BILLINGS, Mont. – It has been nine months and six days since the Montana State University Billings softball team missed the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament on the final day of the 2018 regular season. The Yellowjackets finished in fifth place with a 13-13 conference record. This spring, a motivated and determined young MSUB squad will set off on what they hope is the road to redemption to complete their quest of getting back to the GNAC Championship for the first time since MSUB won the title in 2015.
 
After an entire offseason to think about how tantalizingly close they came, the 2019 Yellowjackets are finally back to playing regular season softball games this week.
 
The first stop on the journey is in Las Vegas, Nevada where MSU Billings is set to host the 10^th annual Desert Stinger Tournament February 1-3.   
 
"Just missing the playoffs last year definitely motivates this year's group," said MSUB head coach Jessica Rayman. "We have a lot of newcomers which is exciting and now they are really starting to gel and come together as a team. Given last year's result, there is definitely a let's get it done attitude with this year's group so I think they'll all feed off that."
 
On February 1, the Yellowjackets will play University of Mary followed by San Francisco State at 2 p.m. The next day they face Minot State University at 11:30 a.m. and California State Dominguez Hills at 2 p.m. Finally, MSUB plays Hawaii Pacific University on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. All games will be on field 10 at Majestic Park softball complex outside of Las Vegas and will be against NCAA Division II opponents. This year, the tournament consists of over 70 games and 24 participating teams. It is the tenth annual Desert Stinger tournament which began in 2010 with 16 teams.
 
"We always work hard in the fall but have to wait a while to play real games," commented Rayman. "Now that we finally have the Stinger coming up, the team is really excited. We were also fortunate to practice outside before this week's snow. Being able to practice game similar situations has helped us get ready for the tournament."
 
Last spring, the Yellowjackets went 4-1 in the Desert Stinger but Chico State brought home the title after going 5-0. For tickets and information visit the Desert Stinger page on MSUBSports.com. All games will have live statistics and MSUB games will also be streamed online. Links to all the games can be found via the Desert Stinger Stretch Internet Portal.
 
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN: After spending time in the subtropical hot desert climate of Nevada, the Yellowjackets travel northeast to Utah on February 7-9 to participate in the Dixie State Tournament. There, they will play five games against Division II opponents at Canyons Softball Complex. Four games in Denver against Metropolitan State and Colorado School of Mines follow before the conference schedule gets underway on March 2.
 
After one month and 16 days away from Billings, the 'Jackets finally return home when they host Western Oregon University for a four game series on March 16-17 at Avitus Group Stadium, winter weather permitting.
 
"I think having a road heavy schedule right away helps the team bond and see what it's like to travel and spend time together so I don't see it as a negative thing," Rayman said. "The benefit of having time to build team chemistry is going to be good for us."
 
The Yellowjackets play their last regular season tournament on March 29-31 in Turlock, California which is titled the Tournament of Champions and hosted by Stanislaus State University. There, the Yellowjackets will see action against former GNAC member Humboldt State, Cal State San Marcos, California State San Bernardino, Chico State, and Academy of Art. Then MSUB hosts Central Washington and Simon Fraser University in four game sets before the GNAC Championships take place in Billings on MSUB's home field Avitus Group Stadium May 2-4.
 
MEET THE YELLOWJACKETS: This year's Yellowjacket roster features four returning position players who started a majority of games in 2018. They include sophomore Brittanee Fisher (first base), senior Kelsee Bushell (shortstop/third base), sophomore Allie Hughes (outfield), and senior Shayla Felix (catcher).
 
Fisher started 25 games at first base and hit .311 behind only graduated seniors Heather Tracy and Cameron Cassinelli. Still an underclassman, Fisher come in with 11 home runs and 30 RBI's from her first season. She also held a .402 on base percentage and had three doubles to add to her 33 hit total. Fisher was solid in the field with 89 putouts and 34 assists. She made nine errors and held a .932 fielding percentage. Fisher made one pitching appearance as a freshman.
 
"Brittanee is a great ball player and I think she's capable of doing some really good things this season," said Rayman. "She's strong and has a lot of power at the plate. I'm excited to see her build this year after a great freshman year and I expect her to step up and provide that power in our lineup we need."
 
 
Bushell filled a key role as a left side infielder in her first season with the program in 2018. In 41 starts, Bushell had 111 at bats, hit .261 and reached base at a clip of .328. She had nine doubles and four home runs while driving in 15. Playing a mixture of shortstop and third base, she led the Yellowjackets in the field with 90 assists. Bushell set a school record when she had three doubles in a game against Central Washington on March 10, 2018. She also had a grand slam in March against Simon Fraser University.
 
Hughes returns as a sophomore from Sparks, Nevada after making a big impact as a freshman last season for MSUB. She saw action in 38 games and made 33 starts in the outfield. Hughes batted .252 in 103 trips to the plate and had one home run and three doubles while slugging .311. Hughes on base percentage was .325 and she held a .904 fielding percentage in 52 chances in the outfield. With six multi-hit games as a true freshman, Hughes will likely be heavily relied upon this season in the Yellowjackets starting lineup, especially with outfield departures of Tracy and Amanda Barham.
 
 
"In the outfield we have a lot of new talent coming in," Rayman said. "Jolene House comes in as a junior college transfer and Hailee Gregerson swings the bat well and has also been picking up good habits in the outfield. We have Allie Hughes back to potentially play left or right field but it is pretty wide open for players to step in and win positions."
 
