BILLINGS, Mont. – Facing another Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent for the first time this season, the Montana State University Billings softball team will play a four-game series against the Western Oregon Wolves this Saturday and Sunday.
 
The Yellowjackets (6-10) are returning to outdoor action after last week's 2-2 showing at Minot State's Bubble Invite II. Both Saturday and Sunday's doubleheaders will start at 11 a.m. local time, with the second game expected to start at around 1 p.m. local time. Livestream and live stat links can be found on the softball team's schedule page at msubsports.com.
 
This weekend's series will also be the first time the two teams met since last spring, in which MSUB took three out of four games in dramatic fashion. After splitting the doubleheader on April 10, the Yellowjackets had back-to-back walk off wins to close the series – including a come-from-behind six-run rally in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Wolves 7-6.
 
"Western Oregon is always great competition, and we are excited to get back on the road to start facing some GNAC opponents," MSUB head coach Lisa McKinney said. "Last year's series was really fun, and it taught us a lot about ourselves as a team. I hope we can remember those successes and build off them."
 
Although the series will not count towards either team's Great Northwest Athletic Conference records, the Yellowjackets will make a return trip to Monmouth on March 19-20 once conference play truly begins. That series will count towards both teams' conference records. This week, however, McKinney views the games as a good experience for the newcomers on the team to gauge how GNAC competition will be this year.
 
"This is going to be a great learning experience for our newcomers on the team to see what our conference opponents are like," McKinney said. "We got to face a wide variety of teams over the preseason but now we will start to get more of idea of what conference will be like."
 
Last weekend at Minot State' Bubble Invite II, the 'Jackets went 2-2 against four teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The first day was Senior first-baseman Brittanee Fisher was electric at the plate, going 7-for-11 at the plate seven hits, three home runs, five RBIs, six runs scored to earn her first-career GNAC Player of the Week award. As it stands, Fisher is tied for second in school history with 35 career home runs, and is five back from tying Cameron Cassinelli's career record of 40.
 
Speaking of GNAC players of the week: Reigning GNAC Pitcher of the Week Alyssa Etheridge also had one of her best outings of the season so far, shutting out the Minot State Beavers and recording seven strikeouts in an 8-0 MSUB win. Both Etheridge and Julia Qualteri had complete-game wins in the Bubble: Qualteri set a new career high with eight strikeouts in her complete-game win over the University of Mary. As a staff, MSUB's pitchers have a 3.67 earned run average – the third best in the GNAC – and have struck out a conference-high 78 batters.
 
Even though the Yellowjackets came up short on the second day of the Bubble Invite, both games were close. MSUB brought the tying run to the plate both times; in the 6-4 loss to Minnesota Crookston, the offense rallied with two late runs while freshman pitcher Preslee Christensen allowed just one run in 4.2 innings of work in relief.
 
"Preslee threw a great game in her college debut," McKinney said. "She was successful because she located the ball well and trusted her defense to make the plays. Over the last week she has really gained confidence in her pitches."
 
Throughout the weekend, MSUB's offense got production from freshman Lauren Blaschak, who had three multi-hit games and finished 7-for-12. Junior third baseman Marin Penney matched Blaschak with a 7-for-12 showing, and fellow junior catcher Maycen O'Neal hit her second home run of the year against Minnesota Crookston.


WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY WOLVES
Record: 10-5
Head coach: Lonny Sargent (10^th season)
Head-to-head record: 36-37
Last meeting: April 11, 2021 (7-6, MSUB)
 
Led by the GNAC's top home run hitter in sophomore catcher Natalie Willoughby, the Wolves have ridden its high-scoring offense to a 10-5 record after playing in the Concordia Kickoff Classic and Hawaii Pacific's tournament. Despite playing one fewer game than MSUB, four of Western Oregon's contests have been against non-Division II teams.
 
"We have some common opponents early in the season," McKinney said. "Western Oregon has always been a strong defensive team so we will need to earn our runs by trusting our offense."
 
Picked to finish third in the GNAC preseason poll, Western Oregon ranks atop the GNAC in hits (133), runs scored (88) and RBIs (85), while also leading the league with a .966 fielding percentage in 441 chances.
 
"Defensively we need to keep the game at a slower pace and take care of the ball," McKinney said. "Some of our errors early on this season have been from speeding up the game and trying to throw the ball before we have secured it in the glove. If we take our time, we will have a better defensive game."
 
In the circle, junior Chelsea Smith leads the team with a 2.79 ERA and a spotless 6-0 record. Through 38.0 innings pitched, Smith ranks fourth in the GNAC by limiting opponents to batting .213, and she's second in the league with 33 strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets' first game against the Wolves will be on Saturday at 11 a.m. local time. Live stat links can be found on the softball team's schedule page at msubsports.com.