BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings softball team is eager to return to the field and rekindle their post season ambitions. With a new, yet familiar, head coach, 15 returning players and 10 newcomers the Yellowjackets will look to return to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2015. 
 
The winningest coach in the program's history, Head Coach Lisa McKinney (formerly Lisa Allen) returns to the helm for her sixth overall season (123-110) after a five year sabbatical. After guiding the Yellowjackets to their last post season appearance in 2015 in which they won the GNAC Tournament and their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2012, McKinney departed for San Francisco State University.
 
Following a two year stint in the sunshine state, she left to become an assistant coach for division one University of Nevada for two years. She helped the Wolfpack go 56-54 overall and 23-25 in the Mountain West Conference.
 
"Things pretty much feel the same and I am glad to be back," said head coach McKinney. "It's feels like home and has been a pleasure working with the girls so far. I like how we have progressed to this point. We have a lot of players I didn't coach the first time so they are all learning out system. We have been getting a lot of live looks from our pitchers so it has been good for both our hitters and pitchers".
 
Picked to finish in seventh place in the GNAC, MSUB will have an uphill road to climb and relish the chance to show their improvement from last year. "I think the GNAC is very competitive and we are ready to compete," commented McKinney. "We are ready to get back to the GNAC Championships."
 
Kicking off the season, MSUB will host the 11^th annual Desert Stinger Tournament in Las Vegas Jan. 31-Feb. 2. MSUB will welcome 22 teams representing six different conferences that will take the field for their first game of 2020. The Yellowjackets open with Oklahoma Christian University on Jan. 31 at 2:00pm Pacific standard time.
 
"We are excited for the Desert Stinger," continued McKinney. "It brings a lot of good attention to MSUB and is a lot of fun. It's a great way to start of the season and a lot of great teams come to play."
 
Other highlights on the schedule include a date with the number six team in the nation the University of California, San Diego. MSUB will take on the Tritons to conclude the Desert Stinger on February 2 at 2:00pm PST.

The University of Texas Tyler will be making their Desert Stinger and NCAA Division II debut. Last season the Patriots competed in NCCA Division III and went 36-4.

The 'Jackets will again face off against the Tritons in the Tournament of Championship hosted by Stanislaus State University running from March 27-29. MSUB opens the tournament with No. 6 UCSD and then takes on No. 10 Concordia University, Irvine the vey next game.
 
The Yellowjackets return 15 players from last year's team and welcome 10 new faces to the team.
 
Returning for her junior year is all-conference selection Allie Hughes. She earned second team all-conference for her efforts last season. Hughes starts all 46 games in the outfield and hit a team high .288 with nine doubles, one triple, and six home runs. She also led the team with 23 runs batted in and held a .520 slugging percentage.
 
"Allie is one of our top returners and has been pushing herself in the outfield and in the batter box," commented McKinney. "We like how she has progressed through the fall and are excited to see her continue to grow through the season."
 
Jolene House heads into her senior season after hitting .348 in 25 starts in the outfield and was named an all-GNAC honorable mention as a junior. House finished with 24 hits, two doubles, and three runs batted in. She slugged .377 with a team leading .416 on base percentage. House also recorded three hits against Central Washington on April 13.
 
Brittanee Fisher returns for her junior year holding down the first base corner. During her sophomore year, Fisher hit .268 with 33 hits, nine doubles, six home runs, and 22 runs batted in. She also slugged .488 and held a .985 fielding percentage (15^th GNAC) with 322 putouts and five errors.
 
"Brittanee has been working hard this off season to get closer to her full potential. She has been a great leader and voice for the team throughout the fall. We look forward to what she will bring to the team throughout the spring season."
 
Payton Reynolds started last year with a hot bat and parlayed six runs batted in and a home run into a selection to the Desert Stinger all-tournament team. Reynolds ended with 40 starts at third base with a team leading seven home runs. She hit .222 and held an OPS of .864 with 17 runs scored, 22 hits, five doubles, and 18 runs batted in (third). She also slugged .485 and reached base at a .416 clip.
 
Five junior transfers join the ranks this year. Britzy Hockett, Taylor Anderson, Allison Hochhalter, Leslie Jones and Darian Olin will all look to leave an impact.
 
