FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Birgitta Gray O: (406) 896-5917 E: birgitta.gray@msubillings.edu April 25, 2016 Tracy leads Yellowjacket honorees on all-conference team MSUB Softball on Facebook | MSUB Softball on ISSUU GNAC Release | Yellowjacket Award Winners
Heather Tracy earned first team all-conference honors for her sophomore campaign as a Yellowjacket.
Five members of the MSUB Yellowjacket softball team are being honored by the conference for their work on the season, including first-team recognition for sophomore Heather Tracy. PORTLAND, Ore. – Sophomore Heather Tracy led a team of five MSU Billings softball team members earning allconference honors the Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced Monday. Tracy was named as a unanimous first-team all-GNAC selection. Junior Bella Rovens and sophomore Cameron Cassinelli were announced as second-team all-conference honorees. Sophomore Megan Dettling and junior Kelsey Devlin were both selected to the honorable mention team. Tracy had a break-out second year campaign as a Yellowjacket. The right fielder ended the season batting .429 for thirdbest in the GNAC and third-best all-time as a single season at MSU Billings. She also leads the top-20 batters in the GNAC in stolen bases with the third highest total in the conference at 16.
With her speed on the bases, Tracy also finished with three triples for a tie in second in the conference. She was sixth in on-base percentage at .461. She was also sixth in slugging percentage, finishing the year at .662. Tracy’s slugging percentage is ninth-best all-time at MSUB for a single season. She finished the season with the secondhighest stolen bases in a single season as a Yellowjacket, and has accumulated 26 total in her career which ties her for fifth all-time. The native of Boise, Idaho, ended the season leading the team in hits with 57 and total bases at 88. She was fourth in RBI at 24 and third in home runs with seven. Tracy’s approach at the plate of “see ball, hit ball” has served the outfielder well as she improved her batting average from .318 as a freshman, to .429 this season, ranging as high as .463 and spending time atop the GNAC for multiple weeks. In addition to her bat and speed, Tracy’s arm contributed to big plays from right field. In the final game of the year, Tracy ended the fifth inning with a double play, catching a line drive and then throwing out the runner at second. The week before, Tracy threw out Concordia’s lead-off batter on a play from the far right field corner, catching the runner trying to stretch a hit into a triple. “Heather had a very strong year for us at the plate, on the base paths, and in the outfield,” MSUB head coach Rebekah Gasner said. “She has several unique tools that she can utilize in the batter’s box which makes her a threat to any defense. Her hard work during the fall season paid off- she added the element of power to her game and she was able to balance that power well with her short game ability. She has a high softball IQ, which she displayed in all three facets of the game. Heather’s accuracy and arm strength in the outfield were a huge asset to the team as she was able to throw out multiple runners this season. We are looking forward to what Heather can accomplish in her next two years as a Yellowjacket.”” Rovens earned her second consecutive honor as a secondteam all-conference selection. The center fielder ended the year batting .357 for 16th in the GNAC. She led the team in runs scored with 35 and was second in hits with 56. She tied for the most doubles with seven and was second in walks at 18. Rovens’ complete game made her a threat on offense and defense. In the outfield, Rovens saved two home runs over the fence at Avitus Group Stadium this year, including robbing a grand slam effort. The junior ended the season with five stolen bases and has collected 28 in her career at MSUB sending her to fourth alltime as a Yellowjacket. She needs seven more next season to catch the all-time leader Jessica Frank at 35.
Bella Rovens robbed two home runs this year, including a grand slam.
“Bella had a great year for us defensively and at the plate,” Gasner said. “She is a great lead-off hitter and also does well moving runners over, so she was able to excel in whatever role she played in our lineup. She had several key moments for us in the outfield; she robbed multiple home runs over the outfield fence and made several diving plays throughout the entire season. Her leadership as a center fielder and lead-off hitter was crucial for our young team this year. She has been a strong, consistent player the past three years and we are fortunate to have her as a returning senior for next year.” Casssinelli ended the year fourth in home runs in the GNAC with 11 and was tied for seventh in walks at 20. The sophomore finished the year batting .295 and led the team in RBI with 37. She finished with a .589 slugging percentage and a .406 on-base percentage – both were third-highest on the team. This season, Cassinelli was selected as a utility player to the GNAC all-conference second team as the native of Santan Valley, Ariz., rotated between first base, and for the first time in her career, into the circle for MSUB. Cassinelli tossed 12 and 1/3 innings as a Yellowjacket, facing 73 batters at the plate. She made appearances in seven games, starting one for the team.
