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BILLINGS, Mont. – Following 17-straight games on the road, the Montana State University Billings softball team was ready to finally get the opportunity to play on their home field, and they proved that Friday afternoon as they extended their current winning streak to five-straight games.
 
The Yellowjackets (14-5, 11-3 GNAC) easily defeated the Crusaders of Northwest Nazarene University (3-13, 3-9 GNAC) at Cenex Stadium by a combined score of 23-4, out-hitting NNU 22-7 in the process as the two faced off in the first of two Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheaders this weekend.
 
“The girls came out today and played Yellowjacket softball from the first pitch to the last pitch,” said head coach Lisa Allen. “Our pitchers, Amanda Todd and Jessyka MacDonald, did a fantastic job in the circle today keeping the scoring low for both games and our defense did a great job behind them to make the plays that we needed. At the plate, our offense came out to hit the ball and did a good job of getting hits with runners in scoring position. Overall, these were two great team wins for us.”
 
In Friday's first game, MSUB applied the pressure early as Amanda Todd struck out two batters and gave up the only hit of the game. From there, the Yellowjackets' offense went on a tear as they brought the game to a premature end in the fifth innings with MSUB leading 11-0.
 
The Yellowjackets jumped out with two runs early in the first inning off an Emily Osborn home run that also scored Bobbie Lee. The two-run tater was just a sample of what was to come as MSUB's hitters combined for six total home runs between the two games with the first three homers all scoring two for MSUB.
 
The third inning was where the damage was really done as the Yellowjackets scored six runs off four hits and left nobody stranded on the bases. Left fielder Meg Harasymczuk recorded her sixth home run of the season in the inning to also score Rose Harrington while Annaleisha Parsley, Osborn and Nicole Wilkerson all crossed the plate to score runs as well.
 
Harrington and Tanya Eckles would tack on three more insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as they both recorded their first home runs of the season.
 
Harrington led the way for MSUB at the plate in the first game as she went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.
 
In the circle, Todd pitched the complete game for MSUB to improve to 3-1 for the season. The 5-5 sophomore struck out nine batters in her five innings of work to record the one-hitter and the team's first shutout of the season.
 
Chelsey Anderson suffered the loss for NNU to tall to 1-6 after going the first 2.1 innings for the Crusaders. She gave up eight earned runs in the process.
 
In the second game, NNU was able to edge out to an early 1-0 lead, but it would be the last time the Crusaders were out front as Osborn ripped a single up the middle in the bottom of the first inning to score Harrington and knot the score at one-all.
 
In the second inning, the Yellowjackets would sting again with six more runs off six hits and a Crusader error. During the scoring frenzy, Harasymczuk knocked her seventh home run of the season, and second of the day, and scored shortstop Becca Frank in the process.
 
The Crusaders attempted to avoid another five-inning game by recording a run in the top of the fourth inning and another two in the top of the fifth, but MSUB dashed those hopes by answering with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game which included Aubrey Conceicao recording her first homer of the season.
 
Freshman Jessyka MacDonald pulled even on the season at 2-2 as she recorded the win in the circle after five innings of work. The Billings West High School product fanned 10 of the 21 batters she faced and gave up just six hits to the Crusaders.
 
Cara Duckworth suffered the loss in the circle after going the entire game for NNU. She falls to 2-7 for the season.
 
Four Yellowjackets scored multiple runs in the second game led by Frank with three to go along with a 2-for-2 outing at the plate while Harasymczuk recorded a game-high four RBI. Osborn was perfect at the plate going 4-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
 
The Yellowjackets and Crusaders will continue their weekend-series with another doubleheader tomorrow afternoon at Cenex Stadium. Game-time has been bumped up to high noon (12 p.m.).
 
This weekend, MSUB is holding a hit-a-thon and pitch-a-thon that spans all four games. Fans can sponsor a player or the entire team to raise money for the softball program's operating budget.
 
Donations can be made for specific categories such as hits, home runs and strikeouts or can be made as a flat rate for the entire weekend. To sponsor a player or the team, contact head coach Lisa Allen at lallen@msubillings.edu for more information or look for the signup sheet at the ticket table.
 
Tomorrow's pair of games will again be able to be followed live via the live stats link on MSUB's official athletic website, www.msubsports.com. To access this free service, either click on the live stats tab on the main website or go the softball schedule and click on the link “Live Stats.”