BILLINGS, Mont. – Getting set for the College of Idaho/Northwest Nazarene University Classic coming up this weekend, the Montana State University Billings softball team is preparing for its longest road trip of the year.
 
The Yellowjackets will play six games Friday through Sunday in Idaho, before continuing west to Washington to begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. MSUB will open conference play on March 3 and 4 with doubleheaders scheduled against Western Washington in Bellingham, Wash. After a day off, the 'Jackets will then take on Saint Martin's in GNAC doubleheaders on March 6 and 7 in Lacey, Wash.
 
"We are excited to get back out on the field, as in years past we have had a huge break between the Desert Stinger and our next games," said MSUB head coach Lisa Allen. "These games will be a great opportunity for us to get some momentum going before we get into conference play. We are always eager to get into our GNAC schedule."
 
MSUB (3-6) opened its season at the Desert Stinger by defeating two nationally-ranked teams within its first three games. The Yellowjackets took down No. 19 Humboldt State 6-3 in their season opener, before handing No. 14 Augustana an 8-6 loss on Valentine's Day in Las Vegas.
 
Most recently, the 'Jackets were swept in a three-game series at Dixie State last week. "The team is looking really good right now, and our offense did a really good job out-hitting Dixie State," Allen said. "We have always had a pretty big rivalry against Humboldt State and we came out strong against Augustana too."
 
Leading the team early on offensively this season are seniors Taylor Hoke and Emily Osborn, who have posted strong power numbers to go along with batting averages north of .300. Hoke was a Desert Stinger all-tournament team selection after hitting three home runs, and she leads the team with seven RBIs so far while batting .370 (10-for-27). Osborn has homered twice this season and driven in six runs, and half of her hits so far have gone for extra bases as she also has two doubles.
 
Sophomore third baseman Kelsey Devlin has also had a hot bat to open the season, hitting .435 (10-for-23 with a double and a pair of stolen bases in eight starts.
 
Senior Aubrey Conceicao has started all nine games at second base, and is a perfect 29-for-29 in fielding chances. She has posted a .276 batting average early on and has not struck out in 29 at bats thus far.
 
In the circle for MSUB, Jessyka MacDonald has struck out 20 batters in 22.1 innings, and has appeared in seven games starting two with an ERA of 4.03. Freshman Megan Dettling has also showed promise early on, striking out 18 batters in 19 innings spread over six appearances.
 
As a team MSUB is batting .288 and 15 of the team's 72 hits have gone for extra bases. The Yellowjackets are averaging 4.11 runs per game offensively, and hold a very strong fielding percentage of .970.
 
Friday, Feb. 27 – 10 a.m. – Symms Field
Sunday, March 1 – 12 p.m. – Bobby Welch Halle Softball Field
Concordia University Cavaliers
 
Scheduled to face the newest addition to the GNAC twice over the weekend, the Yellowjackets and Cavaliers will square off on Friday in Caldwell, Idaho and on Sunday down the road in Nampa, Idaho.
 
Concordia has started its season 9-5 and has won four of its last five games. One of CU's wins last week at the Northwest Cup in Clackamas, Ore., came against GNAC foe Western Oregon, as the Cavaliers cruised to a 9-2 win.
 
CU has also twice beat NAIA No. 10 ranked Simpson University, by the score of 10-6 on Feb. 14 and again last week 3-0 on Feb. 22.
 
Four key players for the Cavs are each hitting above .400 on the season, with Karissa Shiflet leading the way at .420 (21-for-50). Meghan Luebbert is leading the team with nine extra-base hits and 15 RBIs, and has scored 14 runs while batting .412 early on. Rylleigh Zbaraschuk has half of CU's six stolen bases on the season, and is batting .407 with four doubles.
 
Mattie Boucher has been the top pitcher for CU this season, having struck out 27 batters in 39.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.82 and a record of 5-1.
 
As a team CU is batting .352 and is averaging 6.43 runs per game offensively.
 
The Series: This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Concordia will begin playing a GNAC schedule during the 2016 softball season, as it transitions from the NAIA into the NCAA Division II.
 
Friday, Feb. 27 – 12 p.m. – Symms Field
University of British Columbia Thunderbirds
 
Entering Friday's game with an overall record of 5-13, UBC has won two of its last three games but lost 10 of its last 12 overall. The Thunderbirds most recently dropped a close game against Concordia 7-6, after wins against Northwest Christian (7-1) and the College of Idaho (5-0).
 
UBC has been limited offensively, averaging 4.09 runs per game with four total home runs on the season. Yasmin Bains and Lindsey Ogilvie have been the top hitters for the Thunderbirds, each batting .333 and holding the top-two on-base percentages on the team at .444 and .529, respectively.
 
Ogilvie has also tossed three complete games for UBC in the circle, striking out 15 and walking just seven in 33 1/3 innings with an ERA of 5.04.
 
The Series: The game will be the first-ever between the Yellowjackets and the Thunderbirds.
 
Saturday, Feb. 28 – 10 a.m. – Symms Field
College of Idaho Yotes
 
After winning their first three games of the season, the Yotes have gone 1-10 and enter this weekend's tournament having lost three in-a-row. Most recently, COI lost 9-1 to No. 10 Simpson and was defeated by GNAC team Saint Martin's 6-4 the same day last week (Feb. 22).
 
Destiny Turner leads the team with an incredible .550 batting average, with four doubles and a pair of home runs contributing to her overall line of 22-for-40. She also is the lone Yote to have driven in double-digit runs with 15 RBIs this season.
 
Jodie Hoagland has been a catalyst for the team on the base paths, having been successful on 7 of 8 steal attempts while holding a .455 batting average. The team overall has had great success stealing bases, converting 21 of 25 attempts so far.
 