Cameron Cassinelli led MSUB in RBI with 37.
“Cameron has the ability to hit the ball out of the park on any given atbat,” Gasner commented. “The team looks to her to be a spark plug in our line up as she led the team in RBI. She is an integral part of this offense and a feared hitter in the GNAC. We expect Cameron to work hard throughout the off-season and come back as an even bigger threat as an upperclassman.” Devlin and Dettling were both first time selections to the honorable mention team. Devlin finished 19th in the GNAC in batting average at .345 and tied Cassinelli for fourth in the conference in home runs with 11. The infielder also led the Yellowjackets and finished fourth in the GNAC in slugging percentage at .681 which is the sixth best season all-time at MSUB. The junior ended the season with 41 hits, including seven doubles. In the infield, Devlin spent time at both third and first base.
Kelsey Devlin led the team in slugging percentage at .681.
“Kelsey’s leadership on the field was extremely beneficial as she was our only returning infielder from last season,” Gasner said. “She is a threat offensively and has the capability to change the game in a single
at-bat. She grew exponentially this year, especially toward the end of the season. She became more patient at the plate, allowing her to not only see more pitches, but more pitches in her zone, making her even more successful. Defensively, she continued to improve as the season wore on, working to stay in front of balls and focus on lead-out opportunities. I believe she will continue to be a leader for this team going in to her final season as a Yellowjacket.” During her second season in the GNAC, Dettling made steady appearances during the first month of competition before injuries forced the right-handed pitcher to miss games in the middle part of the year. She led the team to a season-opening win over nationally-ranked Sonoma State, 9-8, tossing a complete game and allowing just three earned runs. She also had a complete game and win over the thenNo. 3 Dixie State Trailblazers, 4-1. In the GNAC, Dettling made appearances in seven games, including spending time in the circle during the last two series of the year. Against Northwest Nazarene, Dettling went the distance, tossing seven innings and 121 pitches in an 8-6 win against the Crusaders. She made appearances in 21 games for MSUB this season, tossing 89 and 2/3 innings for the Yellowjackets. Even missing a large part of the conference season, the sophomore led the conference in opposing batting average, limiting teams to .209 at the plate. She ended the season third in the GNAC in strikeouts with 78 for a 6.09 average per game. In just her second season, Dettling has accumulated 125 strikeouts which is ninth all-time at MSUB. “Megan had some great appearances on the mound this Megan Dettling led the GNAC in oppos. batting avg. at .209. year,” Gasner commented. “The fact that she earned honorable mention this season despite battling an injury shows that she is well-respected throughout the GNAC, so we are really excited for her to come back healthy next season. She has put in hard work to improve the mental and physical aspects of her game and we were excited to see her hard work start to pay off. She emerged as a threat at the plate early in the year and we are hoping she can continue to be a strong influence in the lineup next season.” MSU Billings loses just three seniors on this year’s roster. The team finished the year 14-36 overall and 6-22 in the conference. The Yellowjackets ended the season winning the last 4-6 games, including a 3-1 series win over conference opponent Northwest Nazarene. “This season was definitely a growing year for us and we are happy to have ended the year with a series win against NNU,” Gasner said on finishing the 2016 season at home last week. “We have a lot to look forward to next season with so many retuning players. This team has tremendous potential and we were able to see glimpses of that throughout the season. We will continue to grow as a team and look to expand on the successes we had this year. We have the capability to be an offensive powerhouse, especially with the so many key hitters returning to our lineup.”
Meghan Luebbert from Concordia (Ore.) was named the GNAC Player of the Year. Mike Larabee from Central Washington earned the GNAC Coach of the Year honor. Also from CWU, Kiana Wood was selected the GNAC Pitcher of the Year. For the complete list of all-conference honorees you can visit the GNAC website HERE. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--