The Jackets have two catchers returning in 2019 including last year's majority starter Shayla Felix. Felix played 32 games as a junior and was solid defensively with a .968 fielding percentage. In the batter's box, Felix hit .203 and had 15 hits, one double, four home runs, and 13 runs batted in. She also slugged .378 and walked seven times. Felix threw out five runners on the base paths. Madison Kelly enters her senior season with 61 game of experience in three seasons with MSUB behind the plate.
 
"Shayla and Madison do a good job of competing at catcher for us," said Rayman. "It's going to depend on the day who gets the start for us and who is doing well in at bats as well. They are both very good leaders and are capable of stepping up for us. This year the focus has been on making sure everyone has a team first mentality and both Shayla and Madison do a nice job."
 
 
PITCHING: Two of three starting pitchers are back in 2019 for the Yellowjackets. Left hander Maddy Lincoln returns as a junior for the Yellowjackets. Lincoln threw 157 innings last season (fourth most in the GNAC) and held a 3.20 ERA with 102 strikeouts (tied for third in the GNAC).
 
"It's certainly nice to have Maddy back this year," commented Rayman. "She has a presence on the mound and two years of experience. She'll also be able to help our new pitchers as they start out and show kind of what is expected. She's very consistent out there which helps a lot."
 
Right handed pitcher Haley Couch will also likely see playing time. The sophomore worked 32.1 innings last spring and had a 5.63 ERA with 11 strikeouts.
 
This year the 'Jackets face the challenge of finding lineup replacements of six graduated seniors. Since so many spots are available in the batting order, Rayman will no doubt be looking for young players to make an immediate impact.
 
"The infield is still very much up for grabs as far as positions go," Rayman said. "I tell the girls that every week is like a new tryout. If you perform well, I don't care if you are an underclassman or a senior, we want to have the best ten players in the lineup every game. Having competition for spots is a good problem to have. I'll give anyone a shot to win a spot out there. We have preseason and tournament games to try things and figure out what our best lineup is going to be heading into conference."
 
 
FRESHMEN AND NEWCOMERS: House, Gregerson, and Payton Reynolds all joined the team as transfer juniors this season. House (Mead, Washington) played two seasons at Bellevue Community College where she was captain both years and named all-conference. She will be a strong candidate for an open outfield position.
 
Gregerson (Park City, Montana) was named freshman of the year at Dawson Community College. She was also all-conference, all-region, and team captain as she led her team in batting average, runs batted in, and strikeouts. Gregerson played for MSUB softball in the fall of 2017 and grew up in the Billings area.
 
"I grew up going to MSUB softball games and camps and ever since then I wanted to become a Yellowjacket," Gregerson said. "After playing for MSUB in fall of 2017, I could see they had a lot of talent and good coaching so I knew it was the program I wanted to play for."
 
Reynolds (Reno, Nevada) plays third base and catcher and previously attended Feather River College, where she hit .320 with 7 HR, 26 RBI, and was an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete.
 
"Of course, we are very excited about our new players," said coach Rayman. "Our three transfers come from very strong junior colleges, so we are enthusiastic about what they can do at this level."
 
This season the Yellowjackets have seven incoming true freshman looking to get opportunities to play right away. They include utility player Skyler Jenkins (San Tan Valley, Arizona), utility player Cailee Morgan (Dewey, Arkansas), shortstop Rylan Austin (Medford, Oregon), second baseman/outfielder Morgan Quimby (Aurora, Colorado), utility player Sidney Pollard (Raymond, Washington), and second baseman Payton Meyer (Billings, Montana). Alyssa Etheridge joins the Yellowjackets as a freshman pitcher from Grants Pass, Oregon.
 
"We have a lot of talent in this year's freshman class," commented Rayman. "I see Cailee competing for a spot and being a consistent hitter for us in the lineup, Alyssa on the mound will bring some quality depth to our pitching staff. Lastly, Rylan is strong offensively and I think she bring leadership and a strong ability to add offense. She will play primarily shortstop."
 
 
EXPERIENCED COACHING STAFF: Rayman enters her third season as head coach of the Yellowjackets in 2019. She is joined again by assistant coach Taylor Jones (second season) and graduate assistant coach Madeline Richard (second season). Since taking over the program, Rayman has coached the team to a 39-57 overall record, going 13-13 in league play for fifth place in 2018.
 
The Yellowjackets last made the postseason when they won the GNAC tournament in 2015 with two playoff wins over No. 2 seed Western Washington and one against No. 1 seed Saint Martin's. MSU Billings is hosting the GNAC tournament for the first time since 2013.
 
"We love playing on our home field and I think it shows," Rayman exclaimed. "We know our field better than anywhere else obviously so knowing that we are hosting the GNAC tournament this year should light a fire under our players even more knowing that we want to be there in the top four at the end of the season."
 
The 'Jackets home field is Avitus Group Stadium. Generally considered a hitter friendly park, the field sits on the main campus of MSU Billings and has been home to the MSUB softball team since 2002.
 
 
GNAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL: Last season the Yellowjackets finished in fifth-place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with a record of 23-24, 13-13 GNAC. Northwest Nazarene was picked to finish first in the GNAC preseason softball coaches poll with five first place votes and a total of 61 points. The Nighthawks tied for first with a 19-9 regular season conference record in 2018. Central Washington received three first place votes and 51 points to take second place in the poll. Western Oregon, Western Washington, and Simon Fraser rounded out the top five and Montana State Billings was projected to finish seventh out of eight teams with four returning starting position players in 2019.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW: Links for each game can be found by navigating to the MSUB Stretch Internet Portal through the softball schedule page.