BILLINGS, Mont. – Reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week Dylan Barkley tossed seven shutout innings on Thursday night at Scolinos Field, propelling the Montana State University Billings baseball team to a 9-4 victory over host Cal Poly Pomona.
 
Barkley struck out eight hitters in his second straight scoreless outing to start the season, throwing 105 pitches and surrendering just three hits. "When I came out, I didn't have my best stuff right away, but I just trusted the defense and it was spectacular tonight," said Barkley, who earned his 10th career victory and his first of the season. "We have all been gaining confidence in them, and I just tried to work with them and make the hitters put it in play. Definitely as the game went on I settled in, found more of a groove, and went from there."
 
The Yellowjackets (3-2) used a six-run sixth inning to claim the victory, as they withstood a four-run rally by the hosts in the final two frames. The MSUB defense, which has committed just four errors in the first five games of the season, was spotless on Thursday under the lights. "The big difference today was our situational hitting," said head coach Derek Waddoups, after his squad split a four-game series at Cal State Los Angeles last week in Walnut, Calif. "We put the ball in play, and in the big inning we took a lot of quality at-bats. The guys had confidence to stay within their approach, not do too much, and we created the big inning."
 
Cooper Dulich went 3-for-5 at the plate and made all six of his plays at shortstop, which included a tricky pop up that carried him tumbling into left-center field and a sharp ground ball up the middle that he calmly snagged and took to the bag for the third out of an inning. Ethan Babcock-Barrie went 2-for-5, and Bodee Wright was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
 
Wright brought home the first run of the day with an infield single in the second inning, on a close play at the plate that went the Yellowjackets' way. The throw beat Dulich into the glove of CPP catcher Johnny Pappas, but the Yellowjacket freshman managed to avoid the tag to make the score 1-0.
 
The Broncos threatened to even things in the bottom of the frame, which Nick Lugo led off with a double. Barkley got the next three hitters however, ending the inning with a strikeout to keep the narrow lead intact. Barkley worked around another leadoff double in the fourth – this time off the bat of Pappas – and retired the next eight hitters to take his shutout into the bottom of the fifth inning. Pappas this time laced a two-out double up against the wall in center, but Barkley struck out Dante Palacio to again strand the tying run in scoring position.
 
Opportunity arose for the 'Jackets when CPP starter Edrian Rangel, who had given up just two hits in five strong innings, was lifted at the outset of the sixth. MSUB pounced for four runs before an out was recorded, and Carson Green and Hayden Foltz capped the six-run frame with two-run hits with two outs. Barkley gained steam after that, allowing just one baserunner over his final two frames and striking out two of the final three hitters he faced. "Having an offense like this where it can explode at any time gives you a sense of comfortability," said Barkley. "I just have to keep us in striking distance. After the fifth, my mindset was just to challenge, let the defense work, and put the ball over the plate. With a lead like that, it's all about being comfortable and getting ahead of hitters. I want to keep the ball in my hands as long as I can."
 
Barkley, who threw five shutout frames in the team's season opener against CSULA last week, earned his second-career GNAC Pitcher of the Week honor on Monday. His eight strikeouts Thursday were two off his career high, and he recorded nine fly outs and four ground outs on his way to the win. "The guy works off the field, is a great leader in the clubhouse and dugout, and it is fun to see him go out and compete," Waddoups commented on the senior. "In those middle innings they put the pressure on, but he kept making pitches. He never lost his composure, and that was the difference in the game."
 
Blake Rainey saw out the win by limiting CPP to one run on two hits over the final 1 1/3 innings of the game, as he notched his second straight effective relief appearance. "Rainey coming in and pitching out of the jam in the eighth then finishing in the ninth was huge," said Waddoups. "I love how he pitches and how he is in those pressure spots. He did a good job."
 
Wright's second RBI came in the seventh when he plated Payton Flynn with a single, before Dominick Buso scored on a wild pitch in the eighth to cap MSUB's scoring. The Broncos finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth with four hits in the inning, but Rainey stranded the bases loaded with a harmless ground out to erase the Broncos' hopes at a late comeback.
 
Pappas finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Ricky Nunez and Jacob Lopez each had a pair of hits for CPP. The Broncos left 11 runners on base in the game, and used four different relievers to get through the contest. CPP slipped to 3-2 with the loss.
 
THE BUZZ: Barkley was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…Barkley upped his career strikeout total to 144, passing Brian Howe for No. 4 on the all-time list in MSUB history…next on the list is Steen Fredrickson, who struck out 209 hitters in his four-year career from 2016-19…Barkley has now thrown 12 consecutive scoreless innings, which is tied for the 13th-longest streak in program history…the all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings is 26 1/3, set by Kyle McBride from March 13-April 21, 2006…Thursday was the first-ever game between MSUB and Cal Poly Pomona.
 
COMING UP: The series continues on Friday, with a noon first-pitch at Scolinos Field. Live coverage for Friday's 9-inning game will be available online here.