BILLINGS, Mont. -- The Montana State University Billings' softball team continues its long road trip with eight games over a five-day span this week, beginning at Simon Fraser University Tuesday.
THE SERIES
* The Yellowjackets and Simon Fraser meet for the 14th and 15th time Tuesday.
* MSU Billings has won five of the six meetings all-time in Burnaby.
* Montana State Billings and Western Washington meet for the 50th and 51st times.
* MSUB is 11-8 all-time against the Vikings in Bellingham.
* Western Oregon snapped a seven-game skid to the Yellowjackets in the last meeting.
* The series in 11-10 in favor of MSUB in Monmouth over Western Oregon.
* MSU Billings has won 16 of the 20 all-time meetings at Saint Martin's.
* The Saints and Montana State Billings meet for the 42nd and 43rd times Saturday.
LEADING OFF
• After having a 20-day game-break, MSU Billings will play 10 games over a seven-day span, beginning last Saturday in Nampa.
• The Yellowjackets will travel 2,659 miles during the trip, with nearly 43 hours of driving.
• Montana State Billings' 49 at-bats against Northwest Nazarene is a conference-high.
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Amanda Todd's 10 strikeouts at NNU are also a GNAC-high this season.
• The Yellowjackets have won their last four conference season-openers.
• Since joining the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, MSUB is 4-2 in conference season-opening contests.
• For the second straight season, the MSU Billings was picked first in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference coaches' preseason poll.
• Since joining the GNAC six years ago, the Yellowjackets have been picked preseason favorites in four of them. MSUB claimed the conference crown in 2009 and last season, it was picked first in the preseason poll both of those seasons.
ABOUT THE CLAN
Simon Fraser University hosts Montana State Billings in its home opener Tuesday. The Clan are riding a three-game skid entering the week. University of British Columbia took a pair of games from SFU Sunday. The Clan have been road warriors to open the season. After opening the season in Las Vegas at MSUB's Desert Stinger, SFU traveled to Hawaii for a tournament. Tricia Bouchard leads Simon Fraser with a .412 batting average. Kelsey Hawkin is 2-2 on the mound, with a 4.53 ERA. MSU Billings won the last meeting, a de facto GNAC Championships, in the last 2012 regular season game in Billings, 8-3.
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Western Washington University welcomes MSUB in its conference-opener. WWU won its last contest, a 5-3 victory over British Columbia, in its home opener on Feb. 21. Another road-weary team, the Vikings opened the season in Hawaii, before traveling to MSU Billings' Desert Stinger. Western Washington's bats have been effective this season, as the Vikings have reached at least nine runs in five games this season. As a team, WWU is hitting .295. Freshman Alexie Levin is second in the GNAC with a .469 batting average. Jenna DeRosier has shined on the mound, winning 4-of-5, with a 2.36 ERA.
ABOUT THE WOLVES
Another conference-home opener takes place Friday in Monmouth, as Western Oregon hosts Montana State Billings. The Wolves were another Hawaii and Desert Stinger starter to the season. WOU opened season play at 1-6, but have won eight since. Western has already played 21 games this season, winning nine. Amanda Evola has a .410 batting average and a .787 slugging percentage. She has five home runs and 16 RBI already this season. Hannah Pomeroy is 5-3 with a 4.40 ERA. The teams split their meetings last year in Monmouth, with Western Oregon winning the second game, 5-1.
ABOUT THE SAINTS
Saint Martin's University was the preseason selection to dethrone Montana State Billings for the conference title. The Saints received three votes in the coaches preseason GNAC poll. SMU is off to a great start winning nine of its first 14 contests. It started the season 2-4, but has won seven of its last eight, including the last five. Saint Martin's has scored 46 runs during the five-game win streak. The Saints lead the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a 2.43 team ERA. Taylor Bakos (5-2) is second in the GNAC with a 2.36 ERA, and Sam Munger is third with a 2.40 ERA. Munger leads SMU with a .367 batting average.
SPRING BREAK?
While the rest of Montana State University Billings is on Spring Break, the Yellowjacket softball team is on a business trip ... a long business trip. After having 20 days without a game, MSUB plays 10 games over a seven-day span, beginning with its sweep at NNU. The Yellowjackets will spend eight days on the road, traveling 2,659 miles, driving nearly 43 hours around the Pacific Northwest for games. The team went from Billings to Nampa, Idaho; to Burnaby, B.C.; to Bellingham, Wash.; to Monmouth, Ore.; to Lacey, Wash.; and then back to Billings.
