YELM, Wash. – Limiting the Saint Martin's University baseball team to a single run on Saturday, Montana State University Billings hurlers Matthew Houlihan and Ty Wilson were the key difference makers in the Yellowjackets' 4-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference win at Yelm High School.
 
AJ Wagenmann hit his second home run of the season in the sixth inning, as the Yellowjackets overcame nine stranded baserunners in the first five innings and scored all of their runs in the final four frames.
 
Houlihan put forth a strong outing, allowing one run on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in six quality innings of work. Wilson threw the final three frames, earning his first-career save by striking out four and allowing just two hits and a walk. "The one inning could have really blown up, but he did a good job of settling down," MSUB head coach Derek Waddoups commented on Houlihan limiting the damage in the third inning to a single run. "He just commanded the zone, and we were able to get some double plays. Ty didn't have it the first two hitters he faced, but he found it after that. The eighth and ninth were pretty clean for him. He attacked the zone and pitched well."
 
Justice Yamashita threw 114 pitches through six solid innings of work for SMU, limiting the 'Jackets to two runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and two walks. Ryan Driscoll and Sam McCauley combined to finish the game for SMU, each surrendering one run. Mark Steward went 2-for-4 with SMU's lone RBI, and Cody Chavis was the other Saint with multiple hits going 2-for-4 as well. SMU slipped to 6-16 on the season and is now 1-5 in conference play. "I was happy with our approach early in the game, and we put pressure on and ran up pitch counts," Waddoups said. "Credit to their guy – he pitched well. We had a couple hard hit balls with two outs that just didn't fall in."
 
The Yellowjackets (12-12, 3-3 GNAC) put runners at second and third in each of the first three innings, but failed to score each time as Yamashita tip-toed out of danger. The Saint starter ended the first with a strikeout, retired Dominick Buso and Carson Green in succession to strand two in the second, before repeating the feat by getting Mason Powell to foul out to end the third.
 
MSUB put two more runners on in the fourth and had another in the fifth, but the elusive run-scoring hit was the only thing missing. "The entire lineup kept taking good at-bats," said Waddoups. "James (Anderson) had a well-fought at-bat, and that's how it went the first six innings; guys grinded it out and kept putting pressure on. I was proud of how composed we were at the plate."
 
Houlihan was faced with similar pressure throughout his start, getting out of a jam in the second before the Saints broke through in the third. The damage all came with two outs, as Ryne Oshiro singled and Steward came through with an RBI-double to left center that made the score 1-0. "Keeping them to a one-run inning instead of letting it blow up was the difference in the game," said Waddoups.
 
It was the lone blemish against Houlihan on the day, who earned his third win of the season. A double play turned by Cooper Dulich, Tyler Godfrey, and Anderson helped negate an error in the fourth, and Houlihan settled into a groove after that as he retired five of the final seven hitters he faced.
 
Finally breaking through in the top of the sixth inning, Wagenmann connected on his second home run of the season to lead off the frame by evening the score at 1-1. Buso followed with a double, and Anderson delivered a two-out, RBI-single to make the score 2-1. "Wags hit that home run, and it freed our guys up a little bit," Waddoups said. "That was a huge opportunity for him."
 
Wilson avoided trouble in the seventh, when Anderson snagged a line drive and turned it into a double play to help navigate away from the Saints putting their first two runners on base.
 
Wagenmann led off the eighth with a single, and the 'Jackets took advantage of an SMU error to score on a ground out by Hayden Foltz to make the score 3-1. McCauley halted MSUB's momentum and avoided a big inning as he entered the game and retired two straight hitters to leave runners on second and third.
 
The 'Jackets tacked on an insurance run in the ninth, with Buso delivering a two-out, RBI-single that brought Justin Lutz across home plate.
 
THE BUZZ: Wagenmann was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…the home run was the third of his career…MSUB is now 58-51-1 all-time against SMU and is 29-24-1 in road games.
 
COMING UP: The series concludes on Sunday morning with an 11 a.m. doubleheader at Yelm High School. Live statistics for the two 7-inning games will be available online here.