BILLINGS, Mont. – This weekend marks the sixth straight year for the MSUB softball team making the trip to southern California for the Tournament of Champions. The Cal State Stanislaus hosted event kicks off Friday for the Yellowjackets with a match-up against the No. 4 team in the country – Cal State Monterey Bay.
The Yellowjackets are travelling to Turlock, Calif. for the 14th annual Tournament of Champions presented by the Turlock Convention & Visitors Bureau. MSU Billings will appear in the tournament for the sixth straight season, and eighth time overall.
The Yellowjackets are looking forward to playing some regional games in the team's third big tournament of the 2015 season. Playing in the tournament are 24 of the 30 total NCAA Division II west region teams, including all seven of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools. The Yellowjackets will not face any conference competition, but rather five schools from Calif. on Friday and Saturday, with Sunday being reserved for bracket play.
Last year the team ended the tournament with a 3-3 overall record. This year the Yellowjackets will meet familiar opponents in: No. 4 Cal State Monterey Bay, No. 21 Sonoma State, host-school Cal State Stanislaus, Cal State Chico, and Academy of Art with at least one more game to be played in the championship rounds.
No. 4 California State University Monterey Bay Friday, Mar, 27 1:15 p.m. PT
The Otters from Monterey Bay dropped this week from No. 3 in the nation to No. 4. The team had been riding an eight-game win streak, but ran into some trouble against Chico State last weekend ending the series 1-3 against the Wildcats. Overall CSUMB is still 23-6 on the season and 14-6 in the California Collegiate Athletics Association. The Otters are one back of Sonoma State in the CCAA standings.
At the MSUB-hosted Desert Stinger earlier in the year, CSUMB went 5-0 against regional opponents, including ending games by the mercy rule in all but one. Against GNAC schools CSUMB defeated Western Oregon 11-0 (5 innings) and Western Washington 10-2 (6 innings). The Otters won their final Desert Stinger game against then No. 3 in the country Dixie State 4-2.
With the exception of last weekend, Monterey Bay has been solid in its conference series. Against Cal State San Bernardino, UC San Diego, and Cal State East Bay, the Otters 3-1 and completed the sweep against Cal State Dominguez Hills 4-0, before dropping the series against Chico State last weekend.
The Otters are batting .355 overall as a team. Led by reigning CCAA Player of the Year and three-time All American Cori Reinhardt is batting an impressive .500 at the plate. Reinhardt, a senior pitcher and utility player does it all. She has 41 hits on the year with 15 doubles and 25 RBI's. She leads the CCAA with a 1.63 ERA and is tied for the most wins on the season, 14, with Amanda Llerena from Sonoma State. Reinhardt is 14-1 on the season and has pitched complete games in all 15 starts. Also in the circle for the Otters, Lindsey Clarkson holds a 2.59 ERA for CSUMB with 11 complete games and an 8-5 record.
North of .450 on the season, Madison Castro is batting .463 and Bianca Noriega checks-in at .456. Castro leads the team in RBI's with 28 and slugging percentage with .744. Noriega is right behind Castro and Reinhardt in slugging percentage with .734 and leads her team in walks with 78.
The No. 4 Otters are ranked nationally in the top-10 in four major categories including No. 1 in fielding percentage at .984. The team has a total of 13 errors on the season in 815 total catches.
The Series: MSUB is 0-6 overall against Cal State Monterey Bay. The teams last met for three games during the 2013 season when the Yellowjackets lost the series by scores of 5-1, 6-1, and 6-1.
No. 21 Sonoma State University, Friday, Mar. 27, 3:30 p.m., PT
This will be the second meeting this season between the Yellowjackets and the Seawolves. The two teams met in February during the MSUB-hosted Desert Stinger Tournament in Las Vegas where the Seawolves took the game 6-5. MSUB led through five innings when Sonoma went on a streak in the sixth, including three homeruns to take the lead. MSUB rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning, adding three runs, but couldn't quite complete the comeback falling by one.
