NAMPA, Idaho - MSU Billings continued its impressive hitting streak with two wins over Northwest Nazarene. The MSUB softball team won Game 1 10-1 (5 innings), followed by an 11-4 victory in Game 2 Friday afternoon.
The Yellowjackets scored 21 runs on 25 hits in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference games. MSU Billings was flawless on the field, going without an error in the double-header and packed another big punch at the plate. MSU Billings had three doubles and three home runs in the two games.
Game 1 - (MSUB 10, NNU 1 (5 innings)) The Yellowjackets scored an efficient 10 runs on nine hits in Game 1 of the double-header. Left fielder
Amanda Barham went 3-3 in the game, with lead-off
Bella Rovens batting 2-3 with 2 RBI's and two runs.
Taylor Hoke had three RBI's, including two on her ninth home run of the season.
Jessyka MacDonald tossed the complete game for MSUB allowing one run on four hits and fanning five.
MSU Billings took command of the game early, scoring two runs in the first innings and three in the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
Hoke hit her ninth home run of the year at the top of the first inning for the first two runs of the game. Rovens scored two on a long single in the top of the second, and the St. Vincent Player of the Game Barham hit her first single of the game to score Rovens in the second inning.
MSUB added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning, before Northwest Nazarene put up a run in the bottom of the fourth. Two of the four NNU hits came in the fourth inning. Back-to-back doubles from the Crusaders' Gatalina Schuster and Ali Schauer platted the NNU run.
Barham and catcher
Brittney Sanders both had singles. Second baseman
Aubrey Conceicao hit her fifth sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to score one. Coming into today's double-header Conceicao was ranked No. 8 in the nation in NCAA Division II for sacrifice flies.
Into the top of the fifth inning, MSUB led 7-1. The Yellowjackets added three runs on one hit and held the Crusaders to end the game on the eight-run mercy rule. MSU Billings used Barham's third hit of the game and a trio of fielder's choices to score the final three runs.
Barham and Rovens added a stolen base each in the game. Rovens now has 11 on the season, surpassing her 10 from last season and holds the No. 2 ranking in the GNAC outright.
MSUB's MacDonald (13-6) pitched her 12
th complete game of the season for MSUB. With the five strikeouts from today's game, MacDonald now has 92 strikeouts on the season.
Northwest Nazarene's Ashley Pesek (7-20) pitched four complete innings for NNU allowing 10 runs on eight hits. Abigail Watkins came in for the final inning allowing just one hit.
"The offense came out strong and didn't let up throughout the game," MSUB head coach
Lisa Allen said on the first game of the double-header. "Jessyka had a strong performance on the mound and the defense took good care of the ball."
Game 2 (NNU 4, MSUB 11) The Yellowjackets outhit Northwest Nazarene 16-6 in Game 2.
Emily Osborn and
Heather Tracy both went 3-4 at the plate. Barham, Hoke, and
Cameron Cassinelli each had two hits. Osborn, Hoke, and Tracy had doubles, and Cassinelli and
Kelsey Devlin both stuck home runs. Sanders and Osborn had three RBI's apiece, Cassinelli came up with two, and Tracy added one.
Freshman
Megan Dettling (3-3) pitched a complete game for MSUB allowing four runs on six hits and fanning three.
The Crusaders were hampered by errors and runners left on. NNU committed three errors and left 12 runners on base.
The Yellowjackets played a consistent offensive game at the plate. MSUB scored runs in every inning except the third, with each batter in the 'Jackets line-up producing at least one hit.
In Game 2 for the Crusaders, Pesek and Kiahna Brown had two hits apiece. Pesek hit a home run in the sixth inning and Brown struck a RBI double in the second inning. In the circle, Watkins (0-8) tossed the complete game for NNU, allowing 11 runs on 16 hits.
With the offensive bats continuing their hot streak backed up by some solid defense, the Yellowjackets move to 21-18 on the season and 11-7 in the GNAC. Northwest Nazarene drops to 7-31 overall and 2-16 in conference play. After being in a virtual tie for second place in the GNAC, following today's league games, MSU Billings has moved into third place in the conference standings.
"The offense started out early again and did an excellent job of responding when NNU scored," Allen said. "Megan had a solid performance on the mound giving up very few hits and our defense continued to play well."
Up Next: MSU Billings plays a second double-header against the Crusaders on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. Live stats will be available at msubsports.com.
