BILLINGS, Mont.- The Montana State University Billings Softball team flashed moments of brilliance in a shortened season that should give the coaches, team and fans hope for the future. Finishing with an 8-15, 0-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference record, MSUB had moments of excitement, marred by glimmers of inconsistency and ill-fated production from opposing teams. 
 
"Overall I am proud of how our team fought each and every game," said head coach Lisa McKinney. "We battled until the end. Next year we will focus on making the clutch play in high pressure situations. The team progressed very well this year and I am excited to see the progression next year."
 
MSUB batted .287 as a team and had multiple players finish with a .300 batting average or better. The team was led by Skyler Jenkins who finished with a .473 batting average (second in the GNAC), 26 hits (fifth in the GNAC) five home runs (fourth in the GNAC) and 15 runs batted (eighth in the GNAC).

To reach the record books, players must have a minimum of 70 at-bats. Jenkins had 55 and the school record for batting average in a single season is .488 held by Heather Tracy in 2018. Had the season not been shortened, Jenkins would have been a good bet to finish in the top 10 in program history.
 
"Skyler did well behind the plate for us and her bat was really starting to get hot," said McKinney. "She had that incredible series against Carroll, tying the home run record in a single game. Skyler really stepped up in her sophomore year and we are excited to see what she will bring in the future."
 
Payton Reynolds batted .395 with four home runs and 11 RBIs. Freshmen Marin Penney made an immediate impact as she hit .341 had three home runs and was second on the team with five doubles. Brittanee Fisher finished with a batting average of .317 with 19 hits, three home runs, nine RBIs and a .500 slugging percentage.  
 
"Marin and Payton were both doing well over at third base for us," continued McKinney. "Marin was having a pretty good freshman year at third and as a hitter. Having Payton come back for another year is really going to help both of them grow. Payton was also getting hot at the plate and covering more ground over at third. It was nice to know that we had either one of them to put in the game at a crucial moment as a pinch hitter."
 
 
(Freshmen third baseman Marin Penney had a stellar debut year)
 
Taylor Anderson kept getting better and better as the season went and finished with a .308 batting average with 10 RBIs and five doubles. Junior Allie Hughes also came on later in the season and finished with a .305 batting average scored 11 runs, had six doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs.
 

(Junior Taylor Anderson played her best as the season wore on)
 
Barely missing out on the .300 club, Morgan Quimby finished with a .299 average. The sophomore finished with six RBIs, led the team and was second in the GNAC with eight doubles.

Newcomer Britzy Hockett hit .250 from the leadoff spot. The lefty slapper led MSUB with 16 runs scored (eighth in the GNAC), had a .400 on base percentage (14^th in the GNAC) as she drew 11 walks (fifth in the GNAC) and led MSUB with six stolen bases (sixth in the GNAC).
 
Senior Maddy Lincoln was a mainstay behind the plate as she led MSUB with 68.1 innings pitched (fifth in the GNAC), had 31 strikeouts (seventh in the GNAC) and had an ERA of 4.30.

"Maddy really stepped up for the team on the mound," commented McKinney. "Coming back from surgery is no easy feat and she put in the work to get back in the circle and perform. She was a great example for our team and was ready to put them on her shoulders. She will be missed."  
Sophomore Alyssa Etheridge was second on the team with 39.1 innings pitched while striking out 28 batters and finishing with a 5.87 ERA. Freshmen Julia Qualiteri pitched 21.2 innings in six appearances with 11 strikeouts and a 6.17 ERA. Rounding out the pitching staff was Haley Couch who had five strikeouts and a 6.34 ERA through 17.2 innings pitched. Combined, the Yellowjacket pitchers finished with a 5.17 ERA.  
 
Starting the season with the 11^th annual Desert Stinger hosted by MSUB in Las Vegas, the 'Jackets began their season with two wins. A 7-3 win over Oklahoma Christian University followed by a 3-1 victory over the Academy of Art.

The following day the team split games defeating Dominican University 7-4 and then lost their first game of the year to West Texas A&M University 10-2. MSUB concluded the DS11 falling to Sonoma State University 9-2 and then number six in the nation San Diego State University 8-5. MSUB left Vegas with a 3-3 record.
 
"Our team played very well in Vegas," Commented McKinney. "It was fun to get to see them come out and compete against some tough competition. That first weekend is always interesting because you have been waiting so long for the moment to compete."
 
Following the Desert Stinger, MSUB stayed on the road to compete in the Dixie State Classic hosted by Dixie State University. Going 2-3 at the tournament, MSUB let a couple games slip away as they fought to the end in all three games they lost and had chances to win. The first loss of the tournament came to California State University Dominguez Hills 4-2. The 'Jackets had a couple of untimely errors but finally figured out the CSUDH pitcher in the seventh inning but was too little too late.
 

(Sophomore Alyssa Etheridge in action at the Dixie State Invitational)
 
The very next game MSUB would leave seven runners total on base in a 5-4 loss to Colorado Mesa University. Starting pitcher Maddy Lincoln threw a complete game allowing 11 hits and five runs but kept MSUB in it. Mesa was able to capitalize on untimely MSUB mistakes to escape with the win.
 
