SEATTLE – Stormy weather halted the Montana State University Billings softball team from a comeback attempt Wednesday, as the Yellowjackets lost to Seattle University 4-2 in a game shortened to five innings at Logan Field.
Originally scheduled as a nonconference doubleheader against the NCAA Division I opponent, rain brought play to a stop after the fifth inning and the Redhawks earned the victory. Seattle improved to 8-12 overall on the season, while the 'Jackets fell to 7-13 with the loss.
"The team did a great job battling adversity today, and I am glad we had the opportunity to get a few innings in before the field conditions became unplayable," commented MSUB head coach Rebekah Gasner. "We knew we had limited innings to produce runs and unfortunately we just came up short in the end."
Leadoff batter
Cori Gammon went 2-for-3 for MSUB, and was the lone Yellowjacket to have multiple hits off of Redhawk starter Lindsay Davis.
Megan Dettling threw 4 1/3 strong innings in the circle, allowing just two hits and striking out six batters.
The 'Jackets found themselves in a 3-0 hole early on, as the Redhawks rallied for three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Sending nine batters to the plate in the frame, two consecutive hit batters followed by a walk all with the bases loaded gave SU its runs without a hit.
Fighting back in the fourth inning, a walk drawn by
Nicole Tiffany followed by a single from
Ryland Estrada put runners on base for the 'Jackets. The bottom of MSUB's lineup came through, as
Haley Rowe and
Jessica Bagnell each drove in runs with base hits to make the score 3-2.
Seattle added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, as Kaylee Ree drew a walk and stole second before scoring on a fielder's choice off the bat of Maddy Kristjanson. The game was halted immediately following Kristjanson's RBI.
"Overall I am happy with our performance and I feel confident going into our final four games of this Spring Break road trip," said Gasner.
THE BUZZ: Rowe was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game, as she was solid defensively and threw out a baserunner in addition to her production at the plate…it was Gammon's fifth multi-hit game of the season…it was the team's fourth error-free game of the year, and third in its last seven games overall…Dettling reached six strikeouts in a game for the fifth time this season, and was two away from her season high of eight.
UP NEXT: MSUB finishes its current 12-game road trip with a four-game Great Northwest Athletic Conference series at Western Oregon University. The Yellowjackets and Wolves will play doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday, as MSUB gets back into its conference schedule this weekend.