Like Monterey Bay, Sonoma has played solid in the CCAA, dropping single games in its four-game series against Cal State Dominguez Hills, UC San Diego, and Cal State East Bay, but played some tough games last weekend against No. 19 Humboldt State. The Seawolves won their first two games against the 'Jacks, but fell 14-4 and 6-1 to end the series 2-2. Despite the losses, Sonoma remains atop the conference leader board at 22-7 and 14-5 in the CCAA. Last week the Seawolves were ranked No. 21 in the nation, but dropped one in the National Fastpitch Collegiate Association (NFCA) national Division II poll after splitting their games with Humboldt.
At the plate Sonoma is batting .320 overall. The Seawolves are fast on the bases, leading the conference in steals at 58. Senior shortstop Ancia Purdy leads SSU batting .486 at the plate. Behind her and third in the CCAA is Keeley Ray who is batting .477. Both players are solid on the long ball, Purdy has connected on nine triples this season while teammate Ray has struck five.
Reigning CCAA Pitcher of the Year, junior Amanda Llerena holds a 2.63 ERA while leading the conference with 14 wins and 117 strikeouts. This season, Llerena has twice been named conference Pitcher of the Week, but was credited with both losses to Humboldt State last weekend.
The Series: MSU Billings is 1-2 against Sonoma State all-time. All three games were played on neutral territory. In 2009, MSUB played Sonoma in Turlock, coming out on top 2-1.
California State University Stanislaus, Friday, Mar. 27, 8:00 p.m. PT
Host-school the Warriors are 9-19 and 3-17 in the CCAA. Cal State Stanislaus is on an eight-game slump dropping its last two four-game series events against both Chico State and most recently to No. 19 Humboldt State.
The team is batting .297 overall. Sophomore outfielder Nicolette Vizcaino is the lone player batting above .400 with a .415 average. She leads the teams in hits (39), runs (22), and is fast on the bases, ranking third in the conference with 19 total stolen bases this season.
Cal State Stanislaus has three pitchers who have seen significant time in the circle. Natalie Renden leads the team with a 3.97 ERA. Jessica Carady has 59 strikeouts on the season, and has pitched the most innings for the Warriors at 75.
The Series: MSU Billings holds a 3-4 overall record against the Warriors. After being on a three-game slide against CSUS, the Yellowjackets won their game against the Warriors 5-3 in last year's Tournament of Champions.
California State University Chico, Saturday, Mar.28. 4, 2:15 p.m., PT
Just like Cal State Stanislaus, this will be the second straight Tournament of Champions the Yellowjackets are set to face Cal State Chico. Last year MSUB lost 8-7 in another game where the Yellowjackets' comeback fell just short. Chico State held an 8-4 lead heading into the seventh inning when MSUB rallied to add three runs, falling just one run shy of sending the game to extra innings.
This season, the Wildcats are 16-8 overall and 13-7 in the CCAA. Chico State is coming into the tournament on a hot streak. The team went 3-1 against No. 4 Cal State Monterey Bay last weekend and split its series against Cal State San Bernardino the weekend before after sweeping Cal State Stanislaus in all four games of that series. The Wildcats are much improved this season and are fourth in the conference, only one win back from leaders Sonoma State, Monterey Bay, and Humboldt State.
Chico State is batting .321 as a team, but have recently stepped up production at the plate. The 'Cats outhit the No. 4 Otters last weekend 24-20 while also keeping Monterey Bay scoreless in two of the four games. Emily McEnaney is batting .458 and leads the team in hits (33), runs (23), and home runs (six).
The Wildcats have two of the top-5 pitchers in the CCAA. Freshman Haley Gilham has seven wins on the season pitching two complete games against Monterey Bay last weekend allowing no runs on seven total hits. Gilham is ranked second in the conference with an 1.82 ERA. Junior Cheyenne Sandoval has made 11 appearances on the season and has a 2.04 ERA. The last of the Chico State trio of pitchers, Brooke Langeloh has eight wins on the season and a 2.80 ERA. Langeloh has five complete games under her belt and leads the team in strikeouts with 44.
