Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

TURLOCK, Calif. – The Montana State University Billings' softball team had a tough start to the 12th annual Tournament of Champions presented by Mizuno Friday. The Yellowjackets dropped their opening games at the tournament, 6-1 to Cal State-Monterey Bay, and 5-1 to the Academy of Art.

In Game 16 of the tournament, the Otters (22-16, 12-12 California Collegiate Athletic Association) defeated MSUB for the third time in the past four days. CSUMB picked up 5-1 and 6-1 victories over the Yellowjackets Tuesday in Seaside, Calif.

“Overall we played well and got some of our swings back,” MSUB Head Coach Lisa Allen said. “Unfortunately, we had a couple errors and a couple of hard hits caught. We are moving in the right direction to coming back, just need that one hit to break through.”

In the opening game for both teams at the Tournament of Champions, Cal State-Monterey Bay outhit MSU Billings, 12-4. Lauren Ermitano was 2-for-2 with two RBI, and Vanessa Avila went 3-for-3 with an RBI. Mariah Nisbet was 2-for-4 and scored once.

Cori Reinhardt (11-11) threw a complete game, striking out two Yellowjackets and walking two others. She allowed one earned run on four hits. At the plate, Reinhardt hit her eighth double of the season.

Montana State Billings' Rose Harrington went 1-for-3 with one RBI. Nicole Wilkerson was 1-for-2. Amanda Roark (0-5) tossed four innings, allowing seven hits and one earned run. Amanda Todd pitched the final three innings giving up two earned runs on five hits. Todd had one strikeout and one walk.

Cal State-Monterey Bay opened the scoring in the top of the first inning when Ermitano singled to center field and drove in Reinhardt. In the bottom of the third inning, the Yellowjackets tied the game with a Harrington single to left field that brought in Samantha Jo Everett. CSUMB then scored two runs in the top of the fifth and top of the sixth. The Otters added a run in the seventh.

The Yellowjackets committed three errors and left six runners on base, while CSUMB had one error and stranded 10. It was the fourth straight win for the Otters and the sixth consecutive setback for MSU Billings.

Game 33 of the tournament was an hour-and-a-half behind schedule, beginning at 10:45 p.m. Mountain Time and ending two hours later. It was the final game to end Friday. Academy of Art (11-23, 8-12 PacWest Conference) pulled away late from the Yellowjackets in only the second meeting between the programs all-time. It was the first win for AAU in the Tournament of Champions all-time.

Taylor Thurman went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Urban Knights. Jessica Marin was 2-for-4 with a double. Kimberly Dauer improved to 6-11 this season on the mound. The senior gave up nine hits, but no earned runs in seven innings on the mound.

Montana State Billings (8-20, 7-8 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) was led by Aubrey Conceicao and Harrington. Both went 3-for-4 at the plate. Jessica Campbell and Mary Grace Bywater both pitched three innings. Campbell (1-5) was credited with the loss after allowing two earned runs on six hits. Bywater struck out four Knights, and gave up no earned runs on two hits.

Jasmine Dickenson opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a single to right field that brought in Eylse Cordova. Andrea Hanchey then drove in Lauren Stover on a groundout to second. MSUB cut the lead to one in the top of the third. Emily Osborn doubled to left center, scoring Conceicao.

The Knights broke the game open with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Neither team scored again, but MSUB left the bases loaded in the top of the seventh. Montana State Billings left nine runners on base, but AAU stranded 12.

“We hit the ball hard in our game against Academy of Art, just still missing the clutch hit to score the runs,” Allen said. “We also had another inning where we gave up runs as a defense. If we can eliminate the one bad defensive inning, and get two more clutch hits, we can put ourselves in a better place to win.”

The Yellowjackets play three games Saturday in the tournament, beginning with Humboldt State (30-10, 20-4 CCAA) at 11:15 a.m. Pacific Time. The No. 14 Lumberjacks had their 18-game win streak snapped Friday with a 5-4 loss to Saint Martin's. Humboldt State and Montana State Billings meet for the second time this season. The Yellowjackets won their first game of the season over HSU, 13-5, at the Desert Stinger.

Tournament of Champions presented by Mizuno
Friday's Results
Cal Baptist 2, Northwest Nazarene 0 (8)
Saint Martin's 8, Cal State San Bernardino 0 (6)
Cal State Dominguez Hills 4, Grand Canyon 3 (11)
Sonoma State 8, Hawaii Pacific 5 (8)
Simon Fraser 10, Western Oregon 5
Humboldt State 3, Azusa Pacific 0
Dominican 10, Northwest Nazarene 1 (5)
Central Washington 7, Cal State San Bernardino 5
Saint Martin's 5, Humboldt State 4
Cal State Dominguez Hill 9, Dominican 1 (5)
Cal Baptist 2, UC San Diego 0
Hawaii Hilo 5, Cal State East Bay 0
Cal State Monterey Bay 6, Montana State Billings 1
Western Oregon 7, Cal State Stanislaus 6
Azusa Pacific 6, Cal State San Bernardino 0
Cal Baptist 1, San Francisco State 0
Western Washington 5, Academy of Art 1
Humboldt State 2, Central Washington 1 (8)
Sonoma State 2, Notre Dame de Namur 1
Hawaii Hilo 5, Northwest Nazarene 1
Chaminade 7, San Francisco State 6
Azusa Pacific 7, Academy of Art 2
Grand Canyon 2, UC San Diego 1
Cal State Monterey Bay 5, Western Washington 0
Central Washington 6, Chico State 2
Notre Dame de Namur 10, Cal State Stanislaus 8
UC San Diego 1, Dominican 0
Western Washington 8, Chico State 1
Chaminade 10, Cal State East Bay 2
Academy of Art 5, Montana State Billings 1
Hawaii Hilo 4, San Francisco State 0