BILLINGS, Mont. – After 25 road games to start the 2017 season, the Montana State University Billings softball team returns home this weekend to make its debut at Avitus Group Stadium.
 
The Yellowjackets (9-16, 5-7 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) open their home schedule with a four-game series against league opponent Western Oregon University. Doubleheaders are scheduled for noon on both Saturday and Sunday, and live video with play-by-play commentary and live statistics will be available for all games online through MSUB's Stretch Internet portal here.
 
MSUB is coming off a 12-game road stretch to start its conference season, during which the team went 5-7 against three league opponents. The Yellowjackets split a four-game set at Western Washington, won 3 of 4 against Concordia University, and were swept in four games at Saint Martin's University last week in the span of eight days.

"It's going to be exciting to play at home, and we have just talked about finding that consistency as a team," commented first-year head coach Jessica Rayman. "Western Oregon is going to be tough, and these will be some close games. We just need to come out and play defense, and make sure that our pitchers are hitting their spots."
 
This weekend's series is the first of three at home this year for MSUB, as the Yellowjackets also host Central Washington University on April 14-15, and Simon Fraser University on April 28-29.
 
TRACY TURNING HEADS: Off to a killer start through 25 games, junior right fielder Heather Tracy is batting .473 and has struck out just one time in 96 plate appearances. Tracy is getting on base at a clip of .490, and is slugging .670 as she has five doubles, two triples, and three home runs on the year. She also ranks second on the team with 23 RBIs, and is a perfect 7-for-7 in the stolen bases category.
 
Entering this weekend's games, Tracy ranks No. 4 in all of the NCAA Division II in total hits this season with 43. With 149 hits in her career, Tracy is just seven away from cracking into the MSUB all-time top-10.
 
2017 NCAA D2 Softball Hits Leaders (as of March 12, 2017)

Rank	Name	School	Hits	Gm.	Class	Pos,
1.	Erin Boone	Lenoir-Rhyne	50	27	SO	OF
2.	Kaitlyn Bannister	Alabama-Huntsville	47	26	SR	INF
3.	Jessica Mohl	Valdosta State	44	27	JR	SS
4.	Heather Tracy	MSU Billings	43	25	JR	RF
5.	Kristen Stinnard	Catawba	42	29	SR	OF
	Magnolia West	Palm Beach Atlantic	42	25	FR	OF

ROVENS RACING UP CHARTS: Senior Bella Rovens is making her way up most of MSUB's career offensive charts, and already sits No. 1 all-time in runs scored (140) and walks (76). Entering the week, she is tied for No. 3 in MSUB history with 188 hits, and needs a dozen more to become just the second player in school history to reach the 200-hit mark. Rovens is also tied for third in MSUB history with 32 stolen bases.

MSUB Career Hits Leaders

 

Rank	Name	Hits	Seasons
1.	Terina Stacks	208	2006-09
2.	Emily Osborn	190	2012-15
3.	Steph Gosselin	188	2006-09
	Bella Rovens	188	2014-17
5.	Aubrey Conceicao	163	2012-15
	Kelly Parsons	163	2008-11
7.	Taylor Hoke	162	2012-15
8.	Jenna Haacke	158	2005-08
	Christy Wankel	158	2003-06
10.	Cami Rainey	156	2002-05
11.	Joey Ehnes	154	2002-05
12.	Heather Tracy	149	2015-17
17.	Kelsey Devlin	133	2014-17

THE GREAT HR CHASE: Co-leading the team this year with seven home runs apiece, senior Kelsey Devlin and junior Cameron Cassinelli are engaged in a long-ball battle that holds historical significance as well. The duo enters the week ranked No. 4 and No. 6 in MSUB history, with 26 and 24 career homers, respectively. Both players are in the top-20 in GNAC history, with Devlin currently No. 15 and Cassinelli tied for No. 17.
 
The two power hitters have led a lineup that far-and-away leads the GNAC in home runs with 27. The next closest team, Northwest Nazarene, has 16 home runs on the season. MSUB's current total is already No. 12 in school history, with the school record of 63 home runs being set in the 2011 season. The GNAC record for long balls in a year is 73, set by Central Washington in 2011.
 
MSUB Home Runs in 2017, Historical Ranks

2017 Rank	Player	Class	2017 HR	MSUB Career Rank (HR)	GNAC Career Rank (HR)
1.	Kelsey Devlin	SR	7	4 (26 HR)	15 (26 HR)
	Cameron Cassinelli	JR	7	6 (24 HR)	17 (24 HR)
3.	Megan Dettling	JR	5	26 (7 HR)	XX
4.	Heather Tracy	JR	3	19 (13 HR)	XX
5.	Bella Rovens	SR	2	32 (5 HR)	XX
6.	Myrissa Prince	JR	1	26 (7 HR)	XX
	Katlyn Stringari	JR	1	XX	XX
	Nicole Tiffany	SR	1	XX	XX

                                                                                                
PRINCE THE 2B ERRORLESS STREAK KING: Junior second baseman Myrissa Prince is among the elite defensive players in MSUB history, holding a career fielding percentage of .974. She made her first and only error of the season against Saint Martin's, which broke one of the longest errorless streaks in school history at 121 consecutive chances without a miscue. The remarkable run started on April 12, 2016, and included 66 putouts and 55 assists over 26 games.
 
