cooper’s strikeouts were looking, as he refreshed the pitching staff with an excellent first outing of the season.

“Cody started a little out of rhythm, but really threw well late in the game,” Bishop said. “He stepped up big for us.”

Offensively, the ‘Jackets made a statement from the start by scoring three times in the bottom of the first inning. Merritt led off the game with his third double of the season, and Toon had another two-run base hit as he rolled the ball into center field to plate Merritt and Myles Berkram.

The Hawks scraped out two runs in the next half inning however, as Trent Carrier blasted an RBI-double to right center that plated Branson Umbarger.

Carrier came around to score on a fielding error by the ‘Jackets, as both of HNU’s runs in the second were unearned.

Freshman catcher Scott Allison came through with his first career hit and RBIs in the third inning, poking a two-run double down the line in left that brought home Corey Morris and Colter Sternhagen.

Senior Kevin Toon had three RBIs for the Yellowjackets in a pair of games on Sunday.

Both teams played station-to-station baseball in the fourth, as HNU capitalized on a throwing error, three singles, and a sacrifice fly to score three times and pull the score even at 5-5. In the bottom of the frame, Berkram moved Merritt to second with a sacrifice bunt after a leadoff single, and Reinschmidt picked up his fourth RBI in the last two days with a base hit to center.

Cooper worked around adversity in the fifth, as the Hawks loaded the bases after he recorded back-to-back strikeouts. The junior stayed tough and coaxed a ground ball off the bat of Dusty Zeisler, which Morris and Sternhagen turned into the final out. Cooper kept the momentum rolling in the final two frames he threw, with three of his final six outs coming by way of strikeout.

Kyle Durbin had a pinch-hit, RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh, and Merritt drove in Landon Peterson with a ground ball to make the score 9-5. Reliever Lee Busto worked around a fielding error and hit batter in the eighth, retiring the side without incident to bring his team three outs from victory.

Reinschmidt, who started the season 1-for-8 in his first two games, picked up another hit as he drilled his first home run of the year over the fence in right center.

Sophomore Adam Cox entered in the ninth and set down the Hawks, sealing the victory for the ‘Jackets. Merritt and Reinschmidt were the two Yellowjackets with multiple hits in the game, while 10 different players had a hit in MSUB’s lineup.

For the Hawks, Alex Denobriga went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a double, while Gnos went 2-for-4 with an RBI. HNU used five different pitchers, with starter Gunnar David allowing five runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings. David Hodge ate up 2 1/3 innings in relief, giving up two runs on two hits with two walks and a strikeout.

Game 2 – Dixie State 10, MSU Billings 9 (10 Innings) With its back against the wall down 9-7 with in the ninth inning, MSUB scraped out a pair of runs to tie the score and bring Reinschmidt to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Senior right-hander Spencer Greer got ahead of MSUB’s standout center fielder, and kept the score at 9-9 with a ground out to end the inning.

The Red Storm took advantage of a leadoff baserunner in the 10th inning, as Jerome Hill was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Drew McLaughlin rolled an infield single to second base for the walkoff win as he helped keep his team undefeated on the year.

MSUB starter Tanner Watson allowed seven runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts and a walk in four innings, while freshman Steen Fredrickson contributed four innings in relief in his MSUB debut.

Reinschmidt singled and stole second to kick off the game but the ‘Jackets couldn’t score him as Dixie State starter Chance Abrath got through the inning facing four batters. The senior right-hander received run support in the bottom of the frame, as Trey Kamachi scored after drawing a walk and Ryan Rodriguez drove in another run to make it 2-0.

Cox cut the deficit in half in the second, blasting a home run to center field in his first career at bat. The solo shot came after the right hander sealed MSUB’s win over Holy Names with a scoreless ninth inning earlier on Sunday.

Three straight hits to open the bottom of the second helped DSU jump ahead 4-1, although Watson settled down after that and retired seven of the next eight batters.

The Yellowjackets loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, and after an RBI groundout by Merritt, Reinschmidt cleared the bases with a three-run double to left center. Toon followed with an RBI single to right, and the ‘Jackets took their first lead of the ballgame 6-4.

Five straight batters reached base for the Red Storm in the fifth inning, as Hayes Hall drew a bases-loaded walk to put the advantage back in his team’s hands at 7-6. Kyle Durbin threw Samuel Hall out at the plate, and Busto got out of the jam with a big 1-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Senior Luke Reinschmidt drove in five runs for the Yellowjackets in a pair of games Sunday.

THE BUZZ: Cooper was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…Morris snapped a streak of 103 consecutive plays over 19 games without an error, committing his first defensive miscue since April 10, 2015…Reinschmidt’s long ball was the first of the season for the ‘Jackets…almost one third of MSUB’s hits this season (12 of 37) have gone for extra bases…Busto, who ranked second in the NCAA Division II in appearances last year with 27, took the mound in four of MSUB’s five games this weekend…after starting the season 1-for-8, Reinschmidt is 7-for-16 the last three games with two doubles, a triple, and a home run.

CAREER FIRSTS: Brett Christina had his first career hit during MSUB’s ninth-inning rally…Fredrickson made his debut on the mound for the ‘Jackets…Cox homered in his first career at bat.

AHEAD: The Yellowjackets head to Denver, Colo., next weekend for a four-game series at Metro State University. A doubleheader next Saturday will sandwich single games on Friday and Sunday, with all games starting at noon and featuring live video and statistics available here.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--