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BILLINGS, Mont. – Right fielder Rose Harrington was just a triple away from batting the cycle in game-two of Thursday's doubleheader with Western Washington University. The 5-3 junior helped provide the spark the Montana State University Billings softball team needed to bounce back from a 9-5 loss in game-one as the Yellowjackets came back to claim game-two 7-4 at Cenex Stadium.
 
With the split decision, MSUB moves to 28-10 overall and 21-5 in league action while WWU moves to 11-28 for the season that includes a 7-15 mark in conference play.
 
“Today we had a minor repeat of what happened to us against Central Washington last weekend,” said head coach Lisa Allen. “The team checked out of the game for an inning and it again proved that it only takes one bad inning to beat us.
 
“After the game we talked about staying present for the whole game and the team did that for the second game today,” Allen stated. “Even though we were down at the beginning, the team did a great job of keeping their poise at the plate and chipped away at the lead. Our defense also did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the second game.”
 
Game-One: WWU 9, MSUB 5
 
The Yellowjackets appeared to have bounced back from last Saturday's final game where MSUB fell 16-1 in five innings to Central Washington University as the 'Jackets eased out to an early 3-0 lead in the third inning before adding another two in the next frame.
 
However, the Vikings were not daunted by the deficit and after posting a single run in the top of the fifth inning, WWU went on a tear as they broke through MSUB's defenses with an eight-run sixth inning. The big inning included a school record three home runs in a row which also gave the Vikings another school record for five home runs in a single game.
 
Kristen Allen, Jessica Carey, Krista Bickar, Rachelle Berry and Jackie Rothenberger all recorded home runs in the contest to help Devyn Baker earn the win and improve to an even 1-1 for the season in just three innings of work. Carey led the way with a 4-5 outing at the plate in the game that included two RBIs and the lone run scored.
 
Amanda Todd suffered the loss inside the circle for MSUB as she went 5.2 innings and gave up nine hits and six earned runs, but the 5-5 sophomore also retired eight batters.
 
Taylor Hoke led the Yellowjackets at the dish with a 2-2 performance as she also scored one run.
 
Game-Two: MSUB 7, WWU 4
 
The Vikings appeared to continue to ride the momentum from game-one into game two as they recorded a single run in the first inning before adding another pair in the top of the third stanza.
 
Down 3-0, MSUB began to fight back as Bobbie Lee and Harrington each homered in the bottom of the third to pull the team back within one run. Lee's homer, her eighth of the season, ended Stephanie Fox's streak of 29 innings where the senior did not relinquish a run.
 
Designated player Amanda Flores gave WWU a two-run cushion in the top of the fourth inning with the Vikings sixth home run of the day, but that would be the last time the Vikings would score.
 
Lee pushed Becca Frank across the dish for a score in the bottom of the fourth and then the Yellowjackets swarmed in the bottom of the fifth with four more runs to take the lead back for good.
 
Birthday girl Nicole Colpron had two RBIs off a single up the middle that scored Emily Osborn from second and Brittney Soares from first before Tanya Eckles ripped her second home run of the season for a pair of RBIs.
 
Harrington's 3-4 performance at the plate led MSUB in game-two and the junior right fielder was just a triple away from batting the cycle.
 
Local product Jessyka MacDonald (5-2) came in for the final four innings to record the win. The freshman right-hander gave up just three hits and fanned a game-high four batters including the final two of the game.
 
Fox suffered the loss for WWU in four innings of work and retired just one batter.
 
MSUB will now hit the road for a three-date road swing through Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The Yellowjackets will begin their six-game trek with a GNAC doubleheader in Nampa, Idaho against Northwest Nazarene University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 before heading to Western Oregon University and Central Washington next week.