Cortni Pena has been outstanding in the circle for the Yotes, tossing a complete game in each of her five starts and striking out 35 against 16 walks in 44 innings with a 2.07 ERA.
 
The Series: MSUB and College of Idaho have yet to square off, as Saturday's game will be a program-first for the Yellowjackets.
 
Saturday, Feb. 28 – 4 p.m. – Symms Field
Sunday, March 1 – 10 a.m. – Bobby Welch Halle Softball Field
Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers
 
Eastern Oregon is 2-3 overall on the season with a pair of its losses coming against No. 10 Simpson in the Northwest Cup last week. The Mountaineers most recently split a pair of games against two Montana NAIA schools, defeating Carroll College 8-3 on Feb. 22 and falling to University of Great Falls 5-4 the same afternoon.
 
Cassie Wendt had a monster start with the bat in her first five games, batting .625 (10-for-16) with a pair of home runs and eight RBIs. Marisa Gonzalez also hit two long balls for EOU, which is averaging seven runs per game early on in its season.
 
The Mountaineers have utilized Lindsey Walchli and Lily Smith so far in the circle, with the former starting all five games and tossing three complete games.
 
The Series: MSUB is 0-1 all-time against EOU, but it has been more than a decade since the teams have met. The Mountaineers picked up a 3-2 victory over MSUB on March 3, 2001 in a neutral site game at Richland, Wash.
 
Tuesday, March 3 – 2 p.m. MTN – Viking Field – Doubleheader
Wednesday, March 4 – 2 p.m. MTN – Viking Field – Doubleheader
Western Washington University Vikings
 
Western Washington is off to a 7-5 start this season and will enter Tuesday's doubleheader against the 'Jackets having won four of its last five games overall. WWU opened its season with a 3-3 road trip in Hawaii, where it swept BYU Hawaii, split with Chaminade and was swept by Hawaii-Pacific.
 
Reigning GNAC Player of the Year Alexie Levin is batting .441 (15-for-34) to start the season for WWU, and she has homered twice and driven in 11 runs. Transfer shortstop Alicia Fine, who earned the first GNAC Player of the Week honor of the season, leads the team with three home runs and 15 RBIs, and has scored 12 runs while batting .372 (16-for-43).
 
Emily Benson has started 10 games and is batting .424 (14-for-33), and she also has a pair of long balls for the Vikings.
 
On the base paths, reigning GNAC Newcomer of the Year Autumn Isaacson is a perfect 7-for-7 and she also holds a .333 batting average which includes three triples.
 
In the circle, Makinlee Sellevold has a 4-1 record with a 4.17 ERA and has thrown a complete game in three of her six starts. She also leads the team with 24 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched, and has not allowed a home run in 153 at bats this season.
 
The Vikings are scoring 6.08 runs per game and more than a quarter of their hits have gone for extra bases (33 of 115). The team is also 12-for-13 stealing bases this season, and has a solid fielding percentage of .971.
 
The Series: MSUB holds the all-time upper hand against the Vikings with a mark of 35-22. Away from Billings, the Yellowjackets are 12-9 against the Vikings. The series has been dead even over the last two seasons, with each team winning four games. The longest-ever winning streak by either team in the series was a nine-game stretch by MSUB from March 6, 2009 – Feb. 28, 2010 when the 'Jackets on average outscored the Vikings 5.8-1.8.
 
Last Time Out: In a pair of home doubleheaders last season, Bella Rovens went 5-for-10 in the leadoff spot to help the Yellowjackets split the four games. Cori Gammon, Hali Gruntowicz and Osborn each homered in the series, and Mary Grace Bywater pitched a complete game for the win in a 10-5 Game 1 triumph.
 
Friday, March 6 – 2 p.m. MTN – SMU Softball Field – Doubleheader
Saturday, March 7 – 1 p.m. MTN – SMU Softball Field – Doubleheader
Saint Martin's University Saints
 
With three games scheduled before next week's meeting with the Yellowjackets, Saint Martin's has a six-game winning streak on its side and has opened 2015 9-8 overall.
 
Most recently in the Concordia Tournament, SMU defeated College of Idaho 6-4, Oregon Institute of Technology 12-5 and Northwest Christian University 10-3.
 
Taviah Jenkins has been the top hitter so far for the Saints, carrying a .436 batting average (24-for-55) with five doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs this season. Jenkins is also a perfect 3-for-3 on the base paths and has scored a team-high 20 runs.
 
Dani Wall also has three homers for SMU, and has a team-high 12 RBIs while batting .340 (17-for-50). In 16 starts this season, Lindsay Miller is hitting .389 (14-for-36) and holds an on-base percentage of .477 with 10 RBIs.
 
Sam Munger has been the top pitcher for the Saints, having thrown a complete game in all seven of her starts and holding a 5-2 record with a 2.45 ERA. Munger has struck out 25 batters in 44 innings, and she has completed one shutout this season. Miller also doubles as a pitcher for SMU, and has thrown three complete games with an ERA of 4.43.
 
Overall the Saints average 5.29 runs per game and have a team batting average of .305. The Saints have 41 extra-base hits this season and have a strong walk-to-strikeout ratio with 54 walks and only 57 strikeouts.
 
The Series: The Yellowjackets are 30-19 all-time against the Saints but SMU has won the last four meetings between the teams. On the road MSUB is 16-7 in Lacey. During a stretch from 2003-2009, MSUB won 16 of 17 games between the teams and added three more wins in the next four games to make it 19 of 21 over an eight-year period.
 
Last Time Out: Conceicao went 3-for-3 with a double but the Saints pieced together a 4-3 victory on April 18, 2014. The Saints also took the first game of that day's doubleheader 19-1, and won the first two games of the season between the teams 3-2 and 10-2 in Billings on March 29.