Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

MONMOUTH, Ore. – After starting the Great Northwest Athletic Conference season with a sweep of Western Oregon on Saturday, the Montana State Billings softball team dropped a pair of games Sunday afternoon to the Wolves, 2-1 and 7-3.

 

The losses drop the Yellowjackets to 4-5 on the season and 2-2 in conference play. The Wolves improved to 5-4 on the year and are also 2-2 in league play with wins.

 

Meg Harasymczuk again had a solid day from the plate for the Yellowjackets, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run and one RBI in the two games. The junior transfer also had four walks on the day for a .500 batting average and a 1.250 slugging percentage.

 

Angela Lingle and Jenna VanEykeren also had top performances for MSUB as Lingle was 2-for-4 in one game, while VanEykeren was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk in two games.

 

The Jackets were just 11-for-52 as a team for a .212 batting average in the two games, while the Wolves swung the bats for a .317 average against the Yellowjacket pitchers.

 

The Yellowjackets took an early lead in game one as Harasymczuk sent a deep ball into centerfield for her third home run this season and second of the weekend, giving MSUB a 1-0 lead.

 

Western Oregon climbed back in the game in the next inning after the Wolves hit three-straight singles off of MSUB starter Annaleisha Parsley. Parsley looked as though she'd get out of the inning unharmed, but a foul out down the left field line was enough to score the runner from third to tie the game.

 

Parsley again found herself in trouble in the third inning as she walked the bases full on the first three batters, but again she sustained little damage as a sacrifice fly scored the only run of the inning to take the 2-1 margin.

 

Parsley took the loss after throwing six complete innings and allowing two runs on four hits and four walks, while striking out three. Her record dropped to 1-2 on the year.

The Yellowjackets fell behind early in game number two as the Wolves put four runs on the board in the second inning, getting to Yellowjacket starter Kasie Conder who would fall to 3-1 after her first start of the season. Conder lasted one and two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs on three hits and five walks.

 

MSUB tried to climb back into the game in the fourth inning as VanEykeren hit a long shot into the outfield for a sacrifice fly that scored Harasymczuk from third.

 

The Yellowjackets also got a pair of runs in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-3 when Tarn Potter reached on an error that allowed Harasymczuk and Rachel Eisenmann to score from third and second.

 

Western Oregon would put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth inning as they touched up Amanda Todd for three runs in the inning to extend their lead to 7-3.

 

The Yellowjackets tried to mount a threat in the sixth, but with the bases loaded, failed to score a run and didn't threaten in the seventh.

 

The Yellowjackets will now head north to Lacey, Wash., to take on Saint Martin's University on Wednesday, March 2. The Jackets and Saints will play just one doubleheader in the series before MSUB completes their road trip next Saturday and Sunday in Ellensburg, Wash., against Central Washington.