Lady Jackets, Tigers Split Twin Bill (4/21/06)
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Game Photos

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings softball team won the front end of a Heartland Conference doubleheader on Friday to earn a split against Lincoln University (MO).  The Yellowjackets prevailed 4-2 in the first game behind a pair of home runs.  The Blue Tigers scored late to win the second game 2-0.

MSU Billings was on the verge of evening its Heartland Conference record before stumbling in the day’s late game.  The Yellowjackets are now 17-29 overall and 10-12 in the conference.  Lincoln moved to 7-29, 4-18.  The same two teams will meet Saturday at Cenex Stadium.  The doubleheader is scheduled to start at noon.  Yellowjacket seniors Christy Wankel (Great Falls, MT) and Anna Henderson (Frenchtown, MT) will be honored before the game.

In Friday’s opener, the Yellowjackets rode home runs from Rachel Quarnburg (Jr., Billings, MT) and Wankel to win 4-2.  Quarnburg went deep in the bottom of the third.  The solo shot was her ninth of the season.  Wankel led off the sixth inning with her seventh of the year and twentieth of her career.  She became just the second player in school history to hit 20 career home runs.  Theresa Campbell holds the school record with 23.

Quarnburg and Stephanie Gosselin (Fr., Brentwood Bay, BC) were each 2-for-3 at the plate.  Quarnburg also drove in two RBI.  The Yellowjackets had eight hits off Lincoln starter Tracy Reyland.  Gosselin, Quarnburg, Wankel, and Terina Stacks (Fr., Washougal, WA) each scored for MSU Billings.  Reyland took the loss for the Blue Tigers.  Stacks earned the victory to improve to 5-9.  She gave up seven hits in seven innings, striking out two.

The Yellowjackets out-hit the Blue Tigers 8-3 in the second game but were unable to push across a run.  Lisa Moore (Fr., Bakersfield, CA) took the loss, allowing just three hits while striking out 12.  One of the hits was a solo home run to Lesley Osborne in the top of the sixth inning.  Osborne was 2-for-3 in the game.

The Blue Tigers tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a throwing error by Wankel.  Wankel had just made a spectacular play, reaching over the fence to rob Abby Stuenkel of a two-run home run; but her throw to the infield was errant and allowed Kayla Jarrett to score from third.

Jenna McCartney (Jr., Victor, MT) and Quarnburg each had two hits for the Yellowjackets.  Quarnburg also had a double.  Moore fell to 7-13 on the season while Reyland improved to 7-14.  She entered the game in relief with one out in the first inning after a hard line drive by Quarnburg hit the face of Blue Tigers starter Nikki Nelke.