BILLINGS, Mont. – Playing in its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference series in two weeks, the Montana State University Billings softball team took two losses to the visiting Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on the first day of a four-game series at Avitus Group Stadium on Friday afternoon.
 
"I thought we made a good adjustment after game one," MSUB head coach Lisa McKinney said. "We talked about not giving up so many long balls in game one, and I thought Jenna Kister did a really good job of that. I thought she did a really good job as she kept going after batters. There were a couple plays towards the end of game two – I thought that Brie Frazier and Jazlyn Kalehuawehe had a good chance of getting hits through – and we had really hard line drives to infielders. We're doing the right things and we're hoping to find more holes tomorrow."
 
The Yellowjackets (11-26, 4-10 GNAC) and Nighthawks (19-15, 7-3 GNAC) hit seven home runs combined in an 8-3 game one, then MSUB finished the day with a 6-1 defeat in game two. MSUB got its runs from freshman infielder Jazlyn Kalehuawehe, who homered twice in game one and went 2-for-6 on the day. Senior catcher/outfielder Skyler Jenkins hit the 13^th home run of her career in game one, and she would also finish 2-for-6 and an RBI on the day with a run scored in each game.
 
QUICK HITS

• Jazlyn Kalehuawehe was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for going 2-for-3 in game one with two home runs and 2 RBIs. Friday was not only the first multi-hit game in Kalehuawehe's career, but also the second time a Yellowjacket has hit two home runs in a single game (the other was Lauren Blaschak against Washburn on Feb. 11).
• Skyler Jenkins went 2-for-6 across both games and hit her third home run of the year – and the 13^th in her career – in the fourth inning of game one.
• Jenna Kister tied her career-high with eight strikeouts while pitching a complete game in game two. Her final statline was five earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and four walks in seven innings pitched.

 
Game 1: NNU 8, MSUB 3
 
In a game that featured seven home runs combined between both teams, the Yellowjackets struck first in the bottom of the first inning when Jazlyn Kalehuawehe took the second pitch she saw over the center-field fence. The score would hold for the next two innings, as starter Alyssa Etheridge and the MSUB defense stranded a NNU baserunner on third in the second before the Nighthawks took a 4-1 lead in the third.
 
Another MSUB home run – this time from senior Skyler Jenkins – highlighted the third inning. On the first pitch of her at-bat, Jenkins homered to left field and fired up the 'Jacket dugout as MSUB pulled within two runs of NNU.
 
"I thought Skyler made a really good adjustment after her first at-bat," McKinney said. "She really shortened up and got quick to the ball. She was hitting the ball hard all day, and I think she's doing a good job of finding her pitch to hit."
 
Yet the Nighthawks took a 7-2 lead with back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning from starting pitcher Sidney Booth and Maia McNicoll, the latter of which ended Etheridge's day. Julia Qualteri took over in the circle and limited the damage; the sophomore didn't give up her first hit until the seventh inning and she stranded two baserunners over the next 2.2 innings.
 
"Julia came in and kept the ball low, which got us a lot of ground balls and fly balls," McKinney said. "It was great to see her come in, settle in quickly and find the umpire's zone as well. I thought she did a good job of throwing low and keeping the batters to hitting grounders."
 
The defense rallied behind Qualteri in the sixth inning, as NNU catcher Kellcie Adams tried turning a one-out single to center field into a double. However, Jenkins' throw to shortstop Kilee Imada was well-timed, and Imada tagged Adams out well before she slid into second base. Qualteri would strike out the next batter on four pitches to complete a scoreless sixth inning.
 
"Skyler did a good job of getting to the ball at the fence quickly and getting it to Kilee," McKinney said. "Kilee put on a great tag to get the out, which was a huge morale-booster for our defense."
 
Kalehuawehe helped MSUB rally once more in the bottom of the frame, as she worked a 2-2 count before hitting a towering home run to right-center field. Her second home run not only pulled MSUB within three, 7-3, but also marked her first multi-hit game of her career.
 
"I thought Jazzy did a good job of staying short to the ball and attacking pitches that she could drive hard," McKinney said. "We talked about getting to that inside pitch, and I thought she did a good job of that later of the game as well. Overall, she did really well at the plate – she's hitting the ball hard."
 
The Nighthawks would take the run back in the top of the seventh off an RBI double, yet Qualteri locked back in and ended the inning with two swinging strikeouts. Down to their final three outs, freshman Lauren Blaschak got aboard on a one-out single to center field, then Marin Penney replaced her on a fielder's choice, yet that would be all for MSUB in the 8-3 loss.
 
Etheridge (4-9) would be credited with the loss after going 4.1 innings, striking out four batters and fiving up seven earned runs on eight hits while walking two batters. NNU's Sidney Booth (10-8) would get the complete-game win, striking out 10 batters and giving up three earned runs on four hits while issuing one walk.
 
Game 2: NNU 6, MSUB 1
 
In game two, NNU scored one run apiece in the first three innings before breaking open the game with a three-run sixth inning. Aside from giving up two solo home runs, MSUB starter Jenna Kister worked quickly through the second and third innings, recording six strikeouts and relying on Brie Frazier tracking down balls in center field. Yet NNU would break open the game on a four-hit, three-run fourth inning that put MSUB behind 6-0, despite two more strikeouts from Kister that tied her single-game career high.
 
Jenkins broke up Tori Hensley's no-hitter in the bottom of the fourth, as she singled to third base to lead off the inning. After Jenkins moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, Frazier's sacrifice bunt sent Jenkins from second to third. But NNU would be called for obstruction as Jenkins made the run from third to home, and MSUB would get on the board to make it a 6-1 game.
 
Kister and the defense would hold the Nighthawks scoreless for the final three innings. Frazier tracked down two fly balls to center field to lead off the fifth before NNU would strand a baserunner, then the Yellowjacket defense would nearly turn a double play in the sixth inning. The scoreless seventh was another quick inning – this time with help from left fielder Shelby Marquardt's cutoff throw to second baseman Mo Quimby that held NNU to a one-out single – but MSUB went down in order on a bevy of hard line drives at Nighthawk defenders.
 
"I thought Jenna did a good job of attacking the zone all game," McKinney said. "She did a good job of always fighting back – even on her walks, she was really close to the zone. I thought she did a good job of attacking the batters and after the first couple of home runs, she did a really good job of trusting her defense to make plays."
 
Kister (2-7) would be credited with the loss after pitching in her third-straight complete game of the season; she had eight strikeouts, four walks and gave up five earned runs on seven hits. NNU's Tori Hensley (5-3) pitched a complete game, giving up only one earned run on one hit while striking out five batters.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB closes out the series with NNU tomorrow at noon. Livestream and live stat links can be found on the softball team's schedule page at msubsports.com.