BILLINGS, Mont. – Montana State University Billings capped its regular season in style, routing Central Washington 11-2 on Senior Day to earn a series split and secure their 30th win of the season. The Yellowjackets (30-18, 21-11 GNAC) battled through a tightly contested four-game series with the Wildcats (24-24, 15-17 GNAC), dropping a 14-inning opener 6-4, bouncing back with a 7-1 victory in game two, narrowly losing 7-6 in game three, and finishing strong in the finale.
HEAR FROM COACH WADDOUPS: "I was really proud of the way we pitched this weekend; our staff did an outstanding job throughout the series. We had a lot of great offensive performances from Blaszak and Kirshenbaum among others. I'm excited to see what our offense can do at the GNAC Tournament. It was great to get a 30-win season as we head into postseason play. This group has an outstanding collection of leaders and a huge class of senior leadership. It's special to be apart of it and we will see you in Ellensburg!"
GAME ONE: MSUB 4; CWU 6 (14 Innings)
Highlighting game one was
Jackson Betancourt making his 47
th start of his career, topping not only the MSUB record books but also topping the GNAC history books in career starts. Betancourt made his final appearance at Dehler Park memorable, going six complete innings with five strikeouts while allowing just two runs and one walk. Equally as impressive was
Hayden Mullins who threw the next 7.1 innings in the extra inning battle. Mullins set a career high with 8 strikeouts while allowing just six hits.
Doing the heavy lifting on the offensive side of the ball was
Zack Blaszak who posted four hits, a pair of RBIs, and a walk to add.
Ryker Fortier also posted a multi-hit game, tallying three hits and one run. Extra base hits came from
Jarret Elmer who had a triple in the bottom of the fourth inning, and
Bodee Wright who had a double with two RBIs and a run. The Yellowjackets did all of their damage in the second and fourth innings, scoring three in the bottom half of the second inning on Wrights double and a two RBI single from Blaszak. Their lone run in the fourth came from Wrigth bringing Elmer home following his triple.
GAME TWO: MSUB 7; CWU 1
Game two's victory came largely from a masterclass outing from junior transfer
Brennen Chappell. The Kimberly, ID native set a career high of eight strikeouts, set a career high in pitches thrown with 120, and tied his career high in innings pitched with 7.0. Chappell picked up his third win of the season while allowing zero walks, six hits, and one run in his complete game performance.
On the offensive attack, Blaszak and
Kaden Kirshenbaum led the charge, combining for five hits, four runs, three RBIs, three doubles, and a triple. Also contributing was
Ryan Jeffrey who had an RBI, and a run,
Jack Nehler and
Nate May who each had a pair of walks and a run. Similar to the first game, the 'Jackets scored in bulk, scoring five in the third and two in the fourth. In the bottom of the third inning, May got MSUB on the board by scoring on a wild pitch, followed by a two RBI triple from Kirshenbaum, an RBI double from Jeffrey, and an RBI walk from May. In the bottom of the fourth, Kirshenbaum struck again with an RBI double off the wall and came around to score on a Wildcat error.
GAME THREE: MSUB 6; CWU 7
The third game of the series saw three quality outings from
Cy Miller,
Andy Evans, and
Bodee Wright. In his 23
rd start of his career, Miller went six complete while allowing just six hits, three runs, and one walk. Miller also posted four strikeouts in his outing, picking up his 100
th career strikeout in a Yellowjacket uniform. Out of the bullpen, Evans dished one strikeout while allowing just one earned run in his three complete innings of work while Wright closed out the ninth with no hits, no runs, and no walks.
Blaszak stayed hot in the third game of the series, picking up his ninth straight multi-hit game. The senior shortstop went 2-4 with one RBI and one double while Wright was close behind, going 2-5 with two runs, one RBI, and two doubles. Making their money with the long ball,
Ryker Fortier and
Jarret Elmer both went big fly in the bottom of the sixth, with Fortier's being the first of his MSUB career.
Blaszak got the Yellowjackets on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning, followed by three more runs in the bottom frame of the fifth. Also in the bottom of the fifth, Jeffrey's double helped him reach 100 career hits in an MSUB uniform, moving him into the top 25 for career hits in the program record books. Wright started the scoring with an RBI double, followed by an RBI single from
Jack Nehler who came around to score on a throwing error.
HEAR FROM COACH WADDOUPS: "
Kevin McClellan had a great spot start for us in game four to give us a chance to win, and
Gunner Thompson was lights out in relief. I was also pleased to see our seniors, McClellan, Thompson,
Cole Bertram, and
Cole Bakker finish out the regular season on a high note on the mound."
GAME FOUR: MSUB 11; CWU 2
Four seniors capped off the series with impressive outings on the hill, leading the 'Jackets to a series sweep and a senior day victory. In his third start of his career,
Kevin McClellan led the way to pick up his first win of the season. The Anacortes, WA native dished a pair of strikeouts while allowing just three hits, one run, and one walk in his four complete innings of work. In the fifth,
Gunner Thompson silenced the Wildcat lineup, sitting them down in order while striking out the side. Closing it out was
Cole Bertram and
Cole Bakker who combined for 2.0 innings with two strikeouts.
The Yellowjacket lineup saw three players with multiple hits in the final regular season game of the season. Jeffrey led the way, going 2-3 with two runs, one RBI, and one double. Also with two hits was Nehler who went 2-4 with a run and two RBIs, and Kirshenbaum who also went 2-4 with a run and a pair of RBIs. Scoring in bulk seemed to be the recipe for the 'Jackets over the weekend, scoring four in the first, six in the third, and adding an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.
Kirshenbaum scratched across the first run of the game with an RBI single with Jeffrey following suit. Two more came across ing the bottom of the first on a two RBI single from the bat of
Nate McDonald. In the bottom of the third, McDonald struck again with an RBI single, followed by Fortier scoring on a Wildcat error. Wright kept the rally going with another RBI single, Nehler upped it with a two RBI base hit, and Kirshenbaum capped it with yet another RBI knock. In the bottom of the sixth, Bleggi capped off the scoring by drawing an RBI bases loaded walk.
SERIES STATISTIC LEADERS
H: Zack Blaszak (9);
Kaden Kirshenbaum (6)
R: Zack Blaszak (4);
Bodee Wright (4)
RBI: Kaden Kirshenbaum (5);
Bodee Wright (4)
IP: Hayden Mullins (7.1);
Brennen Chappell (7.0)
SO: Brennen Chappell (8);
Hayden Mullins (8)
W/S: Brennen Chappel (W);
Kevin McClellan (W)
THE BUZZ: Zack Blaszak was named Intermountain Health Player of the Game for game one,
Brennen Chappell for game two,
Bodee Wright for game three, and
Kevin McClellan for game four.
UP NEXT: The Montana State University Billings baseball team heads to the GNAC Tournament for the first time since 2022. The Yellowjackets will face off against the host team, Central Washington, on May 8
th in Ellensburg, WA at CWU Baseball Field. Live statistics for the GNAC Tournament can be found
here, the live stream link can be found
here, and tickets can be purchased
here.
