YELM, Wash. – Completing its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference series victory of the season on Sunday at Yelm High School, the Montana State University Billings baseball team split a doubleheader with host Saint Martin's University.
 
Reid Little hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to give the Saints a 4-3 win in the opener, but the Yellowjackets responded with a resounding 5-0 shutout triumph to cap the series 3-1. "I was proud of how we bounced back today," said MSUB head coach Derek Waddoups. "In Game 1 we didn't get off to a good start, and we weren't clean early. We ended up playing good baseball, and I was proud that we came back and tied it up."
 
Connor Redmond and Tyler Elliott combined to shut out the Saints in Game 2, and Mitch Winter hit his fourth home run of the season. The Yellowjackets evened their record at 13-13 overall and moved to 4-4 in conference play with Sunday's split. "Redmond was dominant on the mound, and threw a lot of first-pitch strikes," Waddoups said. "He pounded the zone and didn't give them a chance. Then Tyler came in and slammed the door."
 
Saint Martin's moved to 7-18 overall and is now 2-6 in league play.
 
Game 1 – Saint Martin's 4, MSU Billings 3 (7 Innings)
 
Cooper Dulich tied the score at 3-3 with a clutch, two-out RBI-single in the top of the seventh inning that brought James Anderson home from second. Jonathan Shimabukuro led off the bottom of the frame with a walk, and after an Aaron Renaud base hit the Saints were set up for Little to plate the winning run with a fly ball to right field.
 
MSUB starter Jackson Betancourt tossed four innings, while striking out three and walking none in a no-decision. Blake Rainey allowed just one run on one hit in his two innings of work on the mound for the 'Jackets.
 
SMU starter Finnley Butler limited the 'Jackets to one run on four hits, while striking out one and issuing three walks in four innings of work. Brock Wrolstad earned the win, striking out six and allowing two runs on three hits over the final three frames.
 
Hunter Kosmider led off the bottom of the first with a double, and Cody Chavis delivered the first big hit of the day with a two-out, two-run double to give the Saints the early 2-0 advantage.
 
The Yellowjackets were held hitless until Anderson led off the fourth with a double, and Mason Powell followed with a two-out, RBI-double to get MSUB on the board. The Saints got the run right back in the bottom of the fourth, when Ryne Oshiro legged out an infield single to plate Chavis.
 
An error proved costly for the Saints in the top of the sixth, and the 'Jackets took advantage when Ethan Babcock-Barrie punched an RBI-single into right-center that scored Kevin Blair and pulled MSUB within a run down 3-2. The 'Jackets had hopes of forcing extra innings after Dulich's big knock, but the Saints salvaged their first victory of the series with the walk-off win.
 
Anderson was 2-for-3 in Game 1 for the 'Jackets, while Chavis went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and Renaud went 2-for-3.
 
Game 2 – MSU Billings 5, Saint Martin's 0 (7 Innings)
 
Redmond earned his third win of the season, striking out seven, walking two, and scattering four hits throughout his 5 1/3 shutout innings of work.
 
The Yellowjackets struck first, plating a pair of runs in the second on Winter's fourth home run of the season. Redmond worked around a one-out double by Bryant Nakagawa in the bottom of the frame, posting a shutdown inning to preserve the early lead. "Their guy was pitching well, and when he hit that it changed the momentum," Waddoups said regarding Winter's two-run shot. "From there we kept carrying on and Redmond kept doing what he was doing."
 
AJ Wagenmann and Dominick Buso started the fifth inning with back-to-back knocks, and Hayden Foltz came through with an RBI-single that upped MSUB's advantage to 3-0. The 'Jackets got one more run in the sixth, on an RBI-double off the bat of Powell.
 
Dulich added his second RBI of the day in the top of the seventh, with a single to left that brought Diego Hernandez across to make it 5-0.
 
Elliott handled the Saint hitters over the final two frames, retiring 5 of 6 batters that he faced including a strikeout.
 
SMU starter Troy McCormick took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk in his five innings of work. Cole Hatton gave up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and one walk over the final two innings for SMU.
 
Foltz went 2-for-4 to lead the Yellowjackets, while Nakagawa was the only Saint with multiple hits going 2-for-3. "We took good at-bats all day," said Waddoups. "To be able to bounce back and win the series is huge."
 
THE BUZZ: Redmond was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…MSUB is now 59-52-1 all-time against SMU and is 30-25-1 in road games.
 
NEXT WEEK: The 'Jackets make their conference home debut next weekend, hosting Northwest Nazarene University in a four-game series at Dehler Park. Live coverage for next week's games will be available online here.