BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings softball team dipped out of their Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule last week and traveled to Turlock, Calif. to participate in the Tournament of Champions where they went 4-3 including knocking off the No. 11 team in the nation at the time, Cal State University, Chico. The Yellowjackets (24-8, 17-3 GNAC) will now refocus on their league slate by welcoming Central Washington University to Cenex Stadium for a four-game series this weekend.
 
The series is scheduled to be contested over Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7 with first-pitch set to be thrown out at 1 p.m. on both days. MSUB enters the weekend three games ahead of Simon Fraser and 3.5 ahead of third-place Saint Martin's in the conference race while Central Washington (12-19, 8-11 GNAC) is currently fourth.
 
Through the first 32 games of the season, the Yellowjackets boast one of the most prolific offenses in the conference and even the West Region. 12 'Jackets boast a batting average of over .300 led by five who are batting over .350.
 
Junior catcher Nicole Wilkerson, who leads the team with a .431 performance at the plate, is currently fourth in the league in the category  while fellow junior Rose Harrington is third in the conference with 45 hits.
 
Senior Meg Harasymczuk leads the conference with 81 total bases, 39 runs batted in and 13 home runs. While the Yellowjackets may seem to rely heavily on their upperclassmen, freshmen Emily Osborn, Taylor Hoke, Aubrey Conceicao, Brittney Sanders and Brittney Soares have all stepped up at key moments during the early part of this season to have MSUB out front of the race to obtain the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
 
Inside the circle, MSUB's team earned run average of 2.65 is good enough for second in the GNAC  led by Mary Grace Bywater and Kasie Conder. Bywater leads the team and conference with a 1.89 ERA while Conder's 2.10 is second on the squad and third-best in the league.
 
Sophomore Amanda Todd is one of the hardest pitchers in the league to hit off of as she leads the GNAC with a .216 opponent batting average and is third in the league with 50 strikeouts while freshman Jessyka MacDonald is close behind with 48 batters fanned so far this season.
 
Central Washington's offense is spear-headed by Heidy Wells' .313 batting average but it is Carrina Wagner who poses the greatest threat at the plate as she leads the team with 27 hits, 20 RBIs, 19 runs scored and eight home runs.
 
The Wildcats' pitching corps currently holds a 4.43 ERA led by Maria Gau's 3.19 and 105.1 innings pitched. She also leads the conference with 76 total strikeouts for the season which has her averaging 5.05 per contest.