MINOT, N.D. – Playing indoors for the first time this season, the Montana State University Billings kicked off the first day of Minot State's Bubble Invite II with a 7-3 win against the University of Mary, then put the clamps down on the hosting Minot State Beavers in a 8-0 win on Saturday afternoon.
 
"Our team came in calm and just played softball today," MSUB head softball coach Lisa McKinney said. "We didn't try to overcomplicate the dome rules and we just played the ball. Skyler Jenkins and Alexis Tovar both came up with catches off the dome in centerfield, which were big outs. For tomorrow I hope they continue to stay within themselves."
 
Both of the Yellowjackets' (6-8) starters pitched complete games and recorded at least seven strikeouts. Julia Qualteri set a new career-high with eight strikeouts in her fourth win of the season, then Alyssa Etheridge flummoxed the Minot State Beavers, fanning seven batters in her complete-game shutout win.
 
"Julia and Alyssa both did a good job of getting lead outs today," McKinney said. "Julia worked a low zone well today and kept the batters off balance with her changeup. Alyssa made Minot State's batters work by using the corners well. Those two were also feeding off each other."
 
MSUB's offense rode a pair of productive multi-run innings in each game to put away their opponents. Senior first baseman Brittanee Fisher hit her 33^rd career home run to break open the game against Minot State in the seventh inning.
 
"Recently, Brittanee has been seeing the ball better and going with the pitch more often," McKinney said. "She has been feeding off each and every hit and finding a way on base for her team. By feeding off her previous hits, she is stepping into the box more and more confident each time."
 
Fellow senior Sidney Pollard had a productive day, going 2-for-6, scoring three runs, driving in two and drawing two walks across both games. Freshman Lauren Blaschak also went 3-for-6 on the day with three runs scored, an RBI and had a pair of doubles against Minot State. Junior third baseman Marin Penney also recorded hits in both games, finishing 3-for-6 with one run scored.
 
QUICK HITS

• Brittanee Fisher was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for going 4-for-5 across both games with four hits, three runs scored, 3 RBIs and her second home run of the season: a three-run bomb to right field in the seventh inning against Minot State.
• Julia Qualteri set a career-high in strikeouts with eight during her complete-game win against the University of Mary. She finished with eight strikeouts and allowed four runs (three of them earned), nine hits and issued only one walk in her third complete-game outing of the year.
• Alyssa Etheridge pitched a complete-game shutout against the Minot State Beavers, striking out seven batters, issuing two walks and only giving up three hits.
• Senior shortstop Sidney Pollard finished going 2-for-6 in both games with three runs scored, 2 RBI and drew two walks.

 
Game 1: MSUB, 7, University of Mary 4
 
Threatening to take the lead in the top of the first, the University of Mary loaded the bases with three singles. Yet Julia Qualteri and the defense set the tone early, getting out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout and a groundout. Qualteri cruised in the second inning with two more strikeouts, but MSUB could only muster a Marin Penney single in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Marauders struck first with a two-run home run in the top of the third, yet the 'Jackets out-did them in the next half inning.
 
Jenkins drew a one-out walk, then Morgan Quimby's double moved both runners into scoring position. Sidney Pollard laid down a bunt that was just out of reach of a diving attempt from first baseman Kennedy Coward, which scored Jenkins and put runners on second and third with one out. O'Neal's sacrifice fly brought Quimby home, then the Yellowjackets took the lead on an RBI single from Allie Hughes. Jazlyn Kalehuawehe's RBI double to send in Hughes closed the scoring for MSUB in the bottom of the third.
 
Working with a 4-2 cushion, Qualteri pitched a clean fourth inning, striking out two more batters and only giving up a single to Devyn Ritz. This gave way to another big inning for MSUB, which would go on to score three more runs in the fourth inning to take a 7-2 lead.
 
Brittanee Fisher fell behind in the count, but battled back to draw a lead-off walk to lead things off. Lauren Blaschak's check-swing made contact, landed in play and gave her enough time to slide into first base to put runners on the corners with no outs. Quimby's one-out RBI single brought Fisher home, then Pollard reached first base and brought Blaschak in to score on the next at-bat. Two batters later, Hughes drove in her second run of the ballgame after Mary's shortstop mishandled a grounder, giving Pollard enough time to speed home and put MSUB up 7-2.
 
