2006 Softball Wrap Up

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings softball team faced a number of unknowns in 2006, and for the most part the results were encouraging.  With a new coach, a new conference, and a new lineup, the Yellowjackets posted a 20-31 overall record.  They were an even .500 (12-12) in the highly competitive Heartland Conference, which sent three teams to the NCAA South Central Regional including one team that advanced to the regional championship game.

After graduating nine seniors from the 2005 NCAA Tournament team, the Yellowjackets got off to a rocky start in 2006.  With 14 new players, including 10 freshmen, the Jackets started 3-8 at a pair of tournaments in Phoenix.  The highlight of that week was a 7-2 upset of seventh-ranked Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.  Freshman pitcher Lisa Moore struck out 14 batters, missing the school record by one.

Following the long week in Phoenix, the Jackets had a week off before making their annual drive to the Central Washington Invitational.  MSUB went 2-6 in Richland to move their early season record to 5-14.

MSU Billings opened the home portion of the 2006 schedule on March 11 against Dickinson State.  The Jackets swept the Blue Hawks, scoring 14 runs in the two games.  That two game sweep would turn out to be bittersweet for the Yellowjackets.  They would eventually go 13-1 at home, but before they played another game at Cenex Stadium they would play 15-straight on the road.

The road was not kind to the Yellowjackets during the middle of the season.  They won just one of those 15 games, a 5-4 victory at St. Mary’s.  Three non-conference losses at Colorado-Colorado Springs preceded a 12-game road swing to Texas to open the Heartland Conference schedule.  MSUB was knocked far back in the conference race by going 1-11 on the trip.  The Jackets were outscored 65-26 during those first dozen conference games. 

Despite the losing skid, the Yellowjackets left San Antonio with at least a little confidence.  The win against regionally ranked St. Mary’s came on the second to last day of the Southern swing.  On the trip’s final day, the Jackets gave nationally-ranked Incarnate Word two scares before dropping a doubleheader 5-4 and 8-4.  Those two games would benefit the Lady Jackets in the Heartland Conference tournament.

After a 1-11 start, the Jackets were far from being in the running for one of the Heartland Conference’s five playoff spots.  But the friendly confines of Cenex Stadium have always had a way of changing the Jackets’ fortunes.  They jumpstarted the stretch run with a four-game sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle State, outscoring the Aggies 39-11.  The Yellowjackets hit seven home runs over the weekend, gaining confidence that had been missing in the offense.

The task became much tougher the following week as the Jackets hosted league-leader St. Edward’s University.  The Hilltoppers were running away with the Heartland Conference regular season race when they came to Billings, but by the time they left they were in a battle for the No. 1 seed at the conference tourney courtesy of a four-game sweep at the hands of the Yellowjackets.

MSU Billings hit another seven home runs in the series sweep of St. Edward’s.  Probably more importantly the Yellowjackets found ways to win close games, winning three of the four games by one run. 

Now 9-11 in the conference standings, the Yellowjackets were positioned to earn the final playoff spot in the conference tournament.  MSUB won three of four games against Lincoln University to punch its ticket to the conference tourney.  The Yellowjackets’ only loss at Cenex Stadium was a 2-0 shutout by Lincoln.  That shutout also ended a school-record streak of scoring at least one run in 14 consecutive games.

The Yellowjackets went to the conference tournament in San Antonio with new confidence, even though the field was stacked with some of the best teams in the region.  MSU Billings opened against St. Mary’s on their home turf and was dismantled 7-1.  That loss sent the Jackets to the loser out bracket.  Facing the possibility of being eliminated from the tournament on the first day, the Jackets’ opponent in the nightcap was regular season conference co-champion Incarnate Word.

Executing the game plan to perfection, MSUB stunned the Cardinals 6-5 in eight innings.  In the bottom of the eighth inning in the Jackets’ first and only extra-innings game of the season, freshman Stephanie Gosselin singled up the middle to score Megan Moeller for the winning run.  Gosselin’s late game heroics were set up by a two-run Christy Wankel home run that tied the game in the sixth inning.

The Yellowjackets would have to face St. Mary’s again on the second day of the tournament, bowing out with a 4-1 defeat.  St. Mary’s, Incarnate Word, and St. Edward’s would all go on to earn berths in the NCAA South Central Regional.  Incarnate Word advanced all the way to the regional championship game after defeating St. Mary’s in the semifinals.

