Jackets Drop Series to Incarnate Word (3/8/06)
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SAN ANTONIO, TX – Giving up runs was once again the Achilles Heel for the Montana State-Billings baseball team on Wednesday as the Jackets dropped two games to University of the Incarnate Word, 9-6 and 10-4.  The loss dropped MSU Billings to 0-12 overall and 0-8 in the Heartland Conference.  The Cardinals won for the tenth-straight time to improve to 14-4, 8-0.  UIW, ranked fifth in the region, swept the four-game home stand against the Jackets.

The Yellowjackets entered Wednesday having scored just 15 runs in 10 games.  In the first game of the doubleheader the Jackets had their biggest offensive game of the year with six runs.  However, they allowed seven Cardinals runs in the bottom of the first inning and two more in the fifth.  MSU Billings has allowed six or more runs in every game but one this season.

Nathan Herbig (Jr., Noxon, MT) took the loss to fall to 0-3.  He gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in five innings of work.  Leadoff hitter Mike Wardell (So., Billings, MT) continued his hot play, going 1-for-3 with a run, a stolen base, and three RBI.  Luke Sansaver (Jr., Wolf Point, MT) went 2-for-4.  The Cardinals’ Chris Pacheco got the win, pitching five innings and giving up three earned runs.  Dustin Walls and Paul Brancheau each homered for UIW.

The Cardinals jumped on the Yellowjacket pitching again early in the second game, tallying seven runs in the first three innings of the 10-4 win.  The Jackets’ David Ducharme (Sr., Hamilton, MT) allowed seven hits and six earned runs in three innings to fall to 0-3.  Kyle Slater (Jr., Missoula, MT) led the Yellowjacket offense, going 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI.  The Cardinals’ Blake Weston pitched a complete game four-hitter to improve to 4-1.  Matt Seale, Chris Solis, Jason Miori, and Ryan Watkins each collected two hits apiece for Incarnate Word.

The Yellowjackets will get a three-day break before closing out their Texas trip with a pair of doubleheaders at St. Edward’s University in Austin.  The Jackets and Hilltoppers will meet at noon on Sunday, March 12, and at 11:00 a.m. on Monday.  MSU Billings opens its home schedule on March 17 against Northwest Nazarene University.