FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, April 9, 2016 ‘Jackets drop doubleheader against Central Washington Saturday
MSUB comes up just short in a pair of games on Saturday, as Central Washington limits the ‘Jackets to six total runs and wins a four-game GNAC series with a doubleheader sweep. BILLINGS, Mont. – Moving the tying run into scoring position in the final inning in both games of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday, the Montana State University Billings baseball team came up just short both times and dropped a pair of games to Central Washington University at Dehler Park. CWU starter Mackenzie Gaul pitched his team to a narrow, 3-2 win in Game 1, before the ‘Jackets ended Game 2 with the bases loaded in a 6-4 defeat. MSUB didn’t go down without plenty of chances, as the ‘Jackets left 19 total runners on base throughout the two games and scored just six total runs. “We had chances to win both games, but they pitched well and they beat us today,” commented MSUB head coach Rob Bishop. “We pitched well enough all weekend to be competitive and win more games than we did. But Central played a little bit better than we did and when we made mistakes they got big hits.”
The Wildcats (16-15, 12-10 GNAC) won 3 of 4 four games in the weekend series, and beat MSUB in a conference series for the second time this season. The Yellowjackets’ only other loss to a GNAC opponent came in the opening series of the year, when CWU won 3 of 4 in Ellensburg, Wash., in early March. The ‘Jackets slipped to 17-15 on the year and are now a game below .500 in the GNAC at 11-12 in conference play. MSUB is in fourth place in the standings, with CWU moving into third with the three wins this weekend. Luke Reinschmidt went 4-for-8 in Saturday’s doubleheader, while Kyle Durbin stayed hot at the plate going 4-for-7 with a run scored. Game 1 – Central Washington 3, MSU Billings 2 Cody Cooper suffered his first loss of the season, despite pitching into the eighth inning and giving up just three runs. The junior right-hander threw 99 pitches and had a pair of strikeouts, and is now 6-1 on the season. The ‘Cats rode the arm of Gaul, who surrendered just one run on five hits and had three strikeouts in seven strong innings. Ryan Archibald tossed a scoreless eighth inning, and CJ Gettman had a strikeout in the ninth and worked around three hits to earn his fifth save of the year. Colter Sternhagen led off the ninth inning with a double into the gap in right-center field, and scored on an infield single by Corey Morris. A base hit by Zach Robinson moved the tying run into scoring position at second, but Gettman ended the game with a strikeout. The Wildcats did most of their damage early, plating two runs off of Cooper on four hits in the top of the first inning. Dylan Freyer, Jake Levin, and Tanner Romo had consecutive two-out singles to get CWU out to a 2-0 lead.
Cody Cooper pitched into the eighth inning, giving up just three runs to the Wildcats in a tough, 3-2 loss in Game 1 Saturday.
MSUB managed just two hits off of Gaul through the first five innings, and CWU increased its lead to 3-0 when Reid Martinez tripled and scored on a hit by Freyer in the top of the fifth.
With one out in the sixth, freshman Alec Leighton stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and roped a double into the corner. Kevin Toon brought home the first run of the day with a sacrifice fly, and the ‘Jackets loaded the bases with two outs. Gaul got Adam Cox to ground out however, as he limited the damage to a single run. On the very first ball in play the next inning, Leighton made a diving catch in left field to take away a base hit from Martinez. A leadoff walk and one-out single put runners on the corners with one out in the eighth, as Bryon Baker took over for Cooper in the middle of a jam. The junior right-hander got CWU’s speedy leadoff hitter Ryan Atkinson to bounce a sharp grounder to Sternhagen at second, and the ‘Jackets turned a big inning-ending double play to keep the score at 3-1.
MSUB could not find the big hit however, leaving seven runners on base in Saturday’s opener. Durbin was 3-for-4, the one out he made a long fly ball onto the warning track in right field that would have been a three-run home run if not for a steady breeze blowing directly in from the outfield. Freyer finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs in Game 1, and Levin also had three hits for CWU. Game 2 – Central Washington 6, MSU Billings 4 In a theme that came to define the series for the ‘Jackets, the final three of a total of 12 runners left on base stood on the bags when the final out of the series was recorded. MSUB trailed by as much as 6-1 after a solo home run from Darren Honeysett in the sixth inning, but battled back and had the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh. Trailing 6-3, Matt Dillon drew a bases-loaded walk to plate a run in the final inning against CWU’s Jacob Forrester. The walk put Morris on second as the tying run and Dillon on first as the potential winning run, but Forrester ended the game with a strikeout as CWU took the series. After serving as the designated hitter in the first three games, Levin turned in a strong effort on the mound as he gave up three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings to earn the win. Forrester had a pair of strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings, earning his first save of the year.
Luke Reinschmidt went 3-for-4 and stole two bases for MSUB in Game 2 on Saturday.
MSUB took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the first inning, as Sternhagen drove in Durbin with a two-out single to make it 1-0.
The ‘Cats responded right away however, as Randy Fuller lifted a sacrifice fly into right-center field and scored Kyle Stahl from third. James Smith III followed with a solo home run over the fence in left field, pushing his team in front 2-1. Putting his speed on display in the bottom of the second, Reinschmidt singled to center, and stole second and third in the same at bat with Robinson at the plate. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs for Durbin, but Levin got out of the jam with a ground out back to the mound. The Wildcats drove MSUB starter Drew Christina from the game in the third inning, as three straight walks loaded the bases. Reliever Lee Busto came through however, stranding the runners with a strikeout to end the frame. After MSUB put two runners on to start the bottom of the third, Levin began a streak of eight straight hitters retired, as he kept his team in front through the fifth inning. The ‘Cats meanwhile rewarded Levin with three more runs in the fourth, an RBI-double by Freyer highlighting the big inning and making it 5-1.
With their backs against the wall down 6-1 in the sixth, MSUB finally came through at the plate and scored a pair of runs. Pinch hitter Brett Christina had the fourth straight single to open the inning, driving in a run with the bases loaded. Though MSUB scored again on a throwing error, the ‘Cats turned a huge inning-ending double play with the bases loaded to limit the damage. Drew Christina allowed two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and five walks in 2 2/3 innings. Steen Fredrickson was solid in relief, giving up one run on one hit in 2 2/3 innings, and Corbin Smith had a perfect seventh inning to finish the day strong for the ‘Jackets on the mound. Honeysett’s solo home run to right field in the sixth was his third long ball of the series, as he lifted CWU to its 6-5 win Friday in the series opener with two homers and five RBIs. THE BUZZ: Reinschmidt was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day, with four hits and a pair of stolen bases to lead the offense…the last series MSUB lost at home was to Central Washington on April 25-26, 2014…MSUB left the bases loaded three times and hit into three double plays in the doubleheader. NEXT UP: MSUB remains at home to host first-place Northwest Nazarene University in another four-game GNAC series next weekend. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at Dehler Park, and live video featuring play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--