During the DSU tournament, MSUB was able to produce two of their best offensive games of the year. Facing off against Western New Mexico University and Notre Dame De Numar on day one of the tournament, the 'Jackets bats came alive. MSUB's offense belted five home runs in two games. Sydney Norwood, Hughes, Penney, Reynolds and Jenkins each belted balls out of the park. MSUB beat WNM 10-2 and NDNU 8-4.
 
"We also played well at Dixie's tournament the following weekend," added McKinney. "We had a couple of games that slipped away from us but they were good learning moments. We had our first run rule game in St. George that included five homeruns from our team which was impressive!"
 
Continuing the tournament theme, MSUB would next travel to compete in the Air Support Dome Invitational hosted by Minot State University. The indoor invite proved a difficult adjustment for MSUB as the field is completely turf and obviously all indoors. Most MSUB players had never experience playing in that environment.

The Yellowjackets would 1-3 during the tournament losing games to Northern State University, and the University of Mary. The lone win came against University of Minnesota, Crookston 8-5. Hockett led the team three hits on five at bats, two RBIs and two runs scored.
 
"The Minot tournament was a learning experience as most of us have never played in a dome and hadn't practiced on a turf field," said McKinney. "As a team we started to find out what kind of hitters we were and had some players really step up."
 
With a record of 6-9, MSUB would welcome fellow MT school Carroll College to Avitus Group Stadium for their first home games of the year. With four games schedule over two day, the two teams would only play half as day two was canceled due to sever wind. Fans that witnessed the first day were privy to watching history in the making. Skyler Jenkins had herself a day.
 
In a 4-3 extra inning win in game one, Jenkins hit a walk off home run to give MSUB the win. She followed that up with a three home run game in which MSUB won 10-5. Jenkins finished game two going 4-4 with four runs scored, five RBIs and three home runs. The three home runs tied school record for home runs in a single game in program history. She also tied for third in runs scored and RBIs in a single game. Over the two games Jenkins was 6-6 at the plate with one walk, one single, one double, four home runs, six RBIs and eight runs scored.
 
"Skyler had an amazing day," commented McKinney. "She kept calm in all her at-bats and found a way to hit the ball hard."
 
"I just was waiting for my pitch and I was seeing my contact points really well," said Jenkins.

 
(Skyler Jenkins had one of the best days from behind the plate in MSUB history)
 
Following the home series against Carroll, the Yellowjackets launched into GNAC play unaware their season only had two weeks remaining. MSUB traveled to Burnaby, Canada for a four game series against Simon Fraser University. In two heartbreaking games, MSUB held the lead going into the seventh inning only to come up on the wrong end of timely hitting from SFU. MSUB lost 9-8 in game one and 7-6 in game two.
 
In game three, SFU's bats where too much for MSUB as they won 12-4. The fourth and final game of the series MSUB found themselves down 5-2 going into the seventh inning. Back-to-back doubles by Hughes and Anderson brought the 'Jackets within one 5-4. Fisher stepped to the plate for MSUB and belted a line drive to left center spiking the heart rate of every Yellowjacket at the field and watching live. Unfortunately it was strait at defender for the third and final out.
 
Staying on the west coast, MSUB would face off against Western Oregon University in what would turn out to be their final two games of the year. Game one could be viewed as a microcosm for the season as Lincoln pitched her seventh complete game of the year and kept the Yellowjackets in the game. MSUB made good contact from behind the plate but all their hits seemed to find their way straight to the WOU defenders to help the Wolves prevail 4-0.
 

(Payton Reynolds stretches to make the out.)
 
In the final game of the year, the MSUB bats fell silent with the exception of senior Hailee Gregerson. In the top fifth inning Gregerson dropped a two run bomb over the right-center field fence to give MSUB a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately in the bottom of the very same inning, WOU scored four runs. Three of the four runs were unearned as MSUB committed two errors and a wild pitch. WOU would go on to win 4-2.
 
"Hailee is also returning next year which is exciting because she is going to bring another level of leadership along with a power bat and a strong arm in the outfield," commented McKinney. "Hailee's versatility as a pitcher is another way she can help out the team next year."
 
In a very classy move, WOU honored the MSUB seniors Lincoln, Gregerson, and Reynolds after the game by presenting them with flowers as a substitute senior day. Gregerson and Reynolds will be returning for another year as they accepted the NCAA's spring waiver due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
 
"We were one of the lucky teams that actually got to play two different GNAC opponents and play on the last official day of season due to Covid-19," said McKinney. "Our bats were on fire at Simon Fraser which was exciting to watch. Unfortunately defensively we made some mistakes and didn't come out with the win but the team found ways to rally which is important in our sport. We ran into similar issues against Western Oregon but it was also a very emotional day. I would like to say thank you to Western Oregon for taking the time to recognize all the seniors on that day as well."
 
"Overall I am very proud of what this team did over the season. We were on the brink of showing what we can really do and I am excited to see that next year."