BILLINGS, Mont. — The Montana State University Billings baseball team fell 13-4 to Colorado School of Mines Saturday afternoon at Dehler Park. The Yellowjackets celebrated their 13 seniors before the game - one of the most accomplished senior classes in program history

The Yellowjackets (26-21) totaled nine hits in the contest, with five players recording hits, while Mines (18-31) used a 16-hit attack and a pair of home runs to pull away and grab the series finale.

MSUB jumped out early, plating two runs in the first inning before adding two more in the third to briefly hold a 4-3 lead. Jason Wright and River Smith each recorded two-hit games to pace the offense, while Jack Nehler doubled and scored a run. Nate McDonald drove in a run, and Kaden Bertram also added an RBI. Nick Reed reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.

Mines responded with a five-run stretch across the fourth and sixth innings to regain control, then broke the game open with a four-run ninth inning.

On the mound, Cade Queen took the loss, allowing six runs on eight hits over 4.0 innings with four strikeouts and one walk. Hayden Mullins tossed 4.0 innings in relief, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits with three strikeouts. Andrew White recorded two outs, allowing four runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Owen Combs closed the final out with a strikeout.

Head coach Derek Waddoups said, "It was a great weekend celebrating our seniors and the accomplishments they have had individually and as a team. I am grateful we were able to send them out with a series win."

The 'Jackets concluded a non-conference weekend to wrap up the regular season and will now turn their focus to the GNAC championships. MSUB, along with Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon, will start their quest for a GNAC crown on Thursday, May 7th in Nampa, ID. Waddoups added, "I like where we are as a team heading into the tournament winning our last four series. I look forward to the opportunity to compete for a championship with this special group of players." 

UP NEXT: MSUB enters the tournament as the #2 seed and will face #3 Western Oregon in game one at 1pm on Thursday, May 7th. They will come back for the night-cap against #1 Northwest Nazarene at 7pm and will need to grab at least one win on the day to advance to championship Friday. All games will be streamed on the GNAC Network with live stats here.

River Smith was named the Intermountain Health Player of the Game after going 2-5 with an RBI.