LACEY, Wash. – In his Great Northwest Athletic Conference career record-breaking 41st start, Montana State University Billings senior Brady Muller went the distance and did not allow an earned run to help the 'Jackets to a 2-1 victory over Saint Martin's, part of a doubleheader sweep on Friday at the SMU Baseball Field.
 
Muller was nearly untouchable in the start, giving up six hits and walking just two while striking out six to pick up his sixth win of the season. He was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for MSUB.
 
"Brady was awesome, he had all three of his pitches working on both sides of the plate," said MSUB head coach Rob Bishop. "He did a good job of making use of his defense and not letting the pitch count get too high."
 
Jake Campeau was stellar for MSUB in Game 2, shutting down the Saints through five innings with eight hits, two strikeouts and only one walk. Freshman Adam Cox came on for the final six outs, blowing SMU away with four strikeouts and no hits allowed.
 
"Jake did exactly what we expected him to do, as he came in and commanded the zone," Bishop said. "All three of his pitches were going, and he put the ball in play and we turned some double plays in big spots. I thought he kept his composure well, pitched out of a few really tough spots, and he was great. He gave us a great start and put us in a position to relax and score runs."
 
After managing just four hits in Game 1, MSUB woke up offensively scoring five runs on 10 hits in the second game to complete the sweep. The 'Jackets finished Game 2 strongly, scoring four times over the final three innings.
 
Casey Merritt had three hits on the day for MSUB, while Conner Holbrook went 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Luke Reinschmidt and Brody Miller each had RBI-doubles in Game 2.
 
"I felt like the SMU pitchers did a good job, but in the second game our approach was much better," Bishop said. "We moved runners with outs, had big hits late, and gave our pitchers some breathing room so they didn't have to be perfect. Once we got to a 4-0 lead, our pitchers relaxed, went out and threw strikes."
 
With the wins MSUB improved to 25-21 on the season and 20-10 in GNAC play to remain tied for first place in the standings. With two wins in Monmouth, Ore., Friday, Western Oregon kept pace with MSUB. The host of the 2015 GNAC Championships will be determined on the final day of the season Saturday.
 
Game 1 – MSU Billings 2, Saint Martin's 1
 
SMU starter Josh Moss pitched around a leadoff walk in the second by picking off Reinschmidt at first. The Yellowjackets started a rally however, as a base hit by Holbrook plated Corey Morris for the first run of the game.
 
MSUB took advantage of an error to load the bases, but Moss benefitted from a key double play that ended the inning and left Miller on deck.
 
The Yellowjackets threatened again in the third thanks to two SMU errors, but could not capitalize with runners on the corners.
 
Leading off the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles, David Bellamy and Travis Shaw pushed Muller into the stretch with SMU's first baserunners of the game. Facing Chandler Tracy with two on and no outs, Muller snagged a sharp line drive and threw to Miller at second for a key double play.
 
Moss and Muller traded off putting up zeroes over the next two frames, as MSUB clung to its 1-0 lead into the top of the sixth inning. Reinschmidt reached on a leadoff walk, and stole second with one out and Colter Sternhagen at the plate. The junior third baseman worked the count full, and ripped an RBI-single into left field to double MSUB's lead.
 
A single and a walk by Muller put runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and again brought Tracy to the plate in a dangerous situation. Sternhagen collected a ground ball, stepped on third, and applied a tag after a return throw from Kevin Toon at first for a huge inning-ending double play.
 
Coming on in relief of Moss, Chase DeCoito hit the first two batters in the top of the eighth inning. After a balk advanced the two runners 90 feet, Ryan Dorney entered the game and recorded a strikeout before intentionally walking Miller. With the bases and two outs, Toon lined out to shortstop as SMU got out of the jam.
 
Leading off the eighth with a towering fly ball into center field, Travis Shaw reached second when the ball was dropped on the warning track. After an RBI by Blake Lord made it 2-1, Zach Raczok hit a sharp line drive to Morris at second, who doubled pinch runner Michael Agate off at second to end the game.
 
The Yellowjackets managed just four hits in Game 1, and Dorney threw the final 1 2/3 allowing just one baserunner on a walk with two strikeouts.
 
Muller scattered six hits and walked two in his complete game masterpiece. Muller now ranks No. 3 in GNAC history with 236 strikeouts, tied for fourth in wins with 20, and No. 3 in innings with 272 1/3.
 
Game 2 – MSU Billings 5, Saint Martin's 0
 
Jake Huskey had a one-out single for SMU in the bottom of the first inning, but Campeau pitched out of it with a ground ball that Morris, Miller, and Toon turned into an inning-ending double play.
 
Tracy led off the bottom of the second with a double to left, but a strikeout and a diving play by Kyle Durbin at third quickly made it two outs for SMU. Huskey drew a two-out walk, but Miller threw out Josh Sontag as the teams headed to the third with no score.
 
The 'Jackets again got out of an inning with a double play, as Morris, Miller and Toon again connected for a twin killing. Tracy led off the fourth with a base hit and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but he was left stranded as groundouts to Miller and Durbin kept MSUB's 1-0 lead intact.
 
Merritt started a fifth-inning rally, as he led off with a base hit and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Myles Berkram. Miller lofted a double to the wall in center, and Trevor Nix lined a two-out RBI double into right as MSUB jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
 
The 'Jackets added on with one run in the sixth and another in the seventh, building a strong lead for Cox to work with in relief. The freshman right-hander entered with runners on second and third and no outs, and proceeded to strike out the side to thwart any chance for an SMU rally.
 
"Cox entered in an inning where they had two baserunners and got out of it," Bishop said. "That was really big. He had great command of his fastball. In the second inning he came out and showed his off-speed pitches. He did a good job of throwing strikes, trusting his stuff, and it was really a dominant performance."
 
THE BUZZ: MSUB now leads the season series over SMU 5-1…the 'Jackets left 22 runners on base while SMU left 15…each team made three errors on the day.
 
NEXT UP: The 2015 regular season ends on Saturday, as MSUB and SMU play another doubleheader, scheduled for 1 p.m. Mountain time. The Yellowjackets will advance to the GNAC Championships next week as either the host or the No. 2 seed depending on tomorrow's results in Lacey and in the series between Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon in Monmouth, Ore.