TUCSON, Ariz. – The Montana State University Billings softball team took Chico State to the eighth inning in a 5-4 loss, then the Yellowjackets' rallied late in a 7-4 loss to Regis in the final day of the 12^th-annual Desert Stinger in Tucson, Ariz. on Sunday afternoon.
 
Across both games, the Yellowjackets (4-8) scored four runs in the sixth inning, which has been the team's modus operandi so far. Despite trailing in both games, MSUB made comebacks and made most of their big plays late, which was one of the highlights of the day according to MSUB head softball coach Lisa McKinney.
 
"I think that's the biggest thing with this team: They have a lot of heart and a lot of fight," McKinney said. "And the team has the offense to help us out. I think the biggest thing for us is defensively, we need to do better in those middle innings in order to keep us in ballgames. But I think offensively, we've done really well with scoring runs."
 
In the first game, MSUB pushed the Wildcats (8-2) – the preseason pick to win the California Collegiate Athletic Association title – to extra innings thanks to junior pitcher Alyssa Etheridge tying her career-high with eight strikeouts. She gave up only three hits through the first seven innings and walked three batters during her best outing of the season to date. Then against the Rangers (5-4), the 'Jackets rallied with a three-run home run from Brittanee Fisher in the bottom of the sixth, yet the comeback came up short.
 
At the conclusion of the tournament, freshman Lauren Blaschak was named to the Desert Stinger Classic All-Tournament team after tying the tournament-high with a 1.000 slugging percentage, recording 8 RBIs and hitting a grand slam and a three-run home run against Washburn in MSUB's tournament-opener on Friday. She was one of three freshman selected on the 16-player team.
 
QUICK HITS

• Alyssa Etheridge was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for tying her career-high with eight strikeouts in her eight innings of work against Chico State. She recorded eight strikeouts, four hits, three walks and one earned run in eight innings of work. On four of her strikeouts, she threw first-pitch strikes.
• Freshman Lauren Blaschak made her first career starts in the outfield in both games, plus she made the Desert Stinger Classic All-Tournament Team, which was announced at the conclusion of the tournament.
• Brittanee Fisher's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning against Regis was her first of the season and the 33^rd of her career.
• Morgan Quimby had four hits and two RBIs across both games.

 
Game 1: Chico State 5, MSUB 4 (8 innings)
 
Facing off against Chico State ace Brook Larsen, MSUB's Alyssa Etheridge made Sunday morning's game a riveting pitching duel. Although Chico State drew a walk on the second batter of the game, Etheridge and the defense prevented the Wildcats from getting on base from that point until the fifth inning.
 
Etheridge got through the second inning on only five pitches, as the Wildcats fouled out along the third base line twice before a routine fly-out to Payton Meyer in right field ended the inning. Yet the 'Jackets couldn't figure out Larsen early on; MSUB went down in order in the first three innings. Thankfully for the 'Jackets, Etheridge was shutting down the Wildcats.
 
"Alyssa came out with really good energy and she threw a lot of strikes early" McKinney said. "She got a lot of leadoff outs, which was really important for us setting the tone."
 
In the top of the third, Etheridge recorded her first strikeout on four pitches to lead off the inning. After Chico State's second batter was retired on a lineout to Morgan Quimby at second, Etheridge retired the side on a swinging strikeout to end the inning.
 
Although all three 'Jackets went down on swinging strikeouts in the bottom of the third, Etheridge responded with her third strikeout of the morning in the top of the fourth. She was just as efficient in the fourth: After striking out the leadoff runner on five pitches, Etheridge needed merely two pitches to get out of the inning – aided by the gloves of Sidney Pollard and Brittanee Fisher.
 
The 'Jackets finally got their first baserunner in the bottom of the fourth, as Morgan Quimby worked a four-pitch walk with one out. Pollard's sacrifice bunt moved Quimby to second, yet the 'Jackets weren't able to move her over. Chico State would finally break through in the fifth inning, as Nina Revoir hit a leadoff double, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a MSUB error. Yet Etheridge dialed back in and struck out the next two batters after long at-bats.
 
Just as the Wildcats managed to get on base in the top of the inning, the 'Jackets found a way on base in the fifth inning as well. On the first pitch she saw, Allie Hughes broke up the no-hitter with a two-out single up the middle, but that would be all for MSUB in the fifth.
 
"Offensively, we struggled for a little bit in the first few innings, but the team figured [Larsen] out," McKinney said. "I think the team did a good job of making the adjustments and fighting throughout the game. That's what a postseason game is going to look like: It's going to come down to whoever makes the fewest errors."
 
Undaunted by the previous inning, Etheridge promptly retired the first batter on two pitches, then struck out Chicho State's Rachael Bles on six pitches. Etheridge shook off a two-out single, then closed the inning by winning an eight-pitch at-bat with Amanda Metzger, who fouled off four-consecutive pitches before going down swinging.
 
