NAMPA, Idaho – The Montana State University Billings softball team collected it's two biggest wins of the season on Saturday, defeating Northwest Nazarene University in both legs of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader to punch their tickets to the 2025 GNAC Championships.
 
It's the first taste of postseason action for the Yellowjacket (16-26, 11-11 GNAC) since 2015, when the team last qualified for the GNAC Championships, winning that tournament en route to finishing runner-up at the 2015 West Sub-Regional. Needing to win both games against the Nighthawks (23-23, 11-13 GNAC) to leapfrog their opponent, the Yellowjackets would do just that, shutting out NNU in back-to-back games, winning 3-0 in eight innings in the opening game of the day before following that up with a 2-0 win in the regular season finale, sealing their postseason berth on the road.
 
Game One: MSUB 3, NNU 0 (8 innings)
 
MSUB would find themselves in ideal position to score in the top of the first inning, with three of the 'Jackets first four batters walking to reach base. But the 'Jackets would be unable to capitalize, with a fielder's choice seeing a runner thrown out at home before a fly out would see the inning end without a run crossing. From there, the game would turn into a pitchers' duel, with both team's aces putting up scoreless frame after scoreless frame. Emily Watters would allow just five hits in the game, while MSUB's defense would support her well throughout the game. But the Yellowjackets wouldn't total a hit until Wynter Hurst's seventh inning double, forcing the pitching and defense to play with no margin of error. They would do just that, only allowing a pair of runners to reach scoring position, and letting neither of them score to keep the game locked in a scoreless tie at the end of regulation.
 
Extra innings would finally see MSUB's bats come alive though, with Kennedy Dypwick leading off the top of the eighth with a triple to give MSUB it's best chance of scoring since the opening inning. And on the next batter, Marleigh Nieto would plate Dypwick with a sac fly, giving the Yellowjackets the first lead of the game. That rally would shake NNU, who would see the next two batters reach base. Then with two outs on the board, back-to-back singles from Lauren Blaschak and Hurst would score two more runs, giving MSUB a 3-0 lead. Watters would come back out for the eighth, allowing a single but retiring the other three batters she faced, guaranteeing MSUB would remain in the hunt for postseason softball.
 
Watters would throw eight innings, allowing six total hits in the game and walking two, but striking out three batters. The shutout would be her second on season, lowering Watters' season ERA to 4.63 and giving the sophomore her ninth win. Hurst would finish the game 2-4 with one RBI, while Blaschak would hit 1-4 with an RBI. Neito would reach once on a walk and total an RBI, and Kaylin Galvin would score one run, walking twice. Dypwick would hit 1-3 with a run.
 
Game Two: MSUB 2, NNU 0
 
With both team's seasons on the line, the second game would prove to be similarly low scoring to game one. Marleigh Nieto would lead the game off with a double, but MSUB would be unable to push her home. The 'Jackets would have opportunities with singles in the second and third innings as well, but the Nighthawks would continue to strand MSUB's runners. Caitlyn James would come out with her A-game in the circle for the 'Jackets though, allowing just one baserunner in the first three innings to keep the Nighthawk's bats in check.
 
But after Bryn Lucht would lead off the top of the fourth inning for MSUB with a walk, Jazlyn Kalehuawehe would change the game with one swing of the bat. The senior would hit her third home run of the series, blasting a ball to dead centerfield and giving the Yellowjackets a 2-0 lead. That advantage would remain firmly in place, with James continuing to dominate the Nighthawks hitters. MSUB would have one more attempt to score with a pair of hits in the top of the seventh, but would see their final attempt for insurance runs pass with no further damage, with the Yellowjackets maintaining their 2-0 lead with three outs remaining. The Nighthawks would make the final inning interesting though, hitting a single and a double in the final inning to put the winning run at the plate with one out remaining. After Emily Watters retired the second out, NNU would walk the bases loaded to make things even scarier. But Watters would remain cool-headed, recording the third out of the inning with a strikeout to save the game, and guaranteeing MSUB's postseason place.
 
James would throw 6.1 innings for the Yellowjackets, allowing just a pair of hits and walks while striking out two batters. Watters' save would be her first of the season, throwing the final 0.2 innings of the game. Kalehuawehe would hit home run number nine on the season, going 1-2 with a run, a walk, and two RBIs. Meanwhile, Marleigh Nieto would hit 2-4 in the contest, and Kennedy Dypwick would hit 2-3. Lucht would walk once and score a run, while Wynter Hurst would hit 1-2 with a walk.
 
THE BUZZ: Watters would be named Intermountain Health Player of the Game for game one, and Kalehuawehe would be named Player of the Game for game two.
 
UP NEXT: The Yellowjackets will return to Nampa, Idaho for the GNAC Championships next week to continue their season, where they will open the tournament on Thursday, May 1 at 2:30 PM against #10 Western Washington University. MSUB will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed, while the Vikings claimed the No. 1 seed after winning the GNAC Regular Season Title. Live stats for the GNAC Championships will be available here, while live video will be available here. The full GNAC Tournament Homepage can be found online here.