BILLINGS, Mont. – It will have been three weeks since the Montana State University Billings softball team last played against another team when the Yellowjackets hit the diamond in Burnaby, B.C. on Saturday, March 3. On that day, MSUB will open their Great Northwest Athletic Conference slate with a four-game series against the Clan of Simon Fraser University.
 
The Yellowjacket softball team, under the guidance of first-year head coach Lisa Allen, enters their GNAC schedule with the target firmly on their backs as they were tabbed the pre-season favorite to win the league title. MSUB enters their league opener with a 3-2 record following their season-opening run through the third-annual Desert Stinger Partnered with Rip-It.
 
MSUB, which as a team recorded a new tournament record for home runs with 12, was led at the plate in the Desert Stinger by freshman Emily Osborn, junior Rose Harrington and senior Meg Harasymczuk.
 
Osborn ended the tourney with a team-best .462 batting average after starting all five games. In 13 at-bats, she recorded six hits that included two home runs and five RBIs and did not strike out even once. The Las Vegas, Nev. native currently boasts the second-best slugging percentage at .923.
 
Harrington is currently second on the team with a .412 batting average that includes making 17 trips to the plate. In those 17 trips, she produced a team-high seven hits and scored five runs.
 
Harasymczuk, who was named the GNAC Player-of-the-Week on Feb. 13, had one of the most prolific outings in the tournament as she recorded a team-high four homers in 15 at-bats.
 
In the circle, the team is led by Kasie Conder's 1.75 ERA while Annaleisha Parsley and Jessica Campbell did the most work with nine and seven innings pitched respectively.
 
Simon Fraser is currently 8-1 on the young season which includes the Clan being the leading GNAC team in the Stinger with a 4-1 record. The Clan is also already 4-0 in conference action as they opened their league slate by sweeping Western Washington University, which was selected third in the conference pre-season poll, at home this past weekend. The Clan were tabbed fourth in the pre-season poll.
 
The Clan is led by Kelsey Haberl and Sammie Olexa at the plate. Haberl currently leads the conference with an impressive .640 batting average off 16 hits in 25 trips to the plate which includes nine RBIs while Olexa is currently third in the league with a .444 in nine starts and has recorded 12 hits and scored eight runs.
 
Cara Lukawesky leads SFU in the pitching circle with a 6-0 record in eight appearances. She also has a league-best eight saves on the young season and has struck out 21 batters.
 
The quartet of games will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Mountain time). Sunday's doubleheader will begin at the same time.