ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Snapping a 13-day streak since its last game, the Montana State University Billings softball team split a doubleheader at Central Washington in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener on Friday afternoon.
 
The Yellowjackets (7-13, 1-1 GNAC) run-ruled the Wildcats (7-10, 1-1 GNAC) 9-1 in game one, then carried a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning of game two until the Wildcats put up six runs to split the doubleheader.
 
"Overall, it was a good day to show us what we are capable of, and it helped us show MSUB head softball coach Lisa McKinney said. "After having 13 days without games, I thought we did a great job executing on offense and defense. The pitchers came out and made Central Washington earn their runs, and the defense made plays behind them. Offensively, we executed a lot of different plays throughout the two games."
 
MSUB's offense was bolstered by multi-hit games from Alexis Tovar's (5-for-7 across both games), Allie Hughes (4-for-8) and Maycen O'Neal (3-for-6), plus solo home runs from Brittanee Fisher and Skyler Jenkins. Fisher finished 2-for-4 and drew a team-high three walks against the Wildcats; her solo shot in the third inning of game one was the 36^th home run of her career. Jenkins' leadoff home run of game two was her first of the season and 11^th of her career.
 
QUICK HITS

• Freshman right fielder Alexis Tovar was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for finishing 5-for-7 with two runs scored and one RBI across both games. Her three hits in game one were a career-high.
• Allie Hughes going 4-for-8 with one run and a team-high 3 RBIs on the afternoon. In game one, Hughes was one RBI shy from tying her single-game career high.
• Skyler Jenkins went 2-for-8 with 2 RBIs and her first home run of the season: a lead-off home run in the first inning of game two.
• Brittanee Fisher went 2-for-4 with a home run in game one, two runs scored, one RBI and three drawn walks.
• Junior catcher Maycen O'Neal went 3-for-6 and drew one walk on Friday afternoon.
• MSUB's win in game one was the team's first win in the GNAC opener since beating Simon Fraser 10-0 in the conference-opener on March 3, 2018.

 
Game 1: MSUB 9, Central Washington 1 (5 innings)
 
The Yellowjackets got their first baserunner of the ballgame in the first inning when Sidney Pollard drew a two-out walk, but Alyssa Etheridge pitched around a bases-loaded jam to keep the game scoreless after one.
 
"Alyssa came out and set the tone on the mound early for our defense," McKinney said. "She and Maycen O'Neal worked well together to keep their batters off-balance."
 
MSUB wasted no time breaking the game open with a big second inning. Brittanee Fisher hit a leadoff single to right field, then Marin Penney laid down a bunt and beat out the tag to keep the line moving. After working a full count, Alexis Tovar broke through with a double to right-center field that brought Fisher home. On the next at-bat, Allie Hughes placed a bunt on the third-base side, then sped over to second base after the Wildcats left the base open. Skyler Jenkins' one-out RBI single made it a 3-0 game, then Quimby's fly-out had enough distance to score Hughes.
 
"Overall, our team did a great job executing, with Allie's squeeze play being one of the big highlights," McKinney said.
 
Leading 4-0 in the bottom of the second, Etheridge struck out two more batters and put up her second-straight clean inning of the game. Yet the 'Jackets had another big inning in the third.
 
Fisher crushed her fifth home run of the season and the 36^th of her career to right field, giving MSUB a 5-0 lead. Penney drew a walk, then Tovar lined a single past Central Washington shortstop Makenna King to put runners at first and second with one out. Hughes came through once more, ripping a single to center field that scored Penney, then Lauren Blaschak's sacrifice fly brought Tovar home.
 
"Brittanee and Alexis had a day at the plate," McKinney said. "Britt did a good job adding to her home run total, and Lex found a way on base each and every time."
 
Playing with a 7-0 cushion, Etheridge worked around an early error and got her third strikeout of the day, then O'Neal and Penney caught Myiah Seaton stealing third to clear the bases. This would end up preserving a critical run, as Alyssa Benthagen's solo home run on the next at-bat put the Wildcats on the board.
 
