‘Jackets honor 5 on Senior Day Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, April 29, 2017 ‘Jackets honor 5 on Senior Day Saturday

MSUB’s five seniors are honored in a ceremony between games on Saturday, but the Yellowjackets drop a doubleheader against Simon Fraser.

BILLINGS, Mont. – The five graduating seniors from the Montana State University Billings softball team were honored in a ceremony in between games of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader against Simon Fraser University Saturday afternoon at Avitus Group Stadium.

Bella Rovens, Kelsey Devlin, Nicole Tiffany, Taylor Tokach, and Katie Jackson were each accompanied by family and friends while being recognized for their contributions to the Yellowjacket program.

MSUB (15-32, 9-18 GNAC) fell in the opener 8-7 in 10 innings, before Simon Fraser (11-31, 7-19 GNAC) scored five runs in the first inning of the nightcap to win 11-5. “We need to go out and set the tone early on tomorrow, and our pitching staff needs to do a good job of working their spots,” said MSUB head coach Jessica Rayman. “We need to finish on a strong note tomorrow.”

Devlin hit the 30th home run of her career in Game 2, moving into a tie for second-most in MSUB history along with teammate Cameron Cassinelli. Heather Tracy hit her fifth homer of the year and had five hits in the doubleheader, and Madison Kelly launched her first-career long ball over the fence in left in Game 2. “Maddie hit really well for us today, and broke out for us in that second game,” said Rayman. “Kelsey played a solid third base, and ate everything up for us.”

Junior Megan Dettling threw all 10 innings in Game 1, using a career-high 193 pitches in the outing.

Hailey Gearey went 6-for-10 in the doubleheader with a home run in Game 2, and Chelsea Hotner was 4-for-10 with three RBIs. Game 1 – Simon Fraser 8, MSU Billings 7 (10 Innings) Each team plated the runner placed on second in the 10th inning as international tiebreaker rules were employed, but the Clan took advantage of a fielding miscue and made it two runs in the top of the 10th to squeeze out the win.

MSUB moved the tying run into scoring position in the bottom of the 10th, but SFU’s Tori Belton got the final out and secured the win.

The ‘Jackets took command with three runs in the first inning, despite Belton retiring the first two hitters of the game. Myrissa Prince had a two-out, RBI-single to center, and Tiffany followed with a two-run base hit to make the score 3-0.

Rovens posing during Saturday’s senior ceremony in between games.

SFU worked to get back into the game however, picking up an RBI-single from Gearey in the third and getting two more back on a two-run base hit by Hotner in the fourth.

Rovens helped manufacture a run in the bottom of the fourth, reaching on a single and watching as Vanessa Almario scooted around to third after an ensuing throwing error.

Rovens then lingered off the bag at first base intentionally, drawing the attention of the Clan infielders while Almario scored to make it 4-3. Tracy followed with the 15th home run of her career, but the Yellowjackets’ two-run cushion was short-lived.

Dallas Tilley drove a one-out solo home run over the fence in left, Victoria Saunders had an RBI-double, and Hotner came through with a two-out, run-scoring single as the Clan scored three times in the top of the fifth inning to take their first lead of the day up 6-5.

Helping tie the score in the sixth, Rovens led off with a double into the right-field corner, and Tracy promptly lined the first pitch into right to even the score at 6-6. A hit by Cassinelli put two on with one out, but the ‘Jackets couldn’t get over the hump against Belton.

Each team threatened in the seventh-through-ninth innings, but neither offense came through with a run. Dettling was dominant in the top of the eighth, retiring the side in order with a pair of strikeouts and a foul out. Alia Stachoski, who entered to pitch in the eighth, was equally impressive with a pair of strikeouts and foul out in the bottom of the ninth.

Dettling’s 10 innings pitched were a career high, and she had seven strikeouts while allowing six earned runs on 14 hits and six walks.

Game 2 – Simon Fraser 11, MSU Billings 5 The Clan never looked back after their big first inning, and added on steadily throughout the game with three runs in the second, two more in the fourth, and a final run in the fifth inning.

The Yellowjackets got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the first inning, but the hole proved to be too deep and lefthanded reliever Morganne Blattmann had 5 1/3 strong innings of relief to protect her team’s lead. Blattmann struck out four and walked none, while giving up three runs on eight hits and throwing 84 pitches.

A hustle play by SFU’s Taylor Lundrigan helped spark the rally in the first, as she beat a throw to second base on a ground ball and gave the Clan two on with one out instead of one runner on with two outs.

SFU went on to pick up four hits and a hit batter in the frame, and set the tone immediately.

Devlin with her family on Senior Day.

RBIs by Tracy and Katlyn Stringari got a pair of runs back for MSUB in the first, but SFU struck again with three runs in the second inning. Gearey delivered another big hit with a two-run single, and Tilley had an RBI-groundout to increase SFU’s edge to 8-2.

Devlin’s 11th long ball of the year was a solo shot in the third, but SFU once again responded as Gearey ripped a two-run homer over the fence in left in the top of the fourth.

Kelly’s first-career homer was a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth and Dettling had an RBI single in the frame, but it was the end of the scoring for the Yellowjackets.

MSUB put runners on in each of the final three innings, but the combination of Blattmann and Belton, who came on to throw the seventh, prevented any further damage.

THE BUZZ: Devlin was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…Devlin’s 158th career hit moved her into the top-10 in MSUB history…Rovens drew her 26th walk of the year, and is one free pass away from tying her own MSUB single-season record of 27 that she set in 2015.

AHEAD: The 2017 season concludes on Sunday, with another doubleheader scheduled for noon at Avitus Group Stadium. Live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--