Following the season interim head coach Sean McGary handed out six individual awards.  The Team MVP was Christy Wankel, a senior outfielder from Great Falls, Mont.  She batted .313 for the season, scoring 16 runs and driving in 25 RBI to earn second team all-conference honors.  Wankel hit eight home runs to finish her career with 21, second-most in school history.  She broke numerous career school records during her senior campaign including games played, games started, at bats, hits, triples, RBI, total bases, and stolen bases.  Wankel was also given the Yellowjacket Award, the award given to the person who best represents being a student-athlete academically, athletically, and socially.

Rachel Quarnburg was the Offensive MVP.  The junior from Billings was an all-conference first team selection and was one of just four players in the Heartland Conference to bat over .400 for the season, hitting .402.  Her .785 slugging percentage led the conference, and she tied for third in the league with 11 home runs.  Along with hitting for power, Quarnburg was one of the toughest outs in the conference.  She ranked second in the Heartland with a .484 on base percentage.

Aysha Maddox was named the team’s Defensive MVP.  The junior catcher from Richland, Wash., started 47 games behind the plate this season and had a .987 fielding percentage.  She was instrumental in handling a Yellowjacket pitching staff that consisted of three freshmen.

Rebekah Tsatsa was selected as the Most Improved Player.  The freshman pitcher from Eagle, Idaho, started 13 games and made 17 appearances.  She posted a 6-8 record with a 3.97 earned run average. 

On a team comprised mostly of newcomers, the Newcomer of the Year was Stephanie Gosselin, a freshman utility player from Brentwood Bay, British Columbia.  Gosselin had a stellar second half of the season and finished second on the team with a .370 batting average.  She scored 16 runs and drove in nine RBI in 31 games en route to second team all-conference honors.

Individual Career School Records
Batting Avgerage – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (.436); Jenna Haacke, 4^th (.305); Christy Wankel, 5^th (.302); Anna Henderson, 11^th (.239)
Games Played – Christy Wankel, 1^st (185); Aysha Maddox, 8^th (145); Anna Henderson, 9^th (136); Jenna Haacke, 10^th (97); Rachel Quarnburg, 12^th (86); Jessica Frank, 14^th (74)
Games Started – Christy Wankel, 1^st (181); Aysha Maddox, 7^th (128); Anna Henderson, 9^th (121); Jenna Haacke, 10^th (97); Rachel Quarnburg, 12^th (86)
At Bats – Christy Wankel, 1^st (523); Anna Henderson, 8^th (347); Jenna Haacke, 9^th (269); Aysha Maddox, 10^th (257); Rachel Quarnburg, 11^th (241)
Runs – Christy Wankel, 3^rd (81); Anna Henderson, 8^th (43); Rachel Quarnburg, 9^th (42); Aysha Maddox, 10^th (37); Jenna Haacke, 11^th (30)
Hits – Christy Wankel, 1^st (158); Rachel Quarnburg, 6^th (105); Anna Henderson, 9^th (83); Jenna Haacke, 10^th (82); Aysha Maddox, 12^th (52)
Doubles – Christy Wankel, 5^th (21); Rachel Quarnburg, 7^th (14); Aysha Maddox, 8^th (11); Jenna Haacke, 9^th (10); Anna Henderson, 9^th (10)
Triples – Christy Wankel, 1^st (5); Aysha Maddox, 4^th (2)
Home Runs – Christy Wankel, 2^nd (21); Rachel Quarnburg, 3^rd (18); Jenna Haacke, 5^th (14); Jessica Frank, 8^th (6)
RBI – Christy Wankel, 1^st (93); Rachel Quarnburg, 4^th (74); Jenna Haacke, 8^th (43); Aysha Maddox, 10^th (30); Anna Henderson, 11^th (26); Jessica Frank, 12^th (22)
Total Bases – Christy Wankel, 1^st (252); Rachel Quarnburg, 7^th (173); Jenna Haacke, 8^th (136); Anna Henderson, 10^th (93); Aysha Maddox, 12^th (76)
Slugging Percentage – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (.718); Jenna Haacke, 2^nd (.506); Christy Wankel, 5^th (.482); Jessica Frank, 8^th (.409)
Walks – Rachel Quarnburg, 4^th (35); Christy Wankel, 5^th (22); Jenna Haacke, 8^th (18); Aysha Maddox, 8^th (18); Anna Henderson, 11^th (16)
On Base Percentage – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (.521); Jenna Haacke, 5^th (.348); Christy Wankel, 6^th (.341); Anna Henderson, 11^th (.276); Jessica Frank, 12^th (.274); Aysha Maddox, 13^th (.256)
Stolen Bases – Christy Wankel, 1^st (13)
Put Outs – Rachel Quarnburg, 3^rd (388); Aysha Maddox, 5^th (303); Christy Wankel, 7^th (210); Jenna Haacke, 14^th (110); Anna Henderson, 15^th (95)
Assists – Jessica Frank, 5^th (109); Aysha Maddox, 6^th (98); Jenna Haacke, 8^th (81); Jenna McCartney, 11^th (53)
Fielding Percentage – Rachel Quarnburg, 4^th (.971); Jenna McCartney, 6^th (.964); Aysha Maddox, 8^th (.946); Jenna Haacke, 10^th (.941); Christy Wankel, 12^th (.936); Anna Henderson, 15^th (.912)
ERA – Terina Stacks, 2^nd (3.62); Lisa Moore, 3^rd (3.77); Rebekah Tsatsa, 4^th (3.97)
Victories – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (8); Terina Stacks, 4^th (6); Rebekah Tsatsa, (4^th (6)
Appearances – Terina Stacks, 3^rd (28); Lisa Moore, 4^th (26); Rebekah Tsatsa, 8^th (17)
Starts – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (21); Terina Stacks, 5^th, (15); Rebekah Tsatsa, 6^th (13)
Complete Games – Terina Stacks, 3^rd (15); Lisa Moore, 5^th (13); Rebekah Tsatsa, 5^th (13)
Innings Pitched – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (128.0); Terina Stacks, 4^th (110.1); Rebekah Tsatsa, 6^th (79.1)
Strikeouts – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (108); Terina Stacks, 4^th (82); Rebekah Tsatsa, 6^th (45)

