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BILLINGS, Mont. -- It was an emotional start to the day at Cenex Stadium for the Montana State Billings softball team as they celebrated the four seniors on the 2011 squad, but they left the field all smiles after a doubleheader sweep of Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe Northwest Nazarene.
“Today was a very pleasing, but sad day, said interim head coach
Lisa Allen. “We had two good wins, but it was the last day that the seniors will be playing on this field. The team did a great job of coming out strong in both games and producing the runs that we needed. Our pitchers did what they needed to do in the circle, which is great for this team in the upcoming years.”
“Angie (Lingle) made some great plays at third base today along with having some quality at bats. Tarn (Potter) had a great day in the outfield, tracking down balls and getting the ball in quick, while (Kaycee) Hoffman did amazing at first. Kelly (Parsons) remained solid behind the plate and in the box; she worked our pitchers out of a couple of jams and got a couple of clutch base hits. We will all miss these seniors tremendously and we are so glad that they are a part of this team”
The pair of wins extended a nine game winning streak for the Yellowjackets and pushed their record under Allen to 22-9 as they ended the regular season on Saturday. The Jackets have now won 13 of their final 15 games to finish 28-20 on the year and 23-13 in the conference.
Bobbie Lee finished the day by going 5-for-6 with three runs, a pair of doubles and four RBI. The junior also walked one time and extended her season-long hitting streak to 15 games with hits in both games. She also became the first Yellowjacket to hit over .400 since Stephanie Gosselin in 2008, hitting .432 this season, and now ranks second all-time in a season.
The Yellowjacket pitchers were mainly lights out during the day as
Amanda Todd struck out a career-high 12 batters, her third consecutive game of double-digit strikeouts, and
Kasie Conder shut the Crusaders down with five scoreless innings.
Game 1 – MSUB 10 – NNU 5
The Yellowjackets wasted no time jumping on the Crusaders early in the game, scoring a run in the first inning when Lee scored on a two-out single by
Meg Harasymczuk.
The Jackets broke the game wide open in the third inning as they scored four runs on four hits, but left the bases loaded. The scoring began after Lee and
Becca Frank reached base safely to begin the inning and then
Nicole Colpron laid down a bunt in front of the plate to score a charging Lee from third.
Frank came home on a wild pitch to make the score 3-0, and then senior
Kelly Parsons would drive home the fourth run of the game when she singled up the middle to score Colpron. The final run came across when
Jenna VanEykeren singled toward the shortstop to score Parsons from third.
The fourth inning produced more offense for the Yellowjackets as they scratched across five runs in the inning to make the score 10-0. Frank began the inning with an infield single and then moved to second on a
Kaycee Hoffman walk.
After the Jackets loaded the bases with a walk by Parsons, senior
Angela Lingle singled off the pitcher to score Frank from third. Senior
Tarn Potter then walked to score
Samantha Church who was running for Hoffman, making the count 7-0.
Another VanEykeren single up the middle scored Parsons, followed by a two-RBI double into right field by Lee that scored Potter and Lingle.
Todd carried a no-hit bid into the fifth as the Jackets looked like they would win a shortened game, but a leadoff single by Arielle Chao broke up the freshman's opportunity. She would surrender three runs in the inning and another two in the sixth, but closed out the seventh with three harmless outs
Todd finished the afternoon by throwing a complete game, giving up five runs on five hits, striking out 12 and walking just four.
Game 2 – MSUB 8 – NNU 0 (5 Inn)
Game two saw more of the same offense by the Yellowjackets as they dominated the first inning by scoring four runs on just two hits. After Lee walked and Frank reached on an error, Colpron cracked an RBI-double to left center, scoring Lee on the play.
Hoffman would then bring in Frank from third on a fielder's choice as Frank slid around the tag at the plate. Parsons would later plate Colpron with a single through the left side to stretch the lead to 3-0. Hoffman scored the final run as she came in on a wild pitch by Cara Duckworth.
The final four runs of the game were scored in the third inning as the Jackets had four hits and took advantage of an error in the inning. After a pitching change for the Crusaders, Harasymczuk homered to left center, her 14th of the season, on a 1-2 pitch from Nicole Grummons.
After loading the bases, MSUB took advantage as VanEykeren had a sacrifice fly to score Parsons from third. Lee would bring in the final two runs with a double to right center, scoring Potter and Lingle on the play.
Conder kept the Crusaders off balance all game long, throwing five complete innings, giving up just three hits and fanning four.
The Yellowjackets will now have to wait to see what fate lies ahead for the postseason. The GNAC title will not be decided until later in the week as Central Washington and Western Washington each have games left to play on their schedules. The final NCAA regional rankings will be done the following week, which is when the Yellowjackets will find out if they'll be making their third tournament appearance.
