MINOT, N.D. – Bringing the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning of both games on Sunday morning at the Air Supported Dome, the Montana State University Billings softball team came up just short in a pair of defeats to close out the Minot State University Bubble Invite II.
 
MSUB's late rally sputtered in a 6-4 loss to University of Minnesota Crookston in Game 1 on Sunday, before the tying run was stranded on base in a 4-3 loss to Bemidji State University in the Yellowjackets' tournament finale. MSUB moved to 6-10 on the season with the losses. "In both games team did good job of fighting back after being down, and getting runners on base late," said MSUB head coach Lisa McKinney. "Unfortunately we didn't come up with the clutch hit, but I was proud that we fought through the end."
 
Brittanee Fisher homered in each game, pushing her career total to 35 which tied her for second in program history with Yellowjacket Hall of Famer Kelly Parsons. Lauren Blaschak went 4-for-6 in Sunday's doubleheader, and Maycen O'Neal hit her second home run of the season in Game 1. "Brittanee has done a good job of being patient in the box, and getting pitches she can hit hard recently," said McKinney on the senior slugger. "She went in with that mentality today, it worked out well, and it was nice to see her make solid contact in both games. Lauren did a great job of sparking our lineup in both games. She had big hits in both, and kept it simple by finding holes and putting the ball in play hard."
 
Game 1 – University of Minnesota Crookston 6, MSU Billings 4
 
Trailing 6-2, the Yellowjackets got one run back in the bottom of the sixth on Fisher's third home run of the season. Blaschak led off the seventh with a double and scored on a defensive miscue, but Golden Eagle starter Evie Stuck retired the final two hitters to wrap up the complete game.
 
Stuck struck out five and walked two, while allowing four runs on 10 hits to earn her fourth win of the season. Gabriella Blomdahl was 3-for-4 in the game, while Ariana Gambala and Jordan Peterson each had two hits and scored twice.
 
Minnesota Crookston (6-5) struck in the top of the second inning, loading the bases with no outs and capitalizing. Dana Zarn was hit by a pitch to plate the first run, and Blomdahl drove in another with a two-out RBI-single. MSUB starter Jenna Kister limited the damage, and got some help from her defense as senior Allie Hughes ended the inning by throwing out Shaelyn Grant who was trying to score on Blomdahl's single.
 
Three of the Golden Eagles' four doubles in the game came in the span of four hitters during a three-run third inning, with Grant delivering a two-run shot that drove Kister from the game. The MSUB right-hander allowed five runs on eight hits with one strikeout and one walk in 2 1/3 innings of work.
 
Alina Avalos supplied a two-out, RBI-double in the top of the fourth, which proved to be UMC's final run of the day as it took a 6-0 lead. O'Neal led off the bottom of the inning with a home run, before Marin Penney made it a 6-2 ballgame with a two-out, RBI-single.
 
In her collegiate pitching debut, true freshman Preslee Christensen helped stifle the Golden Eagle offense. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits with two strikeouts and two walks in her 4 2/3 innings of work to close out the game. "Preslee did a great job of coming in and making her pitches in and out, and kept their batters off balance," McKinney said. "She kept her inside pitches tight to the batters, got weak ground balls on the infield, and let our defense do the work."
 
MSUB stranded five runners on base, while the Golden Eagles left six aboard. Penney and Blaschak each went 2-for-3 in the game for the 'Jackets.
 
Game 2 – Bemidji State 4, MSU Billings 3
 
Morgan Quimby led off the seventh inning with a base hit, putting the tying run on with the Yellowjackets trailing 4-3. BSU reliever Kaidron McClafferty avoided trouble however, retiring the next three hitters and getting Fisher to fly out to deep right field to end the game.
 
Fisher, Penney, and Blaschak each had a pair of knocks in the second game, with the latter driving in two of MSUB's three runs. Julia Qualteri had another solid outing, going the distance and allowing four runs – two earned – on three hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
 
The Yellowjackets struck first, with Blaschak legging out an infield single with two outs in the second to bring home Fisher from third base. The Beavers responded immediately however, taking advantage of a two-out error on Qualteri and scoring two unearned runs to push ahead 2-1.
 
After a clean top of the third by starter Stella Dolan, Elaina Christiansen doubled to lead off the bottom of the inning and scored on a two-out, RBI-single by Molly Houts to make the score 3-1. Fisher responded immediately with a home run to lead off the fourth, and Blaschak came through with another run-scoring single to even the game at 3-3.
 
Christiansen was at the root of what proved to be the game-winning rally, as she was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth. After a pair of ground outs pushed Christiansen to third, Houts came through with a clutch two-out, RBI-single to center to put the Beavers up 4-3.
 
In addition to putting the tying run on in the seventh, the 'Jackets also had an opportunity in the sixth when they put runners on first and second with one out. McClafferty escaped the jam with a pair of ground outs, helping keep the Beavers' lead intact.
 
McClafferty earned her first win of the year with 3 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. Houts led the Beavers, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs to help the team improve to 3-5 on the season. Eight runners left on base proved costly for the Yellowjackets, while the Beavers managed to win leaving six aboard.
 
THE BUZZ: Blaschak was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…MSUB is now 1-1 all-time against Minnesota Crookston…Sunday was the first-ever meeting between the Yellowjackets and Beavers.
 
COMING UP: The Yellowjackets prepare for a four-game road series at Western Oregon University next weekend on Feb. 26-27 in Monmouth, Ore. Live coverage for the games – which will be non-conference contests – will be available online here.