Lady Jackets’ Ride Ends in Semis (May 14, 2005)
Box Score

CARSON, CA – The NCAA Tournament run ended Saturday for the Montana State-Billings softball team as the Jackets fell, 4-0, to San Francisco State in the regional semifinals.  MSU Billings ended its season at 36-14 overall and a third place finish at the NCAA West Regional.  San Francisco State moved on to take on Chico State in the championship game where the Gators prevailed, 3-2, to force a second championship game on Sunday.

The Lady Jacket bats were silenced by SF State pitcher Sonja Garnett, who went the distance for her third shutout of the tournament.  She scattered just three singles over seven innings to improve to 3-1 for the weekend.  Garnett, who entered Saturday with a 0.54 ERA, went on to defeat Chico State in Saturday’s afternoon championship game and will likely get the call against the Wildcats in Sunday’s second championship game. (Scroll below the photo gallery for the rest of the story.  Photos courtesy of Dr. Gary Gray.)

Garnett out dueled the Yellowjackets’ Joey Ehnes (Sr., Great Falls, MT), who fell to 29-11.  Ehnes gave up four runs, two of them earned, and five hits.  Ehnes and Garnett were locked in a scoreless tie through four and a half innings before the wheels came off for the Jackets.  The Gators put four runs on the board in the bottom half of the fifth inning, and Garnett cruised through the final six Yellowjacket batters in order in the sixth and seventh innings.

Nichole Ramirez led off the Gators’ fifth inning with a double to center.  After Mary Cunnie reached on a throwing error by Yellowjacket shortstop Cami Rainey (Sr., Terreton, ID), Garnett singled to left to score Ramirez from third.  With two outs, Nicole Hartfield drew a walk for the Gators to load the bases.  That’s when disaster struck for the Yellowjackets.

The Gators’ Jordanna Freemer singled to center to bring in Lauren Dowell from third.  Jacket centerfielder Aysha Blatter (So., Richland, WA) tried to make a play at the plate on Amanda Meyer who was trying to score from second, but Blatter sailed the ball over catcher Layne Pavey (Sr., Spokane, WA).  The ball caromed off the wood backstop and rolled down the first base line, allowing Hartfield to score.

The Yellowjackets went down in order in the sixth and seventh innings.  Three straight fly ball outs ended the sixth inning.  Garnett closed the door on the Jackets’ season with a line out, ground out, and fly out in the top of the seventh.

Rainey, Ehnes and Sara Hanley (Sr., Kalispell, MT) each singled to account for the Yellowjackets’ three hits.  Rainey led off the game with a single but was stranded on first.  In the top of the third Rainey drew a walk and advanced to third on an Ehnes single to right.  That threat, the Jackets’ only serious threat of the game, ended with a Rachel Quarnburg (So., Billings, MT) strikeout stranding runners on the corners.  MSUB did not advance a runner past first base after that point.

The Gators’ Ramirez was 2-for-3 with a run scored to lead the San Francisco State offense.  Freemer was 1-for-3 with her single clearing the bases in the fifth inning.  She was credited for one RBI with two runs scoring on the throwing error.

MSU Billings returns to Billings Sunday afternoon at 12:37, arriving on United Airlines.  Nine seniors made their final appearances for the Yellowjackets at the NCAA Tournament.  MSUB will move to the South Central Region in 2006 when they join the Heartland Conference.

Saturday's Tourney Capsules
(Courtesy of CSU-Dominguez Hills Sports Information)

GAME 9: #4 SFSU 4, #3 MSUB 0 – MONTANA STATE BILLINGS ELIMINATED
GAME 10: #4 SFSU 3, #6 CSUC 2 – SAN FRANCISCO STATE FORCES GAME 11 TOMORROW

SAN FRANCISCO STATE ELIMINATES MONTANA STATE BILLINGS, 4-0

CARSON, Calif.--(May 14, 2005)--No. 4 seeded San Francisco State (39-19) used starter Sonja Garnett’s arm and a 4-run 6th inning to blank Montana State Billings, 4-0, and advance to Game 10 of the 2005 NCAA II Far West Regional, hosted by Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The Gators broke open a scoreless game in the 5th inning, sending eight batters to the plate and capitalizing on two MSUB errors (36-14).  Nichole Ramirez began the rally with a leadoff double, and after a MSUB throwing error allowed Mary Cunnie to reach base, a Garnett single to bring home the game’s first run gave SFSU all the momentum they would need in taking a 1-0 lead.  A Jordanna Freemer single with the bases loaded, coupled with a Yellowjacket throwing error, cleared the bases for the Gators, all but deflating MSUB’s will.

Garnett finished strong, retiring the final six batters to earn the win (28-8), while MSUB’s Joey Ehnes tossed six innings, allowing only two earned runs, while collecting one of the Jacket hits in the loss (29-11).

    SFSU next faces the No. 6 seed, Chico State, in the afternoon game, needing a win to force a “winner-take-all” contest on Sunday afternoon.    

SAN FRANCISCO STATE HOLDS ON FOR 3-2 VICTORY AGAINST CHICO STATE TO FORCE DECIDING GAME 11 ON SUNDAY

CARSON, Calif.--(May 14, 2005)--San Francisco State (40-19) rode its momentum from Game 9’s win to topple previously unbeaten Chico State, 3-2, in Game 10 of the 2005 NCAA Far West Softball Regional, hosted by Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The No. 6 seeded Wildcats started quickly, as starting pitcher Katie Stokx’s sacrifice fly brought home leadoff hitter Megan Farnham with the game’s first run after Farnham began the contest with a single up the middle.

San Francisco State, however, would answer in their 3rd-inning at-bat by scoring three runs, capitalizing on a costly CSUC error.  After Vanessa Rodrique and Nicole Hartfield knocked consecutive singles with two out, a Jordana Freemer base on balls loaded the bases for Chrissy Hildebrant, who reached on a Wildcat fielding error to bring home the Gators’ first run of the game.  Kristin Bartholomay next stepped up and promptly hammered a double down the left field line, bringing home Hartfield and Freemer with what proved to be the winning runs.

Garnett, solidifying her reputation as the “Termi-Gator,” held Chico State (33-15) at bay until its final at-bat when a Farnham fielder’s choice brought home Jenny Chacon for the Wildcats’ second run.  Garnett, however, fanned Nickie Jarrett and induced Allie Shirley to line out to left field for the final two outs of the game, forcing Game 11 on Sunday afternoon.

Garnett fanned four Wildcats to pick up her 4th win of the tournament (29-8), while Stokx suffered her first defeat in four games this weekend (14-8).

The two teams again match up at high noon on Sunday, with the winner advancing to represent the Far West Region at the 24th Annual Division II Softball Championships to be held May 19-23, at the James I Moyer Softball Complex in Salem, Virginia.