Yellowjacket softball makes home debut this weekend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Tuesday, March 14, 2017 Yellowjacket softball makes home debut this weekend

Playing for the first time at home this season, MSUB’s softball team hosts Western Oregon University in a four-game series running Saturday and Sunday at Avitus Group Stadium.

BILLINGS, Mont. – After 25 road games to start the 2017 season, the Montana State University Billings softball team returns home this weekend to make its debut at Avitus Group Stadium.

The Yellowjackets (9-16, 5-7 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) open their home schedule with a four-game series against league opponent Western Oregon University. Doubleheaders are scheduled for noon on both Saturday and Sunday, and live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available for all games online through MSUB’s Stretch Internet portal here.

MSUB is coming off a 12-game road stretch to start its conference season, during which the team went 5-7 against three league opponents. The Yellowjackets split a four-game set at Western Washington, won 3 of 4 against Concordia University, and were swept in four games at Saint Martin’s University last week in the span of eight days.

“It’s going to be exciting to play at home, and we have just talked about finding that consistency as a team,” commented first-year head coach Jessica Rayman. “Western Oregon is going to be tough, and these will be some close games. We just need to come out and play defense, and make sure that our pitchers are hitting their spots.”

This weekend’s series is the first of three at home this year for MSUB, as the Yellowjackets also host Central Washington University on April 14-15, and Simon Fraser University on April 28-29.

TRACY TURNING HEADS: Off to a killer start through 25 games, junior right fielder Heather Tracy is batting .473 and has struck out just one time in 96 plate appearances. Tracy is getting on base at a clip of .490, and is slugging .670 as she has five doubles, two triples, and three home runs on the year. She also ranks second on the team with 23 RBIs, and is a perfect 7-for-7 in the stolen bases category.

Entering this weekend’s games, Tracy ranks No. 4 in all of the NCAA Division II in total hits this season with 43. With 149 hits in her career, Tracy is just seven away from cracking into the MSUB all-time top-10.

2017 NCAA D2 Softball Hits Leaders (as of March 12, 2017) Rank Name School Hits 1.

Erin Boone Lenoir-Rhyne 50 2.

Kaitlyn Bannister Alabama-Huntsville 47 3.

Jessica Mohl Valdosta State 44 4.

Heather Tracy MSU Billings 43 5.

Kristen Stinnard Catawba 42 Magnolia West Palm Beach Atlantic 42

Games 27 26 27 25 29 25

Class SO SR JR JR SR FR

Position OF INF SS RF OF OF

ROVENS RACING UP CHARTS: Senior Bella Rovens is making her way up most of MSUB’s career offensive charts, and already sits No. 1 all-time in runs scored (140) and walks (76). Entering the week, she is tied for No. 3 in MSUB history with 188 hits, and needs a dozen more to become just the second player in school history to reach the 200-hit mark.

Rovens is also tied for third in MSUB history with 32 stolen bases.

MSUB Career Hits Leaders Rk. Name 1.

Terina Stacks 2.

Emily Osborn 3.

Steph Gosselin Bella Rovens 5.

Aubrey Conceicao Kelly Parsons 7.

Taylor Hoke 8.

Jenna Haacke Christy Wankel 10.

Cami Rainey 11.

Joey Ehnes 12.

Heather Tracy 17.

Kelsey Devlin

Hits 208 190 188 188 163 163 162 158 158 156 154 149 133

Seasons 2006-09 2012-15 2006-09 2014-17 2012-15 2008-11 2012-15 2005-08 2003-06 2002-05 2002-05 2015-17 2014-17 Rovens (left) and Tracy are two of the best outfielders in MSUB history.

THE GREAT HR CHASE: Co-leading the team this year with seven home runs apiece, senior Kelsey Devlin and junior Cameron Cassinelli are engaged in a long-ball battle that holds historical significance as well. The duo enters the week ranked No. 4 and No. 6 in MSUB history, with 26 and 24 career homers, respectively. Both players are in the top-20 in GNAC history, with Devlin currently No. 15 and Cassinelli tied for No. 17.

The two power hitters have led a lineup that far-and-away leads the GNAC in home runs with 27. The next closest team, Northwest Nazarene, has 16 home runs on the season. MSUB’s current total is already No. 12 in school history, with the school record of 63 home runs being set in the 2011 season. The GNAC record for long balls in a year is 73, set by Central Washington in 2011.

MSUB Home Runs in 2017, Historical Ranks 2017 Rank Player Class 1.

Kelsey Devlin SR Cameron Cassinelli JR 3.

Megan Dettling JR 4.

Heather Tracy JR 5.

Bella Rovens SR 6.

Myrissa Prince JR Katlyn Stringari JR Nikki Tiffany SR

2017 HR 7 7 5 3 2 1 1 1

MSUB Career Rank (HR) 4 (26 HR) 6 (24 HR) 26 (7 HR) 19 (13 HR) 32 (5 HR) 26 (7 HR) XX XX

GNAC Career Rank (HR) 15 (26 HR) 17 (24 HR) XX XX XX XX XX XX

PRINCE THE 2B ERRORLESS STREAK KING: Junior second baseman Myrissa Prince is among the elite defensive players in MSUB history, holding a career fielding percentage of .974. She made her first and only error of the season against Saint Martin’s, which broke one of the longest errorless streaks in school history at 121 consecutive chances without a miscue. The remarkable run started on April 12, 2016, and included 66 putouts and 55 assists over 26 games.

