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BILLINGS, Mont. – While the Montana State Billings baseball team played on their home field at Dehler Park, the Yellowjackets were scored as the visiting team in their pair of Thursday afternoon Great Northwest Athletic Conference games. The Yellowjackets claimed the first game of the make-up series with the Crusaders of Northwest Nazarene University 9-7 before NNU bounced back with a 3-2 win in game-two.
 
With the split, MSUB improves to 16-18 overall and 7-13 in the league while the Crusaders move to 20-17 overall and 9-11 in the GNAC. The two teams are still very much in the hunt for second place in the league along with Saint Martin's University and Central Washington University who play each other this weekend.
 
Game One: MSUB 9, NNU 7
 
In the day's first game, NNU put up four runs in the opening stanza in a game that could only be called an offensive explosion. The two teams would go on to record 27 hits between the two with NNU slightly edging out MSUB 14-13 off hits.
 
In the top of the second inning, the 'Jackets knotted the score with four runs of their own off four hits and a Crusader error. Jordan Carlson, Trevor Wilson and Ty Gilmore all scored off RBIs while Austin Rue crossed the dish safely thanks to a wild pitch.
 
NNU added another two runs in the bottom of the inning when Zach Steele singled to center field to score Ben Clare and Sean McDonald.
 
It would be the last runs the Crusaders would score until the fifth inning when Kaleb DeHass scored off a single to left center field by Clare.
 
MSUB tied the game back up in the top of the fourth inning and again in the top of the sixth.
 
The Yellowjackets claimed their first lead of the game in the top of the seventh inning when Carlson found the plate off a passed ball. Carlson was responsible for batting in the final run of the game in the eighth inning as he knocked a single through the left side to move Blake Nelson home to add the insurance run.
 
Gilmore was 3-5 with two RBIs and another run scored in the day's opener.
 
McDonald led the way for NNU in the game with a 4-6 performance at the plate that included scoring two runs.
 
Lucas Blehm pitched four and a third innings to record his first decision of the season as he gave up just one run. Bobby Ragasa then came in for the final two and a third innings to earn his fourth save of the year.
 
Barrett Nielson suffered his first loss of the year in just a third of an inning of work as he gave up the go-ahead run.
 
Game Two: NNU 3, MSUB 2
 
The second game was the exact opposite from the first as the two teams combined for just nine hits. Second baseman Brody Miller led the way at the plate for MSUB with a 2-3 performance that included scoring one of the Yellowjackets' two runs.
 
Steele was the other player to record multiple hits in the game as he had two knocks of his own in three official at-bats.
 
MSUB struck first in the night-cap with two runs in the first inning. Gilmore scored off a double by Colby Robison to right-center field and Miller crossed off a single through the left side by Blake Loran.
 
The lead would hold into the third inning when the Crusaders found two runs to avoid the shutout. Steele would then give NNU the necessary run to take the lead off a home run over the left field wall. The Crusaders would hold on for the final half an inning to earn the split.
 
Zach Smith pitched the complete game for MSUB and had a no-hitter going into the third inning before he gave up the first knock. He ended the day with three strikeouts to move to 3-1 for the year.
 
Aaron Vaughn improved to 3-2 for the year after going the entire game on the mound as well, striking out five batters.
 
The two teams will be back in action at 1 p.m. at Dehler Park tomorrow, Friday, April 20, for their second doubleheader of the weekend. The Yellowjackets will switch to the home team for the remainder of the weekend-series.