‘Jackets split with Wildcats in Saturday doubleheader

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, April 1, 2017 ‘Jackets split with Wildcats in Saturday doubleheader

MSUB rallies to tie Game 2 with five runs in the seventh before losing on a walk-off home run, as the Yellowjackets settle for a split at Central Washington with a convincing 14-5 win in the opener Saturday.

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Despite rallying to tie Game 2 with a five-run seventh inning, the Montana State University Billings baseball team lost the series finale 6-5 and settled for a doubleheader split at Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent Central Washington University Saturday at the CWU Baseball Field.

Trailing 5-0 entering the final inning of the weekend, the ‘Jackets put together a furious rally and evened the score before CWU’s Jake Levin ended his monster series with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the inning. The Yellowjackets started the day with a solid 14-5 win in Game 1, and moved to 11-18 overall on the year and 9-10 in GNAC play.

“The guys responded well today, and our offense was extremely productive,” said MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton.

“Bryon threw three pitches for strikes, and he gives us a chance to win every time he throws. It was tough giving up another walk-off, but the guys competed well on the weekend.”

Game 1 – MSU Billings 14, Central Washington 5 The ‘Jackets blew the game open with a six-run seventh inning, pulling away and sending 10 men to the plate in the frame.

CWU starter Griffin Davis posted an efficient, 1-2-3 first inning, setting the tone by retiring the side in order on less than 10 pitches. The theme continued for the righty’s first two times through MSUB’s lineup, as a single by Tanner Watson was the only baserunner for the ‘Jackets through the first four innings.

Bryon Baker was similarly quick to retire the Wildcats, getting each of his infielders involved with a putout in the bottom of the first. Conor Plaisance came close to giving CWU a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but Casey Merritt tracked down his deep fly ball in the gap and made the catch on the warning track.

Dylan Freyre led off the bottom of the fourth with a double into the gap in left-center, marking the first runner of the game for either team to reach scoring position. Baker was unfazed however, retiring the next three hitters in order including his second strikeout to end the inning and strand the runner.

Back-to-back errors set up a scoring chance for the ‘Jackets in the top of the fifth, and a sharp ground ball up the middle by Matt Dillon brought home Watson to make the score 1-0.

Senior Bryon Baker tossed 7 1/3 solid innings in his Game 1 start Saturday.

After Davis limited the damage to a single run, Yi-Fan Pan popped a fly ball into the wind in left and watched as it fell just in front of a full-speed Merritt for a double. Ensuing singles loaded the bases with one out, and Baker walked a run home to tie the score at 1-1. The ‘Jackets ended the threat quickly however, turning a 6-4-3 double play to stunt CWU’s momentum.

Ryan Myers helped MSUB regain the lead with an RBI-single in the top of the sixth, and Watson followed with a one-out, two-run home run to make the score 4-1. The ‘Jackets kept the rally alive with two outs, as Caje Golden fisted an RBIsingle into right field after a single by Linebarger and a walk by Max Hartgraves.

Baker responded with a shutdown inning, retiring the side in order to keep the score at 5-1 in MSUB’s favor. Jalen Garcia helped start the game-defining rally in the top of the seventh, with a single at the plate and then advancing all the way around on a steal of third sandwiched by a pair of wild pitches. Four walks, a single, and a double spelled the end for the ‘Cats, as MSUB led 11-1 by the end of the frame.

Keeping their bats hot with a three-run eighth, Linebarger, Dillon, and Hartgraves each had RBIs to make it 14-1. Levin hit his first homer of the day to get two runs back in the bottom of the eighth, and the Wildcats managed two more in the ninth before MSUB reliever Garrett Helfrich closed the door.

Baker scattered five hits over 7 1/3 innings, striking out four and walking two while allowing two runs. Helfrich struck out two and allowed three runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Game 2 – Central Washington 6, MSU Billings 5 (7 Innings) Linebarger homered to kick off the last-ditch rally, and MSUB started the top of the seventh with five straight baserunners. Myers capped the scoring spree with the game-tying hit, drilling a two-out single into left field to score Merritt and make the score 5-5.

With one out in the bottom of the frame however, Levin launched a 2-2 pitched over the fence in right-center and was mobbed by his teammates behind home plate as he sealed the series win for CWU. The Wildcats’ JJ Asinas took the no-decision, despite giving up just one run on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks in six-plus innings pitched.

Matt Hape started for the ‘Jackets, giving up four runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts and four walks in four innings. Freshmen Josh Harrington and Sam Muskat combined to throw the final 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, each allowing one run on two hits.

The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, executing a double-steal of second and home.

Only three Yellowjackets managed to make it as far as second base before the final rally, as Asinas kept MSUB’s hitters off balance with just 69 pitches in his six innings of work.

Kyle Stahl wore a pitch to lead off the third, and it turned into a two-run rally thanks to a wild pitch and an RBI-single by Plaisance. CWU tacked on insurance runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, on a single by Stahl and a fielding error by the ‘Jackets to make the score 5-0.

Linebarger and Dillon each had a pair of hits for MSUB, while Stahl went 3-for-3 and Levin went 2-for-2 to lead the Wildcats. Each team left six runners on base in the series finale.

“We are at the halfway point in our conference season, and are in a position where we are still in the conference tournament race,” said Sutton. “We have our fate in our own hands, and we just have to continue to take it one series at a time. Hitting the road to face NNU next week, the guys are going to be excited to get out and compete again.”

THE BUZZ: Watson was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day, tying a school record with four runs scored in the opener…MSUB’s 14 runs were its most in a game this season, and it marked the third time this year the team reached double digits in scoring.

COMING UP: MSUB remains on the road next week, for a four-game series at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. Doubleheaders are scheduled for April 7 at 3 p.m. and April 8 at 1 p.m. at Vail Baseball Field, and live video and live statistics will be available online through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

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