LACEY, Wash. –
Tanner Cantwell hit three doubles and home run, but the Montana State University Billings baseball team still came up short in a 12-8 loss to Saint Martin's University Saturday afternoon at SMU Baseball Field in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Saints posted 12 runs on 14 hits. Isaac Hegamin did the most damage from the leadoff spot with three hits, two runs scored, a walk, and a run batted in.
"Tough loss today as we had to battle through some difficult situations with rain delays and stoppage," said head coach
Derek Waddoups. "Overall our guys are playing well. We just need to get things rolling in the right direction again. I believe in the group, we have a great group of men that will bounce back tomorrow."
The Yellowjackets (11-6, 3-4) have lost two of the first three games of the series in Lacey. Rain delayed the start of Saturday's doubleheader, forcing the teams to reschedule game two for Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Saint Martin's (8-7, 3-4) moved above .500 with their second straight win over MSUB.
Cantwell doubled to right field to score
Tyler Detloff and
Wyatt Setian to give the Yellowjackets a 2-0 lead in the first inning. After pitching two scoreless frames,
Dylan Barkley ran into trouble in the third. Chayson Dulatre began with a single and advanced to second when
Sam Powers misplayed the ball in centerfield. Isaac Hegamin walked and Micah McNicoll singled in a run. Hegamin eventually scored on a fielder's choice, bringing the score to 2-2.
The Yellowjackets scored single runs in the third and fifth inning and Barkley settled in held the Saint off the board in the fourth and fifth. After grabbing two strikeouts to start the sixth, four straight hitters reached for the Saints and three crossed the plate.
Tyler Elliott struggled in relief in the seventh and Saint Martin's scored three more runs for an 8-7 advantage, including a one-out triple by Griffin Williams to right center for a run.
MSUB went down in order in the eighth and the Saints added four runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Cantwell doubled in Cipriano for a run in the ninth but Scott Gunther retired
Thomas Rudinsky and
Sam Powers to end the game.
The Yellowjackets finished with 10 hits, including four by Cantwell and two by Setian. The 'Jackets left nine runners on base and struck out nine times. Elliott (1-1) was the losing pitcher having pitched 1.0 innings. He allowed five earned runs on five hits, walked two, and struck out one. Justice Yamashita (2-0) earned the win in relief for SMU. Yamashita allowed two earned runs in 4.0 innings with six strikeouts and zero walks.
Barkley had a no decision and threw the opening 6.0 innings with five runs (two earned), seven hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. Derek Alumbaugh tossed 4.0 innings and allowed three earned runs, three hits, and two walks in the start for Saint Martin's
THE BUZZ: Tanner Cantwell was named St. Vincent Healthcare player of the game and went 4-for-4 at the plate with one run scored, and four runs batted in with a home run and three doubles…The Yellowjackets won seven of eight games against the Saints last season.
