BILLINGS, Mont. – Following the Desert Stinger tournament and a Tuesday doubleheader against the University of Hawaii Hilo, the Montana State University Billings softball team will continue a demanding opening week of competition with five games at the Dixie State Easton Classic in St. George, Utah.
 
Sixteen teams will compete in the tournament including Great Northwest Athletic Conference squads Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene. The Yellowjackets first opponent will be Colorado State University, Pueblo (0-0) on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Mountain time. MSUB will follow with a 12:30 p.m. game against Chadron State (2-3).
 
Friday's action will begin with another 10:00 a.m. first pitch against the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (2-1) followed by a 12:30 p.m. matchup with Metropolitan State University of Denver (1-4). A single 10:00 a.m. Saturday showdown with host No. 9 Dixie State (2-0) will conclude the opening nine days and 12 games of the softball season.
 
The Yellowjackets split four games at last years' Dixie State Tournament after their fifth and final game was cancelled due to rain. MSUB picked up wins over UC, Colorado Springs and Cal State, San Bernardino and lost contests against then-No. 18 Cal Baptist and Concordia University (Calif.), 
 
NUMBERS AND NOTES
 
TRACY HITS 200: In the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against Hawaii Hilo, Heather Tracy collected two hits to give her 201 total knocks in her MSUB career. She is now the third Yellowjacket in program history to have 200 or more hits in a career and she is fast approaching Bella Rovens' MSUB record 215. With 203 hits over her three-plus seasons, Tracy is just five hits away from passing Terina Stacks for the second most hits amongst Yellowjackets. The senior had a program-record 82 hits last season and has hit above .400 during the past two years. Her .413 career-batting average is also tops in school history. Through seven games this season the right fielder is hitting .577 with 15 hits and 13 runs. She is the only 'Jacket to record a hit in each game so far this season. Tracy has also collected five steals on five attempts to improve her MSUB career-record total to 44.
 
CASSINELLI SQUARING UP RECORDS OF HER OWN: Senior first baseman Cameron Cassinelli has one of the most dangerous swings in Yellowjacket history and will likely sit atop the all-time homer and RBI standings by the end of the season. So far this season the Santan Valley, Ariz. Native has one home run and eight RBI in seven games. Her career totals for power include 31 home runs, which rank second in MSUB history, and 129 RBI ranking third. With just two more RBI, Cassinelli will move to second in the record books and, with eight, she would be the leader all-time for runs driven in. She is just five homers away from taking over the top spot among MSUB-sluggers. The senior has the second-highest on-base percentage as she has reached base at a .434 clip during her four years with the help of the eight-best batting average (.347) in program history.
 
LINCOLN LEADING IN THE CIRCLE: Through seven games the Yellowjackets' Maddy Lincoln (3-1, 1 SV) has appeared in each game while logging 22 innings with three earned runs. Her 0.95 ERA is third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with neither pitcher ahead of her appearing in more than two contests. She is third in the league with 15 strikeouts with teammate Megan Dettling leading the league with 21. In Tuesday's victory over Hawaii Hilo, Lincoln recorded the first save of her MSUB career and the first save for a Yellowjacket since Amanda Roark in April of 2016. Over her last three appearances, Lincoln has pitched 6.2 innings allowing one hit and one walk while striking out four batters. All three of her earned runs this season came in her five innings against Azusa Pacific in a 4-1 loss.
 
DETTLING DEALING: Showing her power both at the plate and in the circle, Megan Dettling has picked up right where she left off after an all-region season as a junior. Dettling is tied with Cassinelli for the team lead with eight RBI this year and delivered a walk-off home run in the second game of the season to secure an 8-6 win over Academy of Art. She has pitched in four games and has a 1-0 record after earning the victory over Hilo Tuesday night. Dettling has set down 21 batters on strikes in 17.1 innings of work while allowing 16 hits with a 4.44 ERA.
 
BARHAM BRINGS IT: Amanda Barham has had a tremendous start to her senior season as the tone-setter at the top of the Yellowjackets' lineup. She has 11 hits and a .393 batting average with a .414 on-base percentage in the leadoff spot. The senior already has a career-high three doubles through seven games and has scored seven runs this season. Barham has one steal, just one short of tying a career high and her four RBI is just five short of her top total from last year. Barham has battled injury the past two seasons after a strong freshman showing that saw her hit .301 with career highs in hits (25) and runs (22). Together she and Tracy have scored 20 of the Yellowjackets' 47 runs this season accounting for 42.5 percent of the teams' scoring output.
 