Hockett joins MSUB from Centralia Community College in Washington after being named to the 1^st-team all-south region. "Britzy has been a great addition to our outfield and team by bringing more speed and discipline at the plate. We look forward to seeing her contributions on the field this spring."
 
A native of Maple Valley, Wash., Anderson comes from North Idaho College. As a catcher, she held a .405 batting average, a .679 slugging percentage and finished with 36 runs batted in.
 
Hailing from Frenchtown Mont., Hochhalter joins MSUB via Spokane Falls Community College. She appeared in 22 games and held a .333 batting average with 12 RBIs. Jones also played at Spokane Falls where she was a NWAC All-American and earned Spokane Fall's golden glove award.
 
Olin committed to the Yellowjackets after playing for Bellevue Community College. The Ellensburg, Wash., native was named to the NWAC north region second-team and was an academic all-American.
 
A number of freshman played important starting roles on the Yellowjacket softball team in 2019 and will look to continue to improve during their sophomore campaigns. Second baseman Cailee Morgan hit lead-off as a true freshman and started 45 games. A native of Dewey, Arizona, Morgan hit .278 (second) in 133 at bats with four doubles, three triples (first), and 13 runs batted in. She also slugged .353 and held an on base percentage of .380.
 
Sidney Pollard joined the Yellowjackets out of Raymond, Washington and impressed as a true freshman. Pollard played 37 games (34 starts) in a combination of shortstop and right field. She hit .275 (fourth) with six doubles (third), one triple, and 15 runs batted in (fourth). Pollard will be looking to build on her .363 slugging percentage and .902 fielding percentage next season for MSUB.
 
Skyler Jenkins appeared in 16 games and had 14 starts. She finished with a .286 hitting percentage, one double, two home runs and five RBIs.

Maddy Lincoln and Alyssa Etheridge will lead the pitching staff this year which has grown in size from last year. "We are lucky to have a larger pitching staff, that all have different looks. They have been honing their craft, continuing to grow and finding what works best for each one of them. We are excited to see them work together as a staff and their hard work translate into games."
 
Lincoln finished 2019 with a 4.79 ERA. Lincoln made 24 appearances with 18 starts and completed 15 games with two shutouts. In 117.0 innings pitched, Lincoln allowed 80 earned runs, 31 doubles, one triple, and eight home runs. She struck out a team high 82 hitters, walked 42, and earned all-GNAC academic for the second straight year.
 
Etheridge led all pitchers with 28 appearances and 19 starts. She marked a 5.10 earned run average (15^th GNAC) and 9-11 record with 12 complete games, one complete game shutout, and one save. Over 120.2 innings, Etheridge allowed 88 earned runs, walked 99 and struck out 72. She fanned a season high six Concordia batters on April seventh and threw the first no-hitter in school history on the road March 8. Etheridge also won GNAC pitcher of the week for March 4-10.
 
Haley Couch was the primary bullpen option for the team and improved her ERA from 7.24 in 2018 to 6.45 this season. Couch had a 2-4 record with 14 appearances and eight starts. In 42.1 innings pitched, she allowed 39 earned runs, 23 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. Couch also walked eight and struck out 10. Her best outing came February 7 against Fort Lewis College where she threw 6.0 innings in St. George without allowing up an earned run and struck out three.
 
Freshmen Julia Qualteri will look to infuse the team with a new arm. Hailing from Parker Colorado, she pitched 74.0 innings her senior year to go with 93 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.70.
 
Senior Hailee Gregerson was primarily used in the outfield last year where she appeared in 25 games with 18 starts. She had a .263 hitting percentage, three home runs and 11 RBIS but also has the ability to toe the bump and could see her number called early and often.
 
Georgiabelle Benning returns for her junior year. The outfielder appeared in 25 games with 18 starts as a sophomore. In 44 at bats she hit a .205 with nine RBIS and a .208 on base percentage.
 
Morgan Quimby returns from her sophomore year. As a freshmen she played in 26 games with 19 starts and hit a .164. She recorded 55 at bats, three runs scored and six RBIs.
 
Former Billings Senior Broncs Sydney Norwood and Payton Meyer will be back with the Navy and Gold and four more freshmen also join the fold.
 
Marin Penney, Shelby Marquardt, Kylee Stoll and Rylee Waggoner will being their careers with the Yellowjackets and be baptized into the college ranks.