Overall, it was the ninth-longest errorless streak in school history, but it was by far the longest by a player at a position other than catcher or first base. Among the 20 players in MSUB history with streaks of 100 chances or more without an error, no other player had more than 30 assists during her streak, 25 fewer than Prince's total. The longest previous errorless streak by a player who primarily played second base was held by Jenna Haacke, who handled 95 straight chances up the middle from March 3, 2007-Feb. 16, 2008 in 21 games.
 
 
The longest all-time errorless streak at MSUB is held by Terina Stacks, who went 351 total chances at first base without an error from Feb. 7, 2009-May 1, 2009 in 51 games. Cassinelli also had a triple-digit errorless streak this season, as she made 114 straight plays at first base from Feb. 4-March 10 in 16 games. "I take a lot of pride in my defense, and Cam and I work really well together on the right side," said Prince. "We know each other's range, and we communicate well on balls over there."
 
MSUB Softball All-Time Errorless Streaks

Name	Position	Start	End	PO	A	Total	Career Fld. %	Career Years
Terina Stacks	1B	2/7/2009	5/1/2009	336	15	351	0.987	2006-2009
Terina Stacks	1B	4/22/2007	4/18/2008	259	10	269	0.987	2006-2009
Brittney Sanders	C	4/4/2014	3/6/2015	220	25	245	0.984	2012-2015
Layne Pavey	C	2/11/2004	4/10/2004	178	22	200	0.975	2002-2005
Emily Osborn	1B	4/6/2014	3/3/2015	155	12	167	0.980	2012-2015
Kelly Parsons	C	4/2/2011	4/30/2011	139	15	154	0.984	2008-2011
Jenna McCartney	1B	4/4/2006	3/10/2007	108	30	138	0.979	2006-2007
Aysha Maddox	C	2/11/2006	4/1/2006	107	16	123	0.980	2006-2007
Myrissa Prince	2B	4/12/2016	3/10/2017	66	55	121	0.974	2015-2017

 
MADDY AND MADDIE: Freshman left-handed pitcher Maddy Lincoln has been MSUB's workhorse in the circle this year, appearing in 15 of MSUB's 25 games in her first collegiate season. Lincoln leads the GNAC in wins (6), innings pitched (74.1), starts (12), and complete games (8), and she ranks second in both strikeouts (42) and appearances (15).
 
Lincoln's battery mate Madison Kelly has aided the pitching staff defensively, as she leads the GNAC with five runners caught stealing in 18 games played. Kelly has had multiple assists in three different games, and holds an overall fielding percentage of .960 in 85 chances.
 
TUCKER IMPRESSIVE IN DEBUT AS STARTER: Freshman left fielder Emma Tucker took advantage of the first three starts of her career, going 3-for-7 with an RBI against Saint Martin's. Used off the bench in her previous seven games, Tucker had scored four runs in five pinch-running appearances before getting the nod in the outfield.
 
DETTLING A DOUBLE THREAT: Junior Megan Dettling has supplied power at the plate and innings in the circle this season, as she is third on the team with five home runs and fourth with 20 RBIs. Dettling batted .381 last week (8-for-21) with three extra-base hits and seven RBIs in the eight games she was in the lineup. She had a strong outing against Concordia on March 7, with a career-high eight strikeouts in a complete-game win for the 'Jackets.

Western Oregon University Wolves
Saturday, March 18 – Avitus Group Stadium – NOON – Doubleheader
Sunday, March 19 – Avitus Group Stadium – NOON – Doubleheader
2017 Record: 9-6, 0-0 GNAC
Head Coach: Lonny Sargent, 5th season
2016 Record: 31-24, 17-11 GNAC (3rd)
 
Yet to play a GNAC game, the Wolves will open their conference schedule this weekend in Billings. WOU has won seven of its last eight games, including taking 3 of 4 from the College of Idaho on the road at the end of February.
 
Completing a four-year career parallel to Rovens in terms of success, four-year starter Kelsie Gardner leads the team with a .455 batting average in 15 games. Gardner's .418 career average is fourth-best in GNAC history, and she is also No. 7 in runs scored (143) and hits (245).
 
Fellow senior and fourth-year player Destiny Kuehl is batting .426, and leads the team with 16 RBIs and 32 total bases. Kuehl is one of four players with three home runs for WOU, and has played solid defense at third base with just two errors in 60 chances for a fielding percentage of .967.
 
Ashlee Lynch is WOU's other player batting north of .400, and she leads the team with five doubles and three home runs while batting .412 and slugging .824.
 
WOU is the top team in the GNAC in pitching, holding a team ERA of 2.68 with 48 strikeouts and just 38 walks in 94 total innings. Sammi Cadwallader is the staff ace, holding an ERA of 1.75 through 28 innings pitched. Lizzet Dominguez has a microscopic 1.11 ERA through 12 2/3 innings, and Chandler Bishop (2.95) and Haley Fabian (3.87) are both also below the 4.00 mark.
 
WOU is averaging 6.7 runs per game and has a team batting average of .324. Forty-three of the team's 139 hits have gone for extra bases, ranking them fourth in the GNAC.
 
The Series: MSUB is 27-29 all-time against the Wolves, but the 'Jackets are 14-6 in games played in Billings. WOU has won five in-a-row, 10 of the last 11, and 13 of the last 15 between the teams.
 
Last Time Out: WOU swept a four-game series in Monmouth, Ore., last season, but three of the games were decided by four runs or less. Rovens hit .429 in the series and led the team with four RBIs, and Devlin had the lone home run in 109 total at bats against the Wolves.