BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State University Billings softball team played it's first games of the season in friendly confines Friday, falling twice to Saint Martin's University in both legs of a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader.
 
Opening their first home series of the year with a doubleheader on Friday afternoon, the Yellowjackets (2-27, 0-6 GNAC) would battle hard against the Saints (20-12, 5-1 GNAC), putting together some promising moments in front of a home crowd. The squad would be unable to pull out a win however, with a potent Saint Martin's offense proving difficult to limit for MSUB in both games, falling 8-1 in the first game before falling 14-4 in the following contest.
 
Game One: SMU 8, MSUB 1
 
The teams would battle evenly across the opening two innings of action, with Avery Gray throwing two shutout innings in the circle and striking out a pair of batters to keep the game set in a scoreless tie. But the Saints would find a break with a two-run home run that helped set the tone for the top of the third inning, where the Saints would add two more runs on a pair of RBI hits to take a 4-0 lead. MSUB would have an excellent chance to respond in the bottom of the third though, with back-to-back singles from Cazz Rankosky and Josie Theilen, with the 'Jackets loading up the bases two batters later after an error with just one out in the inning. Grace Hood would drive home Rankosky with an RBI single to get MSUB on the board, but the following batter would see the 'Jackets ground into a double play, with Saint Martin's escaping the jam with the lead.
 
After two more scoreless innings from both teams, the long ball would hurt the 'Jackets once again as Saint Martin's sent a home run over the left centerfield fence with two outs in the inning. Then in the seventh inning, the Saints would blast a three-run bomb to dead center, building their cushion even further. The 'Jackets meanwhile would collect just a single hit over the final three innings of action, coming up short in their opening game of the afternoon.
 
Theilen would finish the game 2-4 at the plate to become the only 'Jacket with multiple hits, while Hurst and Rankosky would each go 1-3, reaching base additionally with a walk each. Rankosky would collect the team's only run, while Hood would go 1-3 with an RBI, and Destiny Villas batted 1-3 as well. Gray would go 5.2 innings in the circle, striking out four batters for the 'Jackets.
 
Game Two: SMU 14, MSUB 4 (5 innings)
 
The two teams would trade a pair of scoreless frames in the first, but a nightmare second inning would put MSUB behind in a major way. Saint Martin's would capitalize on four MSUB errors in the top of the second, while totaling nine hits and reaching base twice more on a walk and hit by pitch, seeing the team finish with 13 runs in the inning to take a commanding lead. MSUB would show signs of life in the bottom of the third, with Cazz Rankosky leading the inning off with a home run to right field, the first of her collegiate career. She would kick off a four-run inning, which saw Grace Hood add another run to the scoreboard with an RBI double, before Danica Butler would become the second Yellowjacket to hit their first career homer in the inning, blasting a ball to center to finish off the scoring in the inning. But it wouldn't spark a full comeback, with the Saints keeping MSUB off the scoreboard for the rest of the game while adding on an insurance run on their way to a runaway run rule victory to finish off the day.
 
Butler and Rankosky would each bat 1-2 with a run, while Butler totaled two runs and Rankosky scored one. Butler would also throw three innings at pitcher, striking out a pair of batters, before Ashley Akers would replace her for the final two frames, allowing just three hits and a single unearned run, while singling in her lone plate appearance Hood would bat 1-3 with a run and an RBI, while Cami Hearn went 1-3.
 
THE BUZZ: Theilen was selected as Intermountain Health Player of the Game for game one, while Rankosky was selected for game two.
 
UP NEXT: MSUB will finish off it's series against Saint Martin's on Saturday, March 28, with another doubleheader, with games set for 12 and 2 PM at Yellowjacket Softball Field. Live video can be found on the GNAC Network, while live statistics are available here. Tickets for the game are available to be purchased online here.