INDIANAPOLIS - MSU Billings softball has drawn the No. 8 seed in the NCAA west region tournament and is headed to Seaside, Calif. to face the No. 1 seed Cal State Monterey Bay.
The Yellowjackets won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference postseason title on Saturday May 2, to win the tournament and the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
MSU Billings has already faced #5 Cal State Monterey Bay once this season. The Yellowjackets upset the then No. 4 Otters with a 3-0 shutout at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, Calif. in the opening game of pool play. In the GNAC postseason conference championship this past week, the Yellowjackets went 3-0 in the tournament with wins over Western Washington (6-1), Saint Martin's (4-3) and Western Washington (9-5) for the championship.
Freshman designated player
Cameron Cassinelli was named the Tournament MVP. She batted .500 with 2 HR, 2 doubles, 7 RBI's, and 2 runs. Cassinelli is batting .398 this season with a slugging percentage of .699. In 83 at bats this season she has 33 hits and 33 RBI's.
MSU Billings is batting .336 as a team. The Yellowjackets have six players batting over .350 in their starting lineup. GNAC Co-Player of the Year
Taylor Hoke is batting .389 with 61 hits, 48 RBI's, 10 home runs and has a slugging percentage of .656.
Bella Rovens (.376),
Aubrey Conceicao (.375),
Emily Osborn (.367), and
Kelsey Devlin (.358) round out the top-6 for MSUB.
Rovens has scored 49 runs this season and 12 stolen bases. The Yellowjackets leadoff batter has drawn 26 walks and her on base percentage is second in the GNAC at .480.
Conceicao has 57 hits this year with 40 RBI's. She also has five sacrifice flies, which ranks the MSUB second baseman in the top-20 in the NCAA.
Osborn leads the GNAC in home runs with 12 and slugging percentage at .667. The first baseman has 55 hits on the season and 38 RBI's.
Devlin is third on the team in slugging percentage (.530), on base percentage (.411) and has 48 hits and 29 RBI's for MSUB.
Catcher
Brittney Sanders is batting .321 her senior season and is tied on the team for the most doubles this season with nine. She has 50 hits and 28 RBI's for the Yellowjackets this season.
Heather Tracy is batting .329. The freshman right fielder has 46 hits and 21 RBI's for her team.
In the circle for MSUB senior
Jessyka MacDonald (19-6) tossed all three games in the GNAC tournament last week. The Billings, Mont. native has made 37 appearances for the team pitching 160 innings. MacDonald has an ERA of 2.80 this season with 128 strikeouts.
This is the fourth appearance in the NCAA regional tournament for MSU Billings since the program began in 2001. The Yellowjackets qualified in 2005, 2009, and 2012. Montana State University Billings was in Seaside, Calif. in 2012 for the west region tournament. The Yellowjackets are returning to the host city and have again drawn the Otters for the first round. In 2012 MSUB lost to second seed Cal State Monterey Bay 12-4 and sixth seed UC San Diego 4-0.
Joining the Yellowjackets in the west region tournament from the GNAC is Saint Martin's. The Saints are the No. 7 seed and are headed to the No. 2 seed Dixie State.
(All times are in Eastern Time)
NCAA West Regional #1 (at St. George, Utah):
Thursday - #6 Chico State (28-20) vs. #3 California Baptist (40-9)
3 p.m.; #7 Saint Martin's (41-18) vs. #2 Dixie State (44-7), 5:30 p.m.
Friday - Games at 1, 3:30 and 6 p.m.
Saturday - Games at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (if necessary).
NCAA West Regional #2 (at Seaside, Calif.):
Friday - #5 Sonoma State (39-19) vs. #4 Humboldt State (41-17), 3p.m.;
#1 Cal State Monterey Bay (47-10) vs.
#8 Montana State University Billings (29-21), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday - Games at 2 p.m., 4:30 and 7 p.m.
Sunday - Games at 3 p..m. and 5:30 p.m. (if necessary).
