LACEY, Wash. – The Montana State University Billings softball team were defeated twice by Saint Martin's University Saturday, coming up short in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
The Yellowjackets (7-14, 1-5 GNAC) were defeated narrowly in the first game of the day by the Saints (12-5, 3-1 GNAC), falling 2-1, before losing 6-2 in the second game of the day. The 'Jackets fell victim to a pair of excellent pitching performances on the day, including a no-hitter from Saint's pitcher Abby Runyon in the second game.
 
Game One: MSUB 1, SMU 2
 
The series opened with a true pitchers duel between Yellowjacket's starter Alyssa Etheridge and a pair of Saints in Tia Ridings and Chloe Leverington. Etheridge let up just two hits in the game, striking out seven batters, while Ridings and Leverington combined to allow five hits and strike out nine. Opportunities were difficult to come by for both teams, meaning the ones that did come up were crucial.
 
Each team struck once in the first inning: Marin Penney opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Lauren Blaschak to give the 'Jackets the early advantage. It wouldn't stay that way for long though, when Britney Patrick's RBI single to center would even things up again. The game would remain that way until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Saints catcher Kekai Schultz would break the tie with a home run to left field, plating the winning run in the game. The Yellowjacket's had opportunities to come back: Etheridge didn't allow another runner to reach base after the fourth, and MSUB found themselves with two runners on base in the fifth inning. But after the Saints switched from Ridings to Leverington, they would escape the jam and see out the victory.
 
"I thought we came out strong in game one," said Yellowjacket's head coach Lisa McKinney. "Alyssa kept hitters off the bases, and our defense did a good job behind her. We outhit SMU in the game, but just couldn't get the clutch hits we needed during the game."
 
Penney finished 1-2 in the game with MSUB's lone RBI. Shelby Marquardt batted 1-3, as did Teagan Seeton. Jazlyn Kalehuawehe was 2-3 with a pair of singles in the game.
 
Game 2: MSUB 2, SMU 6
 
The second leg of Saturday's doubleheader was headlined by Abby Runyon's no-hitter and some excellent defense from the Saints backing her up. Runyon threw a complete seven innings, striking out four while allowing three walks. Offensively SMU did their damage early, scoring five of their six runs in the first three innings. Despite just seven hits in the game, the Saints benefitted from four MSUB errors in the early goings to help keep innings alive.
 
The 'Jackets didn't go out quietly, however. As a number of pinch hitters entered the game in the final inning, MSUB was able to force baserunners and score a pair of runs. Kayli Mueller was hit by a pitch to lead things off, and after back-to-back walks from Marin Penney and Kayla Stoker, Shelby Martin broke the shutout when Runyon was unable to handle a ball hit back to the pitcher. Jazlyn Kalehuawehe nearly made it a one run game when she followed that with a deep fly ball to left field, but would have to settle for the sacrifice fly when the ball came up just short. Runyon retired the next two batters to finish the game without allowing a hit, and the Saints got off to a 2-0 against the Yellowjackets in the series.
 
"We started off game two shaky," said McKinney. "The early errors to start the game didn't help, but we cleaned things up by the end. Runyon was pitching great, but I'm proud of our seventh inning, especially our pinch hitters who came into the game. They made good adjustments, and we had a shot to rally at the end."
 
THE BUZZ: Etheridge was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day after her game one pitching performance.
 
UP NEXT: The 'Jackets have two more games in their series against the Saints, scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 19 at 11 AM (12 PM MST). Live video will be available here, and live statistics will be available here.