QUICK HITS: Jessica Bagnell record her first career three-hit game in Tuesday's win. She had previously recorded three two-hit games in her career.
 
Myrissa Prince joins Tracy, Dettling, Barham and Cassinelli as the only 'Jackets to start in all seven games this season. Bagnell and freshman Georgiabelle Benning have appeared in each game with Bagnell starting in six and Benning getting two starts.
 
MSUB is hitting .344 as a team this season compared to a .223 batting average from their opponents. The 'Jackets finished 2017 with a .310 team batting average. The 'Jackets have outscored opponents 47-21 in seven games.  
 
STREAKS: Tracy is on a seven game hit streak to start the season and 13-game streak dating back to last year. She started last season on a 22-game hitting streak, the longest of her career. Tracy has scored a run in each of the last four games and has stolen a base in each of the last three games.
 
Cassinelli's three-game RBI streak is half of the total she reached last season when she drove in 11 runs over six games… Barham and Prince have recorded hits in each of the last two games… Lincoln has not allowed an earned run in her last 10.2 innings in the circle.  
 
Colorado State University Pueblo ThunderWolves
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 | 10 AM | St. George, Utah
2018 Record: 0-0
Head Coach: Christie Koschke (5th Season)
2017 Record: 22-31
 
This will be the first ever meeting between the Yellowjackets and the ThunderWolves. Thursday's game will serve as the season opener for CSU Pueblo while it will be the eighth game of the season for the 'Jackets.
 
Top returners for the ThuderWolves include sophomore Sabrina Felix who collected a team-best 52 hits while finishing her freshman season with a .409 batting average. Fellow sophomore Gabby Monroe as tallied 52 hits in her first season at Pueblo and led the team with nine stolen bases. Junior catcher Michaela Burpee returns after leading the team with 12 home runs and 38 RBI a season ago. Last season's squad finished the season with a .310 batting average and 40 home runs.
 
K'Lee Kent is the only returner for the Pueblo pitching staff as the senior finished last season with a 4-11 record and a 4.21 ERA. Kent started 24 games and logged 114.2 innings last season.
 
Chadron State College Eagles
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 | 12:30 PM | St. George, Utah
2018 Record: 2-3
Head Coach: Kaley Scearcy (1st Season)
2017 Record: 32-25
 
MSUB is 2-0 all-time against the Eagles with the teams playing each other in both the 2010 and 2012 Desert Stinger in Las Vegas. The 'Jackets won their first ever meeting with Chadron State 9-4 and won the second game 12-4 in 2012.
 
The Eagles competed at the Lubbock Christian Tournament in Lubbock, Texas last week and earned wins over Texas, Permian Basin and Emporia State. Chadron opened the season with a dominating offensive performance as they scored 16 runs over Permian Basin but have scored 10 runs in the four games since.
 
Aspen Eubanks is hitting .533 coming into the tournament with eight hits in 15 at bats. She also has one home run and five RBI in five starts this season. Sophomore Allie Mason and freshman Leilani Niccum each have two home runs on the season with Mason having a team-best six RBI.
 
Sophomore Megan Horn is 1-0 with a 0.60 ERA in 11.2 innings over two appearances this season. She has 14 strikeouts while only allowing four hits and three walks. Also impressive in the circle is Jessica Jarecki (1-2, 2.80 ERA) who has logged 20 innings in three starts while striking out 19 batters. The Chadron defense has totaled 11 errors in the early season.
 
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Mountain Lions
Friday, Feb. 9, 2018 | 10 AM | St. George, Utah
2018 Record: 2-1
Head Coach: Ricki Rothbauer-Stubbs (2nd Season)
2017 Record: 17-28
 
In two meetings last season the Yellowjackets scored a pair of wins over the Mountain Lions. In the first meeting MSUB won a tightly contested 7-6 ballgame on a walk-off home run from Megan Dettling in the bottom of the seventh. Dettling was also the winning pitcher in that game as she pitched all seven inning and struck out four batters. In their second meet, at the Dixie State Easton Classic, MSUB took a 12-3 victory after six innings of play. Cameron Cassinelli drove in five Yellowjacket runs on two hits and one home run. Heather Tracy scored three runs in the game.
 
All-time, the teams have split six games with UCCS winning the first three meetings and MSUB winning the three most recent contests.
 
