‘Jackets open TOC with 2 losses Friday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, March 31, 2017 ‘Jackets open TOC with 2 losses Friday

MSUB loses twice on the opening day of the 2017 Tournament of Champions, falling in a pair of tight games 4-3 against UC San Diego and 1-0 against CSU San Bernardino.

TURLOCK, Calif. – Opening the 2017 Tournament of Champions with a pair of tightly contested games on Friday, the Montana State University Billings softball team lost 4-3 against UC San Diego and 1-0 against Cal State San Bernardino at Pedretti Sports Complex.

The Yellowjackets (12-21) rallied after giving up three runs in the first inning to nearly complete a comeback against the Tritons, before Heather Tracy broke up a perfect game with a single in the top of the seventh in the one-run loss to the Coyotes.

“We definitely competed all day today, but we were just a little slow to start in the first game,” said MSUB head coach Jessica Rayman. “We showed a lot of fight defensively, and I am proud of that today. We need to be better offensively.”

Megan Dettling went 2-for-4 with a home run in Game 1, before striking out a career-high nine in a complete-game fourhitter in Game 2. Kelsey Devlin joined Dettling as the only Yellowjackets with multiple hits on Friday.

Game 1 – UC San Diego 4, MSU Billings 3 Three straight singles in the top of the first and an error by the ‘Jackets gave UCSD a 3-0 lead and proved to be the difference in a well-pitched game by freshman left-hander Maddy Lincoln. In her 12th complete game of the year, Lincoln scattered five hits and struck out four, while walking five and giving up four runs (three earned).

Lizzy Beutter and Milana Casillas combined to strike out five and walk none for the Tritons, and MSUB lost despite out-hitting UCSD 7-5. “We showed a lot of fight in the sixth and seventh, but we just didn’t have enough to close out the game,” Rayman said.

MSUB had a prime scoring chance in the top of the second with runners on second and third and no outs, but Beutter recorded a popup and a strikeout to end the threat. It kicked off a stretch in which she retired 10 of 11 batters with only an error interrupting the string.

Junior Heather Tracy broke up a perfect game with MSUB’s only hit in a 1-0 loss to CSUSB Friday.

The Tritons had increased their lead to 4-0 by that point, after an RBI-single by Ashley Chestnut in the top of the third. Tracy had a key diving catch in foul territory to help limit the damage during the third inning to a single run. Myrissa Prince also had an exceptional defensive stop on a tough ground ball to her left, as the ‘Jackets relied on their solid defense to keep the score close.

Dettling and Cameron Cassinelli sparked a rally with back-to-back singles in the sixth, and Katlyn Stringari came through with a clutch two-run single to get her team on the board. Lincoln stranded two runners in the top of the seventh to give MSUB a final shot at evening the score.

Dettling’s solo home run in the bottom of the seventh cut the deficit to one run, but it was all the ‘Jackets could muster at the plate.

Chestnut was the lone Triton with multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-4 with the team’s only two RBIs. UCSD improved to 15-15 on the season with the win.

Game 2 – CSU San Bernardino 1, MSU Billings 0 Starting pitcher Cassandra Williams retired the first 19 batters she faced, before Tracy’s single spoiled her bid at a perfect game in the top of the seventh. Williams’ dominant performance featured 11 strikeouts, as she faced one batter over the minimum.

Williams’ near-perfect stint overshadowed a stellar complete game by Dettling, who allowed just one run on four hits with four walks and nine strikeouts.

CSUSB’s lone run of the game came on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the second inning, as Morgan Ratliff worked the count full after falling behind 0-2.

The Coyotes had just two runners reach second base after their run, as Dettling threw consistently well in her 117-pitch outing.

CSUSB improved to 19-15 overall on the year with the win, and is 7-4 in its last 11 games.

“We haven’t had a 1-0 game all year, and I’m proud that our pitchers today didn’t crumble under pressure,” Rayman said. “We just had hard time hitting their pitcher, and she was really good.”

THE BUZZ: Dettling was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…her nine strikeouts were a career high…it was the first 1-0 game MSUB was involved in since a 1-0 loss to #20 UC San Diego on April 6, 2014...MSUB last won a game 1-0 on March 28, 2009 against Saint Martin’s…the ‘Jackets are 4-9 all-time in games with a final score of 1-0.

COMING UP: The Yellowjackets take on two more west-region opponents Saturday, in San Francisco State University at 1:30 p.m. Mountain time and Dominican University (Calif.) at 4 p.m. Mountain time. Live stats will be available for both games online through the links on the MSUB softball schedule page here.

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