Then the 'Jackets rallied. Lauren Blaschak led off the inning with a leadoff double before advancing to third on Skyler Jenkins' sacrifice bunt.
 
"Lauren goes out there and keeps it simple," McKinney said. "She does a great job of adjusting to the different speeds of each pitcher we faced this weekend. She came up in a big moment for us when we needed a hit and found a way to get the double."
 
McKinney instructed the 'Jackets to keep bunting. On Quimby's second pitch of the at bat, the senior executed a safety squeeze, then Blaschak used her speed to score the tying run.
 
"We decided to go for the squeeze since we were struggling a little bit with their pitcher," McKinney said. "I thought we should play a little more small-ball, and it worked out in the end."
 
Larsen retired the next two batters to end the sixth inning, then MSUB went down in order in the seventh, bringing the 'Jackets to extras for the first time this season.
 
Working around a runner placed on second to start the inning, Etheridge got into trouble as Chico State's leadoff batter reached on an error. MSUB got out the lead runner on the next at-bat, then Etheridge came through with the bases loaded by tying her career-high with her eighth strikeout to put two runners away.
 
Yet everything unraveled. Etheridge hit the next batter on the first pitch, bringing in a run. An RBI-single, a bases-loaded walk, then a sacrifice fly put the Wildcats ahead 5-1 in the top of the eighth.
 
MSUB had one more surge in the bottom of the eighth. After Fisher got hit by a pitch to put two runners aboard, Blaschak hit her second double of the game to bring Hughes in to score from second. With runners at second and third, Pollard's bases-clearing RBI single pulled the 'Jackets within one, 5-4. But Larsen recorded career-high 18^th strikeout on MSUB's final at-bat to end the game.
 
Game 2: Regis 7, MSUB 4
 
Playing on a quick turnaround after the extra-inning game against Chico State, the 'Jackets had a slow start in the first two innings. MSUB did manage to get runners in scoring position when Sidney Pollard stole second base in the first inning, yet the game was tied 0-0 through two.

The Rangers pounced on pitchers Julia Qualteri and Shelby Martin in the top of the third, bringing nine batters to the plate and scoring five runs on three hits. A leadoff hit-by-pitch and a walk kicked off the inning, then Regis broke the seal with an RBI single from slap-hitter Miia Campos. A foul-out, a wild pitch, two walks and two singles later, the 'Jackets found themselves trailing 5-0.
 
MSUB would get one run back in the bottom of the third with Quimby's two-out triple brought in Skyler Jenkins after Jenkins worked a nine-pitch walk. Yet this would be MSUB's only run scored in the frame. Regis countered with another run in the top of the fourth, but MSUB pitcher Jenna Kister entered in the top of the fifth and put up a much-needed clean inning for the 'Jackets. Kister would end up notching three strikeouts and giving up one earned run on six hits – all while walking zero batters – in her three innings of relief.
 
However, the 'Jackets had one more sixth-inning rally left in them. O'Neal reached on a throwing error when a hopper to Regis' shortstop bounced off her hands. Hughes got aboard with a two-out single that sent pinch-runner Claire Bagnell to second, bringing up Fisher to the plate. Fisher's hit was a no-doubter. The senior first baseman crushed the first pitch she saw to right-center field, pulling MSUB within striking distance trailing 7-4.
 
"Brittanee has been making more solid contact recently," McKinney said. "She's been finding holes and finding ways to keep passing the bat to her teammates, which has been great. She's been either a little bit late or a little bit early to the ball, so it was nice to see her be on time and take an outside pitch to right-center. It was really good for her to have that moment."
 
With momentum favoring the Yellowjackets, Kister pitched a clean bottom of the seventh inning to help keep MSUB's comeback hopes alive. Kister worked around two baserunners in scoring position to leadoff the inning, but a six-pitch swinging strikeout helped limit the damage. Then she got a little help from the defense. Regis shortstop Jessi Case tried laying down a bunt, but the ball popped up high enough for O'Neal to secure the put-out before she gunned it to Penney to put out the runner on third for the inning-ending double play.
 
Down to their final three outs, the Yellowjackets put two runners in scoring position with Pollard reaching on a fielder's choice and O'Neal's double into the far right field corner. Yet the 'Jackets only had one out to work with at that point, and they stranded both runners to end the game.
 
Qualteri (3-2) would get the loss after recording three hits, four earned runs, a strikeout and two walks in 2.2 innings of work. Regis starter Kylie Harpman (1-1) got the win and Katherine Raper earned her first save of the year.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB travels up north to Minot State's Air-Supported Dome for the Beavers' second Bubble Invitational. The 'Jackets will kick off their four-game stint with a game against Bemidji State on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 4:30 p.m. local time. Live stat links can be found on the softball team's schedule page at msubsports.com.