NAMPA, Idaho – The Montana State University Billings softball team is set to open it's run at the 2025 GNAC Softball Championships, hosted by Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.
 
The Yellowjackets (16-26, 11-11 GNAC) enter the tournament as the No. 4 Seed, and will open the double elimination competition with a matchup against No. 1 Seed and #9 Western Washington University.
 
2025 GNAC Softball Championships
 
Tournament Schedule (All times Mountain)
 
Thursday, May 1
Game 1: No. 2 Seed Saint Martin's vs. No. 3 Seed Simon Fraser, 12 PM
Game 2: No. 1 Seed Western Washington vs. No. 4 Seed Montana State Billings, 2:30 PM
 
Friday, May 2
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 10 AM
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (Elimination Game), 12:30 PM
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (Elimination Game), 3 PM
 
Saturday, May 3
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 11 AM
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 30 minutes following game 6
 
Tickets: Tickets are available online here.

Live Video: Live video streams of all of the Yellowjacket's GNAC Championships games will be available at GNAC.tv.
 
Live Stats: Click Here.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The 'Jackets qualified for the GNAC Tournament for just the second time in the program's history since the inception of the GNAC Softball Championships in 2013. But MSUB has found success before in it's previous trip, winning the 2015 GNAC Tournament Championship. The team has also has a history of finding success as a lower seeded team, winning that tournament title after qualifying as the No. 3 Seed.
 
HOW THE YELLOWJACKETS GOT HERE: MSUB qualified for the conference championships after finishing with an 11-11 record in GNAC play, the team's highest win total since 2018. MSUB would finish the season on a tear, finishing the season on a 4-2 run to jump Northwest Nazarene to jump into the last postseason spot. This included a season-ending series against the Nighthawks, where the Yellowjackets took the final three wins in the series to overtake NNU on tiebreaker to qualify for the GNAC Championships, and cement a season of growth under first year head coach Joe Yegge.
 
POWER PLAYS: On the season thus far, MSUB has totaled more home runs than any other team in the GNAC, totaling 48 home runs as a unit, 15 more than any other GNAC team. The squads .504 slugging percentage also ranks higher than any other team in the conference, proving the Yellowjackets are more than capable of changing the course of a game with just one swing of the bat.
 
Chief among the Yellowjackets crew of home run hitters is conference leader Bryn Lucht, who has totaled 14 long balls on the season. Lucht's 39 RBIs also lead the team, with the sophomore also totaling a .350 batting average, .457 on base percentage, and a 1.243 OPS. Behind her, Jazlyn Kalehuawehe ranks second on the 'Jackets with nine home runs, while Kaylin Galvin has hit six, Avery Gray has hit five, and Kennedy Dypwick has hit four home runs, all ranking inside the top 20 in the conference.
 
FINDING A WAY ON BASE: MSUB has more ways of hurting a team than just the home run ball though. The team has excelled in collecting all kinds of extra base hits, with their 57 doubles ranking fifth in the GNAC, and the team's ten triples ranking second. As a group, MSUB holds a batting average of .296, fourth in the GNAC, with leadoff hitter Marleigh Nieto leading the 'Jackets with a batting average of .391, and tying fifth in the GNAC. In addition, MSUB has totaled a team on base percentage of .376, reaching base additionally with 131 walks. Even when the bats aren't hot, the Yellowjacket's vision at the plate is more than capable of putting runners on the basepaths to create trouble for the opposition.
 
PITCHING STRONG TO END THE YEAR: The Yellowjackets pitching staff has put together a 3.82 team ERA since the calendar turned to April, finishing the last month of the season on a hot streak. MSUB has put together six games where they've allowed less one run or less in six games during the month. That total includes three shutouts, including back-to-back shutouts to end the regular season. Chief among that success is Emily Watters, who has totaled an ERA of 3.03 against GNAC opponents on the season, guiding MSUB to six wins. The sophomore's season ending stretch has been even better over the final three weeks of the season, finishing the year with a 1.55 ERA over the final three weeks of the season.
 
AWARD PEDIGREE: The Yellowjackets were awarded seven All-GNAC honorees following the conference's announcement Tuesday, tying for the second most selections in team history and the most the team has received since the 2021 season. Leading the pack was Bryn Lucht and Marleigh Nieto, who were both named All-GNAC First Team selections. Along with them, Wynter Hurst was named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year, along with earning an All-GNAC Second Team selection after hitting .328, totaling 23 runs, 22 RBIs, ten doubles, four triples, and one homer on the season. MSUB would also total four Honorable Selections, with Jazlyn Kalehuawehe, Kaylin Galvin, Emily Watters, and Kennedy Dypwick all receiving awards. All seven of MSUB's recipients were each All-GNAC selections for the first time in their careers.
 
OPPOSITION OVERVIEW: MSUB has proven itself capable of competing with each of the other GNAC Championship qualifying teams this season. The 'Jackets can count themselves as one of the few teams who have bested Western Washington on the season, handing the Vikings their most recent conference loss with a 2-0 win over the Vikings on April 11. The Yellowjackets also claimed a series victory over No. 3 Seed Simon Fraser University earlier this season, defeating the Red Leafs in three of the team's four games this season. While the 'Jackets did go 0-3 against No. 2 Seed Saint Martin's, MSUB did challenge the Saints on the road, staying close throughout the majority of their final two games against the Saints.