The Series: Last season's loss broke a two-game win streak against the Warriors setting the score even at 3-3 in the overall series between the two teams. This will be the fifth straight season MSUB has faced Chico State at the Tournament of Champions.
Academy of Art, Saturday Mar. 28, 6:00 p.m. PT
Academy of Art is the lone PacWest team MSU Billings is set to face-off against in pool play. The Urban Knights are 14-17 overall, 9-9 in conference play. Academy of Art was shut-out against Dixie State last weekend suffering four-straight losses to the nationally-ranked Red Storm, but AAU is on a two-game win streak with victories against Chaminade on Tuesday by scores of 4-2 and 8-0 (5 innings).
The Knights are batting .307 on the season. Haley MacDonald is batting .427 with a team-leading 38 hits on the season. Elise Oldham has 30 hits, and leads the team in home runs with five.
In the circle, Brenna Mitchell carries a 3.74 ERA. She has made 22 appearances so far, pitching 108 and 2/3 innings, including 11 complete games, with 65 total strikeouts. With 10 wins she leads the team and is fifth in the PacWest overall.
The Series: The two teams have played in two previous meetings. In 2010, MSUB won the encounter during the Desert Stinger 4-0, and in Turlock in 2013, MSUB lost the contest 5-1.
Montana State University BillingsThe Yellowjackets are 13-14 and 6-6 in the GNAC. During their home-opening games against Simon Fraser last weekend, MSUB won the series 3-1. For the second time this season, senior
Jessyka MacDonald earned GNAC Pitcher of the Week honors. She pitched 21 2/3 innings tossing three complete games for three wins. She threw a two-hit shutout in the series finale, pitching all 10 innings on Sunday, allowing just one run on five hits.
In the batter's box, the Yellowjackets put on an offensive show. MSUB outhit Simon Fraser 47-22 during the four-games, including a clinical 23-5 hit double-header on Sunday. MSU Billings put runners on the bases in all but one inning during the four-game series.
Sophomore
Bella Rovens was the team's leading hitter at .615 (8-13). Freshman
Heather Tracy was 6-12 and .500.
Taylor Hoke had a team-high seven RBI's and two home runs while first baseman
Emily Osborn and freshman
Cameron Cassinelli also had a pair of home runs.
MSU Billings is batting .325. On the season, Hoke is batting .412 and is now ranked second in the conference. She leads MSUB in hits (35) and RBI's (28). Osborn leads the 'Jackets in doubles with seven, and has eight home runs on the season leading the GNAC race by two.
Second baseman
Aubrey Conceicao is second on the team in hits (32) and RBI's (20), and carries a .979 field percentage. Overall MSU Billings has a .950 fielding percentage.
MacDonald is 8-5 on the season with a 2.79 ERA. She has the fourth lowest ERA in the GNAC, and is tied for second in strikeouts at 64. Freshman
Megan Dettling has made 14 appearances this season and has 32 strikeouts so far.
2015 Participating Teams, Listed by Pool: | Pool A | Pool B* | Pool C | Pool D* |
| Academy of Art | Central Washington | Cal State Dominguez Hills | Azusa Pacific |
| Cal State Monterey Bay | Holy Names | Cal State East Bay | Chaminade |
| Cal State Stanislaus | Montana State Billings | Humboldt State | Dominican |
| Chico State | Northwest Nazarene | Saint Martin's | Hawaii Pacific |
| Hawaii Hilo | Simon Fraser | San Francisco State | Notre Dame de Namur |
| Sonoma State | Western Oregon | UC San Diego | Western Washington |
MSU Billings has advanced to their bracket's championships game three times, and has an overall record of 19-26 at the tournament. MSUB plays in the state of California for the seventh straight year, and 10th year in the program's history. The Yellowjackets are 26-36 in the Golden State in program history.
For all the results, plus more information regarding the tournament, please visit the tournament website
HERE. Also, please check the tournament home page for the links to live stats. MSUBSports.com will have all of MSUB's scores, plus highlights following the conclusion of each day's contests.