MSUB and CWU traded quick innings in the fourth, as the 'Jackets went down in order. In the bottom of the inning, Penney's good pick at third base and throw to first retired King, Etheridge recorded her fifth strikeout, then Jillian Hampson flew out to center field to end the frame.
 
Leading 7-1 in the fifth inning, O'Neal's long, leadoff single to right field brought up Fisher, who took a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and second. Batting against CWU reliever Ashlee Laver, Tovar's one-out single brought pinch-runner Payton Meyer to third, then Claire Bagnell home, who scored on an error from CWU's right fielder. A sacrifice fly from Hughes scored Meyer, giving MSUB a 9-1 lead.
 
Needing just three outs to run-rule the Wildcats, Penney and Fisher made another strong play to help leadoff the bottom of the fifth. Penney corralled in Karsyn Decker's bunt attempt, then threw to Fisher, whose stretch at first base was in time for the first out. Central Washington would get a one-out single, yet that would be it for the hosts in the five-inning game.
 
In her third complete game of the season, Etheridge (3-4) earned the win after striking out five batters, issuing zero walks and giving up one run on five hits. Central Washington's Rhaney Harris fell to 2-6 with the loss.
 
Game 2: Central Washington 6, MSUB 2
 
The Yellowjackets carried a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning until the Wildcats broke open the game by scoring six runs on seven hits.
 
On the third pitch of the game, Skyler Jenkins clobbered a home run to left-center field to put MSUB ahead 1-0 early. Back-to-back two-out walks from Maycen O'Neal and Brittanee Fisher put CWU starter Isabel Womack under more pressure, but the 'Jackets couldn't bring them home in the first.
 
"Skyler kept the momentum from game run with her leadoff home run, which is always nice when we score first," McKinney said.
 
Starter Jenna Kister got some help from Alexis Tovar in the bottom of the first inning, who sprinted down a deep fly ball to right field that would have brought in Central Washington's runner on second base. The Wildcats would leave the bases loaded in the first, then Kister and the 'Jackets averted disaster and kept CWU off the board for the next five innings.
 
Kister pitched a clean second inning – first with a swinging strikeout to start the inning, then with a fly-out to Hughes and finally with her second strikeout of the day to retire the bottom of CWU's order. All told, the sophomore stranded six CWU runners through the first three innings, giving MSUB's offense enough opportunities to put runs on the board in the low-scoring early innings.
 
Both teams traded scoreless innings until MSUB broke through with another run in the top of the fifth. O'Neal led things off with a single through the left side, then a wild pitch with one out sent pinch-runner Shelby Marquardt to second. Marin Penney worked a full count, then broke through with a single into right field, which was far enough for Marquardt to use her speed and score.
 
"Marin's hit late in the game was a big moment for us to score Shelby and gain our second run," McKinney said.
 
The 'Jackets kept the line moving in the fifth inning, as Tovar singled, then Hughes reached on a fielder's choice to put runners at first and second with two outs. Yet MSUB would settle for a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the frame until Central Washington plated six runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kister finished with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched until Julia Qualteri relieved her in the sixth inning.
 
"Jenna had a strong five innings and she kept batters guessing," McKinney said. "Then Julia Qualteri came in and did a good job of getting ground-ball outs. Unfortunately, we made a few too many errors in the inning and couldn't recover."
 
Down to their final three outs, the Yellowjackets started a rally with Tovar's one-out double; she would advance to third on a wild pitch. Kalehuawehe worked a two-out walk to corner Womack, yet the 'Jackets didn't score in the seventh.
 
Kister (0-4) was credited with the loss after recording three strikeouts, eight hits and two earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. Qualteri came in for 0.2 innings of work and surrendered two runs (none earned) on three hits. Central Washington's Isabel Womak pitched a complete-game win with a three-strikeout, seven-walk stat-line while giving up two earned runs on eight hits.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets finish the series with Central Washington at noon and 2 p.m. tomorrow. Livestream and live stat links can be found on the softball team's schedule page on msubsports.com.