GNAC Release

BILLINGS, Mont.  – The Montana State University Billings Softball team is headed to Lacey, Wash. for a pair of makeup games before heading to Canada to play Simon Fraser in their last conference games of the regular season.
 
MSU Billings (15-18, 7-11 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) is currently sitting at fifth in the conference.  The GNAC takes four teams to the softball postseason championships.
 
From the conference office:
The GNAC will determine its champion in a double-elimination four-team tournament May 1-3 at Richland, Wash.  First-place Western Oregon (26-18, 14-4) and second-place Central Washington (25-14, 14-6) have already secured berths for the tournament.
 
Western Washington (23-11, 10-6) and Saint Martin's (20-17, 9-6) will be looking to secure the final two berths this week. The Vikings, who host Northwest Nazarene for a four-game series Friday and Saturday, need a combination of four wins and/or four Montana State Billings losses to clinch.
 
MSUB plays six games this week, including two at Saint Martin's Friday and four at Simon Fraser Saturday and Sunday.  The first MSUB game is the completion of a suspended game from earlier this season.  Saint Martin's is leading in that contest 15-1 in the fourth inning.
 
Saint Martin's, which is the defending GNAC champion, can secure a post-season berth with two wins over MSUB Friday or with one win over the Yellowjackets and two other wins this weekend.  They host Western Oregon Saturday.  They also play a makeup with Northwest Nazarene Thursday.
 
"We are heading out on our last trip for our last games in the GNAC this week," Head Coach Lisa Allen said.  "First at Saint Martin's we have to finish up the game that was halted here, in Billings. We may be down but we can still come back and put some runs up on the board. After we finish that game we will play the final game of the four game set."
 
When MSU Billings resumes play, the game will commence at the top of the fourth inning with Saint Martin's up to bat, and up by 14 runs.  That game will begin Thursday, Apr. 18 at 3 pm Pacific Time with the second game to follow.  Live stats will be available at MSUBSports.com
 
On Saturday and Sunday, MSU Billings will play Simon Fraser University in a four-game series.  The Clan is on a four-game slump and is 2-14 in conference play, but SFU is playing the last four game of their conference season at home and have played their last few games close.
 
"On Saturday and Sunday we will face Simon Frasier," Coach Allen said.  "Even though they aren't having the best year we know that their offense is still strong. Over the weekend our pitchers need to continue to keep the other team off balance and keep the runs allowed to a minimum. In the meantime, our defense needs to take care of the ball and the offense needs to produce runs. Our team is looking to continue our good play from California and last weekend against Northwest Nazarene."
 
The games against SFU will begin on Saturday, Apr. 19 at 1 pm Pacific Time.  Live stats for all four games of the series will also be available at MSUBSports.com.
 
MSU Billings has three hitters in the top 20 in the GNAC.  Aubrey Conceicao leads the Yellowjackets and is ranked No. 4 in the conference with a .418 batting average.  Conceicao is also No. 6 in the GNAC in hits (46), No. 12 in RBI's (21), and No. 10 in doubles (7).
 
Brittney Sanders is hitting .337 and is No. 18 in the GNAC.  She is also No. 6 in slugging percentage with .589 and tied for No. 4 in homeruns with six on the season.
 
In the pitching circle, Jessyka MacDonald (6-5) has a combined ERA of 3.58 which has her at No. 7 in the GNAC.  She is also No. 5 in the conference in strikeouts with 69.
 

x-Western Oregon	14-4	.778	26-18	.591	9-1	8-9	9-8	L2
x-Central Washington	14-6	.700	25-14	.641	10-2	7-10	8-2	W6
Western Washington	10-6	.625	23-11	.676	8-2	8-5	7-4	L1
Saint Martin's	9-6	.600	20-17	.541	7-4	7-10	6-3	L2
Montana State Billings	7-11	.389	15-18	.455	5-5	4-7	6-6	W3
Northwest Nazarene	3-12	.200	11-27	.289	4-10	4-10	3-7	L3
Simon Fraser	2-14	.125	4-28	.125	0-9	2-11	2-8	L4
x-clinched playoff berth