Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

BILLINGS, Mont. – With a 1-0 win in game-one of Saturday's Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader, Montana State Billings' head baseball coach Rob Bishop earned his 450^th-career win as a head skipper in the collegiate ranks. His Yellowjackets would go on to earn the day's sweep over Northwest Nazarene University with a 5-3 win in game-two.
 
The Yellowjackets (19-19, 10-14 GNAC) went 4-2 against the Crusaders (21-20, 10-14 GNAC) to improve Bishop's career mark to 451-217 as a collegiate coach. He also is now 37-48 in two seasons at the helm of MSUB's baseball program.
 
“This was a huge series win for us,” stated Bishop. “It really puts us back into the thick of the conference race and will serve as momentum as we head into the last stretch of our schedule. All three of our pitchers did very well for us today and did what we asked them to do with our defense stepping up behind them.”
 
Game One: MSUB 1, NNU 0
 
With both squads' pitching corps depleted thanks to the long series as well as last night's record-setting game, the last thing either team wanted to see was a pitchers' duel. But that is exactly what broke out in the first game as the game progressed scoreless through the first seven and a half innings.
 
Both pitchers gave up just four hits in the contest, but four Crusader errors, including a fielding error by NNU's second baseman that allowed Matt Comer to reach first base safely while Ty Gilmore scored, proved most costly.
 
Gilmore had three of MSUB's four hits as he went 3-4 at the plate. He would end the day with a 6-8 record at the plate for the day and two runs scored.
 
Left-handed freshman Brady Muller pitched a real gem for the Yellowjackets, going eight and two-thirds innings to improve to 4-2 or the year. The Billings West High School product retired seven batters before Travis Vincent came in for the final out to earn the save.
 
Jeremy Burk (0-1) accepted the loss in game one despite matching Muller's numbers of seven strikeouts and just four hits surrendered.
 
Game Two: MSUB 5, NNU 3
 
Despite being shorter than the first game by two innings, the second game progressed at a slower pace, lasting 15 minutes longer than the opener.
 
NNU recorded the first run of the game in the opening stanza, but MSUB would have the answer in the bottom of the inning as Colby Robison and Blake Loran both knocked in runs to put the Yellowjackets up 2-1.
 
In the third inning, the Crusaders scored another pair of runs that they hoped would be enough to garner the series split, but there was still a lot of baseball to be played.
 
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Robison raced home off a wild pitch to knot the score as Brody Miller was walked and then in the fifth inning, Austin Rue doubled to the deepest part of the field in left-center field to score Gilmore and Orrin Pyrah.
 
The final two runs would be all the Yellowjackets would need and the defense would step up from there to secure the win for Matt Eames who retired the final batter with a strikeout. The right-handed junior pitched the complete game to improve to 3-2 for the year and retired six Crusaders.
 
George Casper pitched the first four innings of the game and was responsible for the game-winning run. He was saddled with his first loss of the year after allowing just four hits while walking three and striking out another three.
 
MSUB will once again step out of their conference schedule next weekend as they welcome Sioux Falls to Dehler Park for a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29. First pitch of both days is slated for 1 p.m.