Individual Single Season School Records
At Bats – Christy Wankel, 10^th (150); Jenna Haacke, 12^th (146)
Batting Average – Rachel Quarnburg, 3^rd (.402); Stephanie Gosselin, 6^th (.370); Christy Wankel, 11^th (.313); Jenna Haacke, 15^th (.301)
Runs – Rachel Quarnburg, 15^th (18)
Runs Per Game – Stephanie Gosselin, 8^th (.516); Rachel Quarnburg, 11^th (.473)
Total Bases – Rachel Quarnburg, 5^th (84); Christy Wankel, 9^th (78); Jenna Haacke, 10^th (77)
Hits – Christy Wankel, 9^th (47); Jenna Haacke, 11^th (44); Rachel Quarnburg, 13^th (43)
Doubles – Rachel Quarnburg, 6^th (8); Jenna McCartney, 7^th (7); Anna Henderson, (12^th (6)
Triples – Jenna McCartney, 2^nd (2)
Home Runs – Rachel Quarnburg, 2^nd (11); Jenna Haacke, 3^rd (10); Christy Wankel, 4^th (8); Jessica Frank, 10^th (5)
Slugging Percentage – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (.785); Jenna Haacke, 7^th (.527); Christy Wankel, 8^th (.520); Stephanie Gosselin, 12^th (.479)
RBI – Rachel Quarnburg, 5^th (30); Christy Wankel, 9^th (25); Jessica Frank, 15^th (19)
Stolen Bases – Stephanie Gosselin, 4^th (4); Lorel Palmer, 4^th (4)
Walks – Jenna Haacke, 8^th (12); Rachel Quarnburg, 8^th (12)
Consecutive Games Hitting Streak – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (19)
Appearances – Terina Stacks, 3^rd (28); Lisa Moore, 4^th (26); Rebekah Tsatsa, 8^th (17)
Starts – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (21); Terina Stacks, 7^th (15); Rebekah Tsatsa, 8^th (13)
Complete Games – Lisa Moore, 4^th (13); Terina Stacks, 6^th (10); Rebekah Tsatsa, 9^th (6)
Innings Pitched – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (128.0); Terina Stacks, 5^th (110.1); Rebekah Tsatsa, 8^th (79.1)
Victories – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (8); Terina Stacks, 6^th (6); Rebekah Tsatsa, 6^th (6)
ERA – Terina Stacks, 6^th (3.62); Lisa Moore, 7^th (3.77); Rebekah Tsatsa, 8^th (3.97)
Strikeouts – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (108); Terina Stacks, 4^th (82); Rebekah Tsatsa, 10^th (45)
Strikeout Ratio – Lisa Moore, 4^th (5.91); Terina Stacks, 5^th (5.20); Rebekah Tsatsa, 9^th (3.97)
Consecutive Victories – Terina Stacks, 3^rd (6)

