LACEY, Wash. – Montana State University Billings split the first of two doubleheaders against Saint Martin's University Friday afternoon at SMU Baseball Field in Great Northwest Athletic Conference baseball. The 'Jackets smacked 17 hits to win game one 15-6 behind Tyler Detloff's tremendous performance at the plate. Errors proved costly in an 11-3 loss in game two and the 'Jackets stranded eight men in the seven inning affair.
 
Saturday's doubleheader start time was moved to an 11 a.m. The Yellowjackets (11-5, 3-3 GNAC) went 2-2 against Western Oregon University last week in Monmouth after a strong non-conference performance. Saint Martin's (7-7, 2-4) remained .500 overall after a pair of losses to Concordia University last week.
 
Game 1 – MSU Billings 15, Saint Martin's 6
 
Tyler Detloff, Tanner Cantwell, and Wyatt Setian homered and the Yellowjackets knocked 17 hits to defeat the Saints 15-6 in game one Thursday afternoon. MSUB sent 10 players to the plate in the second inning and broke out for seven runs. After adding to the lead in the innings four through seven, 'Jacket pitching held off SMU the rest of the way. Tevin Hall (2-1) earned the win in his fifth start and tossed 5.0 innings. The redshirt freshman allowed one earned run on four hits, walked zero, and struck out three.
 
Left fielder Tyler Detloff hit a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning and finished with four runs batted in with three hits, a triple, and two runs scored. Setian and Sam Powers also marked three-hit games for the Yellowjackets.
 
"Tevin Hall had an outstanding outing and really set the tone," said MSUB head coach Derek Waddoups. "Our offense exploded in the second inning and did a great job continuing to put pressure on throughout the entire game."
 
After a scoreless first, Chris Arpan singled to start MSUB's breakout second frame. Tanner Cantwell followed with a homer to right center field for a 2-0 lead. Nathan Bloxham and Ryan Roche both singled and Detloff brought in both with his triple to the gap in right center. Powers, Setian, and Andrew Schleusner singled in succession and Daniel Cipriano recorded a sacrifice fly to bring the inning total to seven.
 
Saint Martin's picked up a run off Hall in the bottom of the third with three hits in the inning. Then the 'Jackets added insurance in the fifth on Detloff's one-out, two run home run to left field. Cipriano brought in Thomas Rudinsky on a ground out in the sixth and Bloxham singled in Tanner Parker from third.
 
The Yellowjackets scored two more times in the seventh. Powers scored on an error and Cipriano singled through the left side to bring across Setian.
 
Saint Martin's starter Benjamin Wadowski (0-2) suffered the loss after 2.0 innings and seven earned runs against. Wadowski allowed eight hits, walked zero, and struck out one after facing 14 batters. Andrew Ellingson and Braelen Pippin pitched in relief for MSUB.
 
THE BUZZ: Tyler Detloff was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game.
 
Game 2 – Saint Martin's 11, MSU Billings 3 (7 INN)
 
The Saints scored five runs in the second inning and six in the third to down MSU Billings 11-3 in a scheduled seven-inning game two at SMU baseball field. Matthew Houlihan (3-1) was charged with his first loss of the season, though he allowed only four earned runs, 11 overall. Houlihan worked 2.0 innings and allowed nine hits, walked two, and struck out four. Cort Dietrich pitched admirably in relief and did not allow a run or hit through the final 4.0 innings, but the margin was too great for MSUB to overcome.
 
Tanner Inouye (1-2) tossed a complete game for Saint Martin's and allowed two earned runs on 12 hit while striking out seven. The Yellowjackets stranded eight base runners and committed two error, allowing the Saints to score five runs on three hits in the second inning.
 
"We put up 13 hits against a really tough arm in Inouye," said Waddoups. "I was really proud of how we battled and took quality at bats. We misplayed a few balls in the middle innings and it hurt us. We know that playing catch is a priority and today a few things just didn't go our way. We will bounce back and continue to mature. Deitrich did an outstanding job out of the pen." 
 
Despite the loss, Nathan Bloxham hit a solo home run in the fourth and five players recorded multi-hit games, including Will Riley, Cantwell, Bloxham, Rudinsky, and Detloff. Micah McNicoll and Bryant Nakagawa had three runs batted in apiece for SMU and the Saints finished with nine hits. SMU never trailed in the contest.
 
 
THE BUZZ: Cort Dietrich was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game.