FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, March 10, 2017 Softball slips in DH sweep at Saints
MSUB’s softball team is swept in a GNAC doubleheader at Saint Martin’s on Friday, falling 7-1 in Game 1 and 8-6 in Game 2. LACEY, Wash. – A five-run sixth inning by host Saint Martin’s University erased a 5-3 lead for the Montana State University Billings softball team on Friday, spoiling the Yellowjackets’ chances of salvaging a doubleheader split as the Saints won a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference games at the SMU Softball Field. A home run by Bella Rovens was the lone blemish against SMU’s Kim Nelson in Game 1, as the Saints rolled to a 7-1 victory. The home team completed the sweep in comeback fashion in Game 2, improving to 6-2 on the year with an 8-6 win in the nightcap. The Yellowjackets (9-14, 5-5 GNAC) received another complete game from freshman left-hander Maddy Lincoln, and home runs from Heather Tracy and Kelsey Devlin in Game 2 in the loss.
“We made some mistakes we can’t make against a good team, but our pitching staff came out and threw well enough for us to win those games,” said MSUB head coach Jessica Rayman, hinting at six total errors committed by MSUB’s defense in the doubleheader. “We were a little slow out of the gates offensively, but in the second game we pulled it together and hit well enough to have a chance to win.” Game 1 – Saint Martin’s 7, MSU Billings 1 After retiring the side in the first inning, Nelson worked around an error and a hit in the second to strand a pair of ‘Jackets on base. The righty received some major help from her defense in the third inning, as SMU turned a 5-2-5 double play with the bases loaded and no outs to get out of the jam without giving up a run. The big defensive play sparked momentum at the plate for SMU, as the Saints took the lead with a run off Lincoln in the bottom of the inning. Nelson gave up just two hits the rest of the way – a single in the fourth and Rovens’ solo home run in the fifth – as she completed a three-hitter. Nelson pitched well to contact, with zero strikeouts and one walk as she threw just 86 pitches in the complete game. Three straight singles by the Saints with one out got a six-run sixth inning started, with Lauren Diuco delivering a big two-out, two-run base hit to cap the rally and put the score out of reach. Lincoln finished the game with two strikeouts and one walk, while allowing seven runs on nine hits and throwing 83 pitches. Bella Rovens hit her second home run of the year in Game 1, and extended her hitting streak to seven with hits in each game for MSUB Friday.
Nicole Tiffany had two of MSUB’s three hits in the game, while Diuco went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Saints. Game 2 – Saint Martin’s 8, MSU Billings 6
Another big sixth inning got the best of the Yellowajckets, as Tessani Dixon set the tone for the five-run frame with a leadoff home run. Mary Dettling followed with a three-run shot to right, and Nelson plated the final run with an RBIsingle to center. MSUB got one run in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Megan Dettling and Cameron Cassinelli, but Nelson came back on and got the final two outs with the tying run at the plate to earn the save. Devlin’s 26th career home run gave MSUB a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but RBIs from Sabrina Hicks, Jackie Schmaeling, and Dixon quickly put a 3-1 advantage into the hands of SMU.
The Yellowjackets had better success against Game 2 starter Lindsay Miller, who allowed four runs on six hits with two walks in 3 2/3 innings pitched. MSUB had chances in the second with two on and one out, and in the third after a leadoff double by Devlin, but both times Miller stranded the runners on base. Dettling settled down for MSUB after the wild first inning, and entered a groove where she retired seven in-a-row into the fourth inning. The junior right-hander blanked the Saints for four straight innings, until SMU’s final big rally in the sixth. Meanwhile, the ‘Jackets had commandeered the lead, thanks to a three-run fourth inning. Madison Kelly started the rally with a one-out double, and Rovens followed with her second RBI of the day on a sharp base hit into right field. Tracy’s home run made the score 4-3, and consecutive doubles by Cassinelli and Myrissa Prince in the top of the fifth added one more run to MSUB’s lead. The two-run advantage didn’t hold up however, as the Saints swiped back momentum with the big inning. Lauren Maley earned the win in the circle for SMU, allowing two runs on four hits with one strikeout and no walks in 2 2/3 innings of relief. THE BUZZ: Dettling was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…Tracy’s 21-game hitting streak came to an end after going 0-for-2 with a hit by pitch in Game 1…it tied Tracy for the fourth-longest hitting streak in GNAC history…an error by Prince in Game 1 snapped a streak of 121 consecutive plays without an error, which started on April 12 of last season…Prince’s errorless streak was the 10th-longest in MSUB history overall, and the longest by a noncatcher or first baseman…Cassinelli also had a triple-digit errorless streak snapped, as the first baseman reached 114 consecutive chances until a blunder in the sixth inning of Game 1…Emma Tucker made her first-career start in left field in Game 2, and picked up her first-career hit as a Yellowjacket in the second inning. AHEAD: MSUB’s 12-game road trip ends Saturday, with another doubleheader against the Saints. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Mountain time, with live video and live statistics available online through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--