Individual Single Game School Records
At Bats – Stephanie Gosselin, 3^rd (5); Rachel Quarnburg, 3^rd (5)
Hits – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (4); Rachel Quarnburg, 5^th (3); Stephanie Gosselin, 5^th (3); Jenna Haacke, 5^th (3 two times); Anna Henderson, 5^th (3); Christy Wankel, 5^th (3)
Runs – Stephanie Gosselin, 1^st (3); Anna Henderson, 1^st (3); Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (3)
RBI – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (7); Rachel Quarnburg, 4^th (4); Jessica Frank, 4^th (4); Christy Wankel, 4^th (4)
Doubles – Anna Henderson, 2^nd (2); Christy Wankel, 2^nd (2)
Triples – four players with one, tie for 1^st
Home Runs – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (2)
Total Bases – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (11); Jenna Haacke, 8^th (7); Jessica Frank, 8^th (7)
Walks – six players with two, tie for 5^th
Pitching Strikeouts – Lisa Moore, 3^rd (14); Lisa Moore, 7^th (12)

Team Single Season School Records
Games Played – 2^nd (51)
Wins – 3^rd (20)
W/L Percentage – 4^th (.392)
Conference W/L Percentage – 2^nd (.500)
At Bats – 3^rd (1,301)
Batting Average – 4^th (.252)
Runs – 3^rd (184)
Runs Per Game – 4^th (3.61)
Hits – 3^rd (328)
Total Bases – 3^rd (514)
Doubles – 3^rd (49)
Triples – 4^th (4)
Home Runs – 2^nd (43)
Slugging Percentage – 2^nd (.395)
RBI – 3^rd (170)
Stolen Bases – 3^rd (15)
Walks – 3^rd (85)
Pitching Complete Games – 3^rd (29)
ERA – 4^th (3.74)
Shutouts – 3^rd (4)
Strikeouts – 3^rd (236)
Strikeout Ratio – 4^th (5.17)
Fielding Percentage – 2^nd (.948)

Team Single Game School Records
Runs – 3^rd (14); 10^th (10)
Hits – 4^th (14)
RBI – 2^nd (14); 7^th (10)
Doubles – 1^st (6); 8^th (4)
Home Runs – 6^th (3 two times)
Consecutive Wins – 1^st (9)
Consecutive Games Scoring – 4^th (14 two times)

Heartland Conference Individual Leaders
Home Runs – Rachel Quarnburg, 4^th (11); Jenna Haacke, 5^th (10)
On Base Percentage – Rachel Quarnburg, 2^nd (.484)
Slugging Percentage – Rachel Quarnburg, 1^st (.785)
Wins – Lisa Moore, 9^th (8)
Innings Pitched – Lisa Moore, 9^th (128.0); Terina Stacks, 10^th (110.1)
Strikeouts – Lisa Moore, 7^th (108); Terina Stacks, 8^th (82)
Appearances – Terina Stacks, 8^th (28)
Saves – Terina Stacks, 1^st (3); Lisa Moore, 5^th (1)
Games Started – Lisa Moore, 8^th (21)
Shutouts – Terina Stacks, 8^th (2); Rebekah Tsatsa, 8^th (2)
Opponent Batting Average – Lisa Moore, 6^th (.26); Terina Stacks, 9^th (.287); Rebekah Tsatsa, 10^th (.287)

Heartland Conference Team Rankings
Batting Average – 5^th (.252)
On Base Percentage – 5^th (.308)
Slugging Percentage – 5^th (.395)
At Bats – 4^th (1,301)
Runs – 5^th (184)
Hits – 4^th (328)
Doubles – 5^th (49)
Triples – 7^th (4)
Home Runs – 2^nd (43)
RBI – 5^th (170)
Walks – 5^th (85)
Stolen Bases – 6^th (15)
ERA – 5^th (3.74)
Opponent Batting Average – 4^th (.275)
Innings Pitched – 4^th (319.2)
Strikeouts – 4^th (236)
Strikeout Ratio – 2^nd (5.17)
Fielding Percentage – 4^th (.948)

NCAA Individual Rankings
Saves – Terina Stacks, 26^th (3)

NCAA Team Rankings
Home Runs Per Game – 26^th (0.84)

All-Heartland Conference
1^st Team – Rachel Quarnburg
2^nd Team – Jenna Haacke, Christy Wankel, Stephanie Gosselin

Heartland Conference Players of the Week
April 17 – Rachel Quarnburg

Individual Team Awards
MVP – Christy Wankel
Offensive MVP – Rachel Quarnburg
Defensive MVP – Aysha Maddox
Most Improved – Rebekah Tsatsa
Newcomer of the Year – Stephanie Gosselin
Yellowjacket Award – Christy Wankel