Overall, it was the ninth-longest errorless streak in school history, but it was by far the longest by a player at a position other than catcher or first base. Among the 20 players in MSUB history with streaks of 100 chances or more without an error, no other player had more than 30 assists during her streak, 25 fewer than Prince’s total. The longest previous errorless streak by a player who primarily played second base was held by Jenna Haacke, who handled 95 straight chances up the middle from March 3, 2007-Feb. 16, 2008 in 21 games.

Prince is one of the elite defensive second basemen in MSUB history, holding a career fielding percentage of .974.

The longest all-time errorless streak at MSUB is held by Terina Stacks, who went 351 total chances at first base without an error from Feb. 7, 2009-May 1, 2009 in 51 games. Cassinelli also had a triple-digit errorless streak this season, as she made 114 straight plays at first base from Feb. 4-March 10 in 16 games. “I take a lot of pride in my defense, and Cam and I work really well together on the right side,” said Prince. “We know each other’s range, and we communicate well on balls over there.”

MSUB Softball All-Time Errorless Streaks Name Position Start Terina Stacks 1B 2/7/2009 Terina Stacks 1B 4/22/2007 Brittney Sanders C 4/4/2014 Layne Pavey C 2/11/2004 Emily Osborn 1B 4/6/2014 Kelly Parsons C 4/2/2011 Jenna McCartney 1B 4/4/2006 Aysha Maddox C 2/11/2006 Myrissa Prince 2B 4/12/2016

End 5/1/2009 4/18/2008 3/6/2015 4/10/2004 3/3/2015 4/30/2011 3/10/2007 4/1/2006 3/10/2017

PO 336 259 220 178 155 139 108 107 66

A 15 10 25 22 12 15 30 16 55

Total 351 269 245 200 167 154 138 123 121

Career Fld. % 0.987 0.987 0.984 0.975 0.980 0.984 0.979 0.980 0.974

Career Years 2006-2009 2006-2009 2012-2015 2002-2005 2012-2015 2008-2011 2006-2007 2006-2007 2015-2017

MADDY AND MADDIE: Freshman left-handed pitcher Maddy Lincoln has been MSUB’s workhorse in the circle this year, appearing in 15 of MSUB’s 25 games in her first collegiate season. Lincoln leads the GNAC in wins (6), innings pitched (74.1), starts (12), and complete games (8), and she ranks second in both strikeouts (42) and appearances (15).

Lincoln’s battery mate Madison Kelly has aided the pitching staff defensively, as she leads the GNAC with five runners caught stealing in 18 games played. Kelly has had multiple assists in three different games, and holds an overall fielding percentage of .960 in 85 chances.

TUCKER IMPRESSIVE IN DEBUT AS STARTER: Freshman left fielder Emma Tucker took advantage of the first three starts of her career, going 3-for-7 with an RBI against Saint Martin’s. Used off the bench in her previous seven games, Tucker had scored four runs in five pinch-running appearances before getting the nod in the outfield.

DETTLING A DOUBLE THREAT: Junior Megan Dettling has supplied power at the plate and innings in the circle this season, as she is third on the team with five home runs and fourth with 20 RBIs. Dettling batted .381 last week (8-for-21) with three extra-base hits and seven RBIs in the eight games she was in the lineup. She had a strong outing against Concordia on March 7, with a career-high eight strikeouts in a complete-game win for the ‘Jackets.

Western Oregon University Wolves Saturday, March 18 – Avitus Group Stadium – NOON – Doubleheader Sunday, March 19 – Avitus Group Stadium – NOON – Doubleheader 2017 Record: 9-6, 0-0 GNAC Head Coach: Lonny Sargent, 5th season 2016 Record: 31-24, 17-11 GNAC (3rd) Yet to play a GNAC game, the Wolves will open their conference schedule this weekend in Billings. WOU has won seven of its last eight games, including taking 3 of 4 from the College of Idaho on the road at the end of February.

Completing a four-year career parallel to Rovens in terms of success, four-year starter Kelsie Gardner leads the team with a .455 batting average in 15 games. Gardner’s .418 career average is fourth-best in GNAC history, and she is also No. 7 in runs scored (143) and hits (245).

Fellow senior and fourth-year player Destiny Kuehl is batting .426, and leads the team with 16 RBIs and 32 total bases.

Kuehl is one of four players with three home runs for WOU, and has played solid defense at third base with just two errors in 60 chances for a fielding percentage of .967.

Ashlee Lynch is WOU’s other player batting north of .400, and she leads the team with five doubles and three home runs while batting .412 and slugging .824.

WOU is the top team in the GNAC in pitching, holding a team ERA of 2.68 with 48 strikeouts and just 38 walks in 94 total innings. Sammi Cadwallader is the staff ace, holding an ERA of 1.75 through 28 innings pitched. Lizzet Dominguez has a microscopic 1.11 ERA through 12 2/3 innings, and Chandler Bishop (2.95) and Haley Fabian (3.87) are both also below the 4.00 mark.

WOU is averaging 6.7 runs per game and has a team batting average of .324. Forty-three of the team’s 139 hits have gone for extra bases, ranking them fourth in the GNAC. The Series: MSUB is 27-29 all-time against the Wolves, but the ‘Jackets are 14-6 in games played in Billings. WOU has won five in-a-row, 10 of the last 11, and 13 of the last 15 between the teams.

Last Time Out: WOU swept a four-game series in Monmouth, Ore., last season, but three of the games were decided by four runs or less. Rovens hit .429 in the series and led the team with four RBIs, and Devlin had the lone home run in 109 total at bats against the Wolves.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--