The Mountain Lions are batting .462 as a team through three games led by junior Rayle Glover who has recorded a hit in six of eight plate appearances (.750) in two games. Glover hit .373 with seven home runs as sophomore last season. Whitney Weber and Lexi Belligan both hit .455 with a team-leading five RBI for UCCS.
 
Christina Patton (0-0, 2.33 ERA) returns to the circle as a senior for the Mountain Lions. She won five games in 27 appearances last season finishing with a 6.64 ERA in 91.2 innings. Freshman Cami Duffey (2-0, 5.25 ERA) has won both of her starts this season while totaling five strikeouts. Duffey has allowed 18 hits and 12 runs over her 12.0 innings pitched but the UCCS lineup has picked her up scoring eight and 11 runs in each of her starts.
 
UCCS hosted a three game series with Fort Hays State to start the season. They will start the Dixie State Easton Classic with games against Cal Baptist and Northwest Nazarene during the first day of competition.
 
Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners
Friday, Feb. 9, 2018 | 12 PM & 2 PM | St. George, Utah
2018 Record: 1-4
Head Coach: Annie Van Wetzinga (5th Season)
2017 Record: 34-21
 
With each team with a single Desert Stinger win over the other, the all-time series between the 'Jackets and Roadrunners is tied. MSUB won a six-inning 11-3 game in Vegas back in 2012 and MSUD avenged the loss in 2013 with a 17-10 win.
 
The Roadrunners started their season at the South Central Region Crossover Tournament where they fell in four tightly contested games. Their sole win of the early season came against Western New Mexico by a final score of 6-1. They will face Western New Mexico again during the first day of the Dixie State Easton Classic and finish day one with a matchup against No. 9 Dixie State.
 
MSUD has struggled to get things going offensively as they enter the weekend with a .221 team batting average. Kristyn Peters leads the team hitting .333 with two doubles and three RBI. Tes Hass hits .250 for the Roadrunners with a team-best five runs driven in. The team has five total extra base hits through five games.
 
Destinee Lopez (1-0, 1.00 ERA) has the teams' only win of the season after going seven innings allowing five hits and one run during two appearances this season. Kylee Burnside (0-2, 2.76 ERA) has fanned 10 batters in 12.2 innings of work this season but received just two runs of support in each of her starts this season.
 
No. 9 Dixie State University Trailbalzers
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018 | 12 PM & 2 PM | St. George, Utah
2018 Record: 2-0
Head Coach: Randy Simkins (10th Season)
2017 Record: 42-14
 
Of the five St. George opponents, the Yellowjackets have the most history with the host Trailblazers. MSUB has faced Dixie State 19 times but has only collected three wins over that stretch. The most recent 'Jacket win came in 2016 when MSUB capitalized on a one-run gem from Dettling in the circle to defeat the then-No. 2 Trailbalzers 4-1. Dettling also drove in the only RBI in that game as the 'Jackets took advantage of three Dixie errors to score the other three runs in the game. The win snapped a six-game skid for the 'Jackets against Dixie. MSUB dropped both ends of a doubleheader last season when visiting the Trailbalzers.
 
The Trailbalzers recorded a pair of wins over Northwest Nazarene last Thursday when they swept a doubleheader 13-5 (six innings) and 7-0. Dixie hit three home runs over the two games and had a team on-base percentage of .463. They were a perfect 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts led by two from Brenna Hinck.
 
Kori Gahn drove in a team-best four runs in the two games while hitting .375 in eight plate appearances with two doubles. Jenna Basset is the Trailbalzers' top returning hitter after her .406 batting average last season with five doubles, five triples and 42 stolen bases.
 
Allowing four earned runs over five innings, Alexandria Melendez (1-0, 5.60 ERA) is the only Dixie pitcher with an earned run average. Melendez won nine games in the circle last season with a 3.77 ERA. Alexis Barkwell is the top returner on the staff after earning an 11-1 record with a 2.71 ERA as a sophomore. Barkwell and Kaycie Jensen have each pitched one inning of scoreless relief this year with freshman Cambrie Hazel (1-0, 0.00) throwing six scoreless innings in her first collegiate start. Hazel allowed just three hits and four walks while striking out three Nighthawks in the win.
 
Dixie will play Metro State – Denver, Western Washington and CSU Pueblo before facing the 'Jackets on Saturday.
 
FOLLOW: All five Yellowjacket contest will be live streamed with stats and audio commentary. The first four MSUB games will be available through the MSUB Stretch Internet Portal with the fifth contest against Dixie State being available through Dixie State Athletics.