MONMOUTH, Oreg. – The Montana State University Billings softball team won their first GNAC game of the season while splitting the Friday doubleheader to the Western Oregon Wolves.
 
The Yellowjackets (7-16-1, 1-3 GNAC) opened the day with a nail-biter, going to extra innings but eventually losing to the Wolves (11-8, 3-1 GNAC) by a final of 5-4 in 11 innings. The 'Jackets ended the four-game series on a high note, picking up the win 6-3 to earn their first conference win of the season.
 
Game One: WOU 5, MSUB 4 (11 inn.)
 
The 'Jackets had a slow start to game three of the series, but quickly responded in the 5^th to tie the score up 2-2. Marin Penney came across in the 6^th inning to grab a 3-2 lead for the 'Jackets, but the Wolves would quickly respond in the home half of the inning to tie it back up.
 
The 8^th and 9^th innings were pitchers duels as the teams kept the score knotted at 3. Alexis Tovar would give MSUB a lead in the 10^th with an infield groundout that would score Claire Bagnell. However, the Wolves would find a way to send it to the 11^th after an RBI single. In the 11^th inning, the 'Jackets advanced Penney to third, but could not get her 60 more feet to score. The Wolves would pick up the walk-off win as Franklin singled to score the runner from second.
 
"The team came out with a lot of energy and we played a good GNAC softball game," said MSUB head coach Lisa McKinney. "I was proud how we fought back from behind and took the lead. Unfortunately, we were one hit short of coming up with the win, but I'm very proud of the adjustment from yesterday."
 
Despite being out hit 14-5, the 'Jackets showed grit and played solid defense to give themselves opportunities to win the game. Kaylin Galvin and Tovar had an RBI each for the 'Jackets, while Penney led the team in hits, going 2-5.  The 'Jackets were patient at the plate, picking up a total of 6 walks led by Tovar and Jazlyn Kalehuawehe with two each. Caitlyn James pitched the entire 10.1 innings for the 'Jackets, hurling 130 pitches and only allowing 3 earned runs. James struck out four batters and left seven Wolves stranded on base.
 
The 11-inning game was the second extra inning game of the season for the Yellowjackets, having went to eight innings once last weekend in Florida. James' 10.1 innings pitched is the most of her young Yellowjacket career for a single game.
 
Game Two: MSUB 6, WOU 3
 
Despite dropping game one of the doubleheader in dramatic fashion, the 'Jackets were calm, cool and collected for game two, quickly jumping out to a 3-0 lead after two innings. McKinney's team was determined to bounce back and head back to Billings with a win and they did just that, defeating the Wolves by a final score of 6-3.
 
"We took our energy from game 1 and came out swinging to score early," said McKinney. "It was an all-around team win with both Shelby (Wasilewski) and CJ (Caitlyn James) pitching a great game. The defense made some big time plays and the offense found ways to get on base and move runners around. Claire (Bagnell) led the team with her multiple line drives and was followed closely by Teagan (Seeton)."
 
Claire Bagnell dominated game two at the plate, going 4-4 with 2 RBI, 2 runs, and 2 doubles. Bagnell used her two RBIs to extend the 'Jackets lead, doubling in Riley Warden in the 4^th inning to extend the lead to 4-2, and singling in Lauren Blaschak in the 5^th to increase the lead to 6-2. The 'Jackets had 12 hits during the win, led by Bagnell's four and closely followed by Seeton going 3-4 with 1 RBI, Tovar going 2-3 with 1 RBI, and Blaschak and Malia Cavan each picking up a hit.
 
Freshman pitcher Shelby Wasilewski got the start and picked up the win, going 5.0 innings and only allowing two earned runs while striking out two, keeping the Wolves offense in check. Even after throwing 130 pitches in game one, James appeared again to secure the win, going 2.0 innings, giving up only two hits and no runs. James picked up the save on the day, adding 24 pitches to her Friday total.
 
THE BUZZ: James was selected as the Intermountain Health Player of the Game in game one, while Bagnell was selected in game two… The Yellowjackets picked up their first GNAC win of the year during their first conference series… Bagnell had a career day at the plate, registering new career highs in hits (4), doubles (2) and RBIs (2).
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets head back to Billings after an 11-day road trip, playing 14 games in 7 total days. They will head to Ellensburg, Washington for their second GNAC series of the year, facing off at Central Washington University against the Wildcats on March 15^th and 16^th. Live video can be found here and live stats can be found here. The 'Jackets next home game will be on Friday, April 5^th, and their full schedule can be found here.