Although the University of Mary would chip away with runs in the fifth and the sixth, the 'Jacket defense and Qualteri's pitching helped MSUB limit the damage. The Yellowajckets threatened to add to the lead in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases on a single from Maycen O'Neal, Pollard reaching on an error and Hughes drawing a walk, but a double-play prevented the 'Jackets from scoring insurance runs.
 
In the top of the seventh, Qualteri shut down the Marauders. She led off the inning with her seventh strikeout, tagged out the next batter on a comebacker, then pitched around a two-out single with her career-high eighth and final strikeout of the morning.
 
Game 2: MSUB 8, Minot State 0
 
Led by another complete-game performance from Alyssa Etheridge, the 'Jackets were locked in a pitching duel for the first five innings before MSUB put up eight runs over the final three innings for the 8-0 win.
 
Going into the weekend, Minot State looked like the toughest opponent on paper with its 8-2 record and it's aggressive, small-ball approach. According to McKinney, the Yellowjackets leaned on the experience from playing San Francisco State – another fast, small-ball team – earlier this season, which helped in the game against Minot State.
 
"Playing SFSU helped set us up for Minot today," McKinney said. "We knew they were a quick team and we spent a lot of time working this week against aggressive base-running. Skyler Jenkins did a good job of keeping their runners closer to bases, and her throw-out in the first inning helped that as well."
 
Despite Minot State's aggressiveness, MSUB would only commit one fielding error and would turn two inning-ending double-plays when the Beavers got too greedy on the base-paths. In the first inning, catcher Skyler Jenkins gunned down Jamie Odlum, who tried to steal second after reaching base on a one-out single.
 
MSUB would load the bases in the second and Pollard would make it to third in the top of the third inning, yet both teams were locked in a scoreless tie until the fifth inning. Jenkins helped MSUB avoid disaster in the fourth inning, as she and Alyssa Etheridge caught a Minot State runner stealing home. After Kilee Fehd advanced all the way to third with aggressive base-running and by taking advantage of passed balls, Fehd gambled on a swinging strike from Etheridge and tried stealing home as Jenkins threw the ball back to Etheridge. But Etheridge quickly flipped it back to Jenkins, who laid down the tag in time to put out Fehd at home.
 
Bolstered by the inning-ending play, MSUB broke the seal in the top of the fifth. Blaschak doubled to lead things off, moved over to third, then scored after Minot State's first baseman mishandled a short hopper from Quimby. Quimby would make it to second on a throwing error on the play. A long fly-out from O'Neal would bring Quimby to third, but the 'Jackets couldn't put up another run on the board in the fifth.
 
Leading 1-0, Etheridge and the defense navigated around two baserunners in the bottom of the fifth, which saw two runners hit by pitches and one passed ball. The Yellowjackets kept getting the lead baserunner out to help put the Beavers at bay, and Minot State would strand two more heading into the sixth inning.
 
Then the Yellowjackets' offense exploded. Alexis Tovar got aboard with one out after getting hit by a pitch. Brittanee Fisher's single brought pinch-runner Shelby Marquardt to second, then Blaschak's second double of the day brought Marquardt home. On the next at-bat, Jenkins' sacrifice fly to deep right field was far enough to bring both Fisher and Blaschak in, giving MSUB a 4-0 lead.
 
A quick bottom of the sixth gave way to another high-scoring run from the 'Jackets, who piled on four more runs in the top of the seventh.
 
Pollard drew a leadoff walk, then Kilee Imada and Marin Penney hit back-to-back singles to load the bases for Alexis Tovar. Tovar grounded it to short to bring in Pollard, setting up Fisher.
 
Fisher worked a 2-2 count, then smacked a towering fly ball to deep right field, which hit the dome wall and was ruled a three-run home run. The home run, which was her second of the season and the 33^rd of her career, broke the game open.
 
Ahead 8-0, MSUB was in no danger of surrendering the lead from that point forward. Etheridge slammed the door on the Beavers, recording two-straight swinging strikeouts to finish the game.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB begins the final day of the Bubble Invite II against Minnesota-Crookston on Sunday at 8 a.m. CT, followed by a game against Bemidji State at 10 a.m. Livestream and live stat information can be found at either the MSUB softball schedule page at msubsports.com, or the ­­Bubble Invite II tournament website.