Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

GREAT FALLS, Mont.  – The Montana State University Billings Softball team ended their 2014 season with a two-game sweep of in-state school, the University of Great Falls on Friday by scores of 9-8 (9) and 5-0.
 
After a three-game series sweep last week against fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) School Simon Fraser University, the MSU Billings (20-20) Yellowjackets ended their season on a high-note with a five-game winning streak.
 
Against Great Falls, MSUB needed extra-innings in Game 1 to defeat the Argos before coming back to take Game 2 in a shut-out.
 
Game 1 started out with MSU Billings scoring four runs in the first inning and one more in the third and fourth innings, to take a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth.
 
Great Falls would come back, scoring one run in the fourth and then five runs in the sixth inning to tie the game at six-all.
 
Neither team would be able to add any runs in the seventh inning, which would send the game into extra innings.
 
The top of the eighth inning would start with MSUB putting Katie Schermele on second base.  Breanna Wilson would come into game hitting a bunt single to land on first base, but a throwing error by UGF's shortstop would send Wilson to second and bring in Schermele from third to score a run and give MSUB a 7-6 lead.  The Yellowjackets would be unable to add any more runs, giving UGF a chance to add to their total.
 
The Argos would place a pinch-runner on second base in scoring position to start the bottom of the eighth.  MSU Pitcher Amanda Roark struck out the next batter for the first out of the inning bringing up designated player Sarah Jackson to the plate.  Jackson would hit a double into right-field bringing in their runner on second to tie the game at seven.  The next two batters for UGF would be outs, sending the game into the ninth inning.
 
The Yellowjackets would place lead-off hitter Bella Rovens on second base at the beginning of the ninth.  Corie Gammon would come to the plate and get on first by an error by the third baseman, scoring Rovens on the same error giving MSUB the lead back at 8-7.  Aubrey Conceicao would come to the plate for MSU Billings reaching base on another error by the Argos and scoring Gammon to give MSUB a two-run lead at 9-7.  UGF's pitcher Keeley Van Blaricom would strikeout the next three MSU Billings batters to end the inning. 
 
Down by two runs UGF would again start with a runner at second base to begin the bottom of the ninth inning.  MSUB's Roark would strikeout the first batter giving the Yellowjackets one out.  The next batter would be out with a single up the middle, but advanced the runner on second to third base bringing up Brittney Robbins who would hit a single to bring in the runner at third base to carry the Argos to within one run at 8-9.  The next batter for UGF reached first on an error sending the runner at first to second and into scoring position bringing up Brittany Franklin.  Franklin would end the inning and the game with a lineout to right field, giving MSUB the win in game one by a score of 9-8 (9).
 
Gammon would finish the game 3-4 with 2 runs and 1 RBI.  Katie Schermele was 1-4, but she hit her third homerun of the season to score three runs as part of the four-run first inning.
 
For UGF, Franklin and Mindy Larson were both 2-5 in the game.  Franklin also had 2 RBI's.
 
Both teams would be within one hit of each other as MSUB finished the game with nine while UGF had 10.  Errors would prove to be the undoing of the Argos as they ended the game with six while the Yellowjackets only committed one.
 
Jessyka MacDonald (7-5) picked up the win for MSUB in the circle as she pitched six innings, fanning eight hits while giving up six runs and striking out nine batters to take her season total to 82.  Amanda Roark earned her first save of the season, coming in to pitch three innings, giving up two runs on two hits while striking out four.
 
Van Blaricom pitched a complete game for Great Falls.  In nine innings, she fanned nine hits, giving up eight runs, while only three of those were earned, and striking out 10 batters.
 
Game two would prove to be a much more dominate game by MSUB as the Yellowjackets outhit the Argos 12-4.  MSU Billings' pitcher for the second game, Amanda Todd (6-7) pitched a complete game matching her season-high of 11 strikeouts while allowing no runs on four hits.
 
Taylor Hoke would end game two, 3-4 with 1 RBI for MSUB.  Schermele would finish 2-3 and Samantha Jo Everett would lead the team in RBI's with two, off a long single to center field in the fifth inning.
 
The Argos' Maureen Garcia would earn the loss for UGF.
 
MSU Billings finished their 2014 season at 20-20, and earned wins in their last five games.  

"We are proud with how our team finished strong," Head Coach Lisa Allen said. "We are glad that they went 11-5 in the last 16 games of the season. The team had some amazing plays on defense along with timely hitting. Our pitching staff did what they needed to do to keep us in the game. The team did a good job at the end  of the year not coasting against our GNAC opponents. Against Great Falls they had to fight back and pulled out the win. It is sad that we were just getting on a roll at the end of our season but it was a great way to end the year."