BILLINGS, Mont. – Riding a pair of standout pitching performances and a late rally on Saturday at the WOU Baseball Field, the Montana State University Billings baseball team split a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader with host Western Oregon University.
 
After the Wolves narrowly claimed the opener 2-1, the Yellowjackets managed to score six times in the final inning of the series to claim a 7-2 triumph in the nightcap. "We talked going into Game 4 about not rolling over," said MSUB head coach Derek Waddoups after his team dropped its first three conference contests of the year. "It would be easy for guys to fold, but I loved how guys competed and stayed positive with each other in the dugout."
 
Connor Redmond authored a complete game to win the series finale, striking out eight and walking none while allowing just one run in one of his best starts in an MSUB uniform. Freshman Jackson Betancourt surrendered just one earned run in the hard-luck loss in Game 1, while Dominick Buso picked an opportune moment for his first collegiate home run as it got MSUB on the board in the sixth inning of Game 2. "The Buso home run gave us a lot of energy, and there was a ton of good situational hitting in that big seventh inning," Waddoups said on his team's late rally. "That home run really changed the momentum, and you felt the whole thing shift. That was big, and it created the big inning in the seventh as well."
 
Buso was 3-for-5 with three runs scored on the day, and Bodee Wright had a hit in each game on a day where the 'Jackets totaled just 10 hits. MSUB moved its record to 9-11 overall with the split and is now 1-3 in conference play.
 
The Wolves also managed just 10 hits in the well-pitched doubleheader, with no WOU player collecting more than two hits on the day. Western Oregon improved to 9-7 overall and is now 3-1 in league play after Saturday's split.
 
Game 1 – Western Oregon 2, MSU Billings 1
 
The Yellowjackets' lone error in the doubleheader cost them a run in the bottom of the first inning, as Spencer Weston came around to score on a bad throw to make the score 1-0. The Yellowjackets got one back in the top of the third inning on a Hayden Foltz RBI-single, but that was all the scoring they could manage against a collective WOU effort on the mound.
 
Five different Wolves combined to limit the 'Jackets to the lone run on five hits, while striking out 10 and walking none. Parker Johnson did the majority of the leg work, striking out four and giving up three hits in 4 1/3 innings of work.
 
Betancourt was equally as impressive in his 6 1/3 innings of work, striking out five and scattering five hits while walking just two. Tyler Elliott kept the Yellowjackets alive with 1 2/3 near spotless innings of work to finish the game, striking out 3 of 6 batters that he faced.
 
MSUB's best chance to pull even came in the top of the fifth inning, when Buso laced a one-out double to center and advanced to third on a ground out by Wright. Johnson bore down and ended the inning with a strikeout, keeping the one-run lead intact.
 
WOU's winning hit came in the bottom of the third, when Derek Maiben punched a one-out, RBI-single into right field to bring Levi Cummings across the plate and make the score 2-1. WOU had more chances to add on – in the fourth when it loaded the bases, and in the seventh when it put two runners in scoring position – but Betancourt navigated out of the first jam before Elliott stranded both inherited runners aboard. "Betancourt did a great job of pitching in the zone and creating weak contact," Waddoups said. "He stayed composed and showed real growth from his previous outings. Elliott came in, threw three pitches for strikes, and commanded zone. He was overpowering today, and that's what we need out of our bullpen is guys who attack in the zone."
 
Game 2 – MSU Billings 7, Western Oregon 2 (7 Innings)
 
Buso, a fifth-year senior, drove a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left field to lead off the top of the sixth inning, breaking a scoreless tie and bringing the Yellowjacket dugout to life. Although WOU tied it on a sacrifice fly by Weston in the bottom of the inning, Buso's big hit fueled the momentum for the game-winning rally in the seventh.
 
Redmond shook off a solo home run by John Stark in the bottom of the seventh, and tied together his first collegiate complete game needing just 73 pitches to get through his seven frames of work. "Redmond threw an awesome game as well," Waddoups said. "He showed a lot of grit, especially early on when we weren't going well. It was a pitcher's duel, and he was able to finish it."
 
Wolves ace Mike Peterson struck out four in his six innings of work, allowing just one run on two hits in his efficient 61-pitch outing. "You're going up against the Pitcher of the Year, and you know you're going to have to play outstanding," Waddoups said on facing Peterson, the 2021 GNAC Pitcher of the Year, in the series finale. "Redmond kept pounding the zone, and that was a big start by him. To get one on the road was huge. We kept fighting together as a team with our back against the wall, and that's a good win to come away with."
 
Tyler Godfrey led off the fruitful seventh inning with a double into the right-field corner, and 10 batters later the Yellowjackets had done enough to emerge with their first conference win of the year. Kevin Blair drew a big nine-pitch walk, AJ Wagenmann and James Anderson each had sacrifice flies in the inning, and Wright, Carson Green, and Foltz each also drove in a run.
 
THE BUZZ: Buso was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…the Yellowjackets are now 35-87 all-time against the Wolves.
 
COMING UP: MSUB returns to Billings to make its 2022 home debut, with a non-conference doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday at noon against University of Mary. The games, which were originally scheduled to be played Wednesday, were moved up one day and to Pirtz Park in hopes of avoiding an unfavorable weather forecast next week.