Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

BILLINGS, Mont. – Despite Saturday's chilly temperatures, the bats were hot at Cenex Stadium, especially Meg Harasymczuk's, which gave the Montana State University Billings softball team two wins, 11-5 and 13-10, over Western Oregon University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader.
 
Harasymczuk jacked three home runs which included a walk-off grand slam to win the second game and give the Yellowjackets (18-5, 15-3 GNAC) the Saturday sweep over the Wolves (5-14, 3-9 GNAC).
 
“The team came out to play today and had lots of fight in them,” first-year head coach Lisa Allen said following the wins. “We came out strong offensively in the first game and (Mary Grace) did a great job of shutting down their hitters for the most of the game.
 
“The second game started out rough for us but we chipped away the whole game in order to put us in a great position in the end to win,” Allen stated. “Kasie did an amazing job coming in and controlling their batters the whole game. Meg had a fantastic day at the plate making sure to take advantage when given the opportunities and stay calm when they finally gave her pitches to hit.”
 
Western Oregon was not fooled by MSUB's powerful leftfielder, as they intentionally walked Harasymczuk three times in the second game. But like all great hitters, when the opportunities finally presented themselves, the Spring Creek, Nev. native was ready to capitalize.
 
Harasmymczuk combined in the two games to go 4-for-5 at the dish with six total runs scored and nine more batted in. She had three home runs, two in the second game including her four-run bomb to end the contest, and now has 12 already for the season after ripping 14 last year.
 
In the first game, MSUB jumped out to a quick start with six runs in the bottom of the second inning. The Yellowjackets would control the pace of the game from there as Western Oregon attempted to claw their way back into contention with five runs between the third and fourth innings.
 
But MSUB was just too prolific at the plate with the 'Jackets answering with five more runs of their own in the waning innings.
 
Annaleisha Parsley pitched the first three innings of the game for MSUB before Mary Grace Bywater came in to record the win with four innings of work. Bywater improves to 3-1 for the season after giving up just two hits and no runs in her four innings of work.
 
Eryka Brill suffered the loss in game-one for the Wolves after going just one and two-thirds innings.
 
Western Oregon's fortunes appeared to take a turn for the better in the afternoon's second game as the Wolves raced out to an early 8-0 lead in the first inning. WOU capitalized off of five hits and two key MSUB errors to start the second game off.
 
The Yellowjackets would need their big bats and deep roster to mount the comeback, and everyone on the team stepped up when called upon.
 
Centerfielder Bobbie Lee led off with a solo home run over the centerfield fence and was followed by a Rose Harrington double to left field before Harasymczuk ripped her second tater of the day.
 
Western Oregon added two more runs to their tally in the top of the fourth inning, but MSUB was not done.
 
After gaining one run back in the bottom of the fourth, MSUB would mount their slow and methodical charge with two more scores in the bottom of the fifth inning and a solo run in the sixth before the flood gates were opened in the final stanza.
 
The Yellowjackets utilized an aggressive style in the final inning using multiple pinch runners and some key hits to move players around the bags and mount a comeback that to other teams may have seemed near to impossible.
 
Kasie Conder earned her fifth win of the season in the circle for MSUB while Hannah Pomeroy suffered the loss for WOU after striking out five batters.
 
The two teams will reconvene on the softball diamond tomorrow afternoon for the second doubleheader of their four-game series. First pitch of game-one is set to be thrown out at 1 p.m.