MSUB Baseball Drops Opener to Defending Champs (2/16/07)
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Seeing their first action outdoors this season, the Montana State-Billings baseball team dropped a pair of close decisions at University of the Incarnate Word Friday afternoon, falling 4-3 and 11-9.  The games were the season openers for the Yellowjackets, who have been relegated to practicing in the MSUB gyms because of winter weather in Billings.  Incarnate Word improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference.  The Cardinals, who have won the last two Heartland Conference titles, are picked to win the league again this year.

“We made some mental mistakes and played like it was our first day outside,” said Yellowjacket head coach Chris Brown.  “In the second game we made some offensive adjustments and did better.  Defensively we weren’t as sharp or as aggressive as we want to be.  All in all, I’m pretty happy with the way the first day went considering the circumstances.  I’m proud of the way they kept battling.”

The season opener was a heartbreaker for the Yellowjackets, who spoiled a solid outing by starter Kyle McBride (Billings, MT).  McBride scattered five hits over five innings, striking out three without a walk.  He gave up a run in the bottom of the fourth and another in the bottom of the fifth before giving way to Brian Strom (Littleton, CO).

“He went out there and did his thing,” Brown said of McBride.  “He gave us a chance to win, but we couldn’t lock it up for him.  That’s all you can expect from a guy, especially this early in the year.  I cut him off pretty early, about 85 pitches.  If it’s three weeks later, he goes out for the sixth inning.”

Kyle McBride

The Jackets put three runs on the board in the top of the third for a 3-0 lead.  Doug Longfellow (Lewistown, MT) doubled down the left field line to score Kyle Slater (Missoula, MT), who had led off the inning with a double.  Kyle Pryor (Billings, MT) followed with a single down the right field line to score Slater and Matt Schoonover (Great Falls, MT).

The Cardinals chipped away at the lead with runs in the fourth and fifth innings.  They tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on a sac fly.  The Cardinals’ cause was helped by a wild pitch and an error.  MSUB was able to advance Jordan Shine (Great Falls, MT) to second with two outs in the seventh, but couldn’t bring him around.  The Cardinals took advantage in the bottom of the inning when Josh Baker drove in Chris Mojica for the winning run.  Mojica had led off the inning with a walk.

Five different Yellowjackets accounted for their five hits in the game.  Pryor was 1-for-3 with two RBI.  The Cardinals’ Chris Solis went 2-for-2 with a home run.

The second game was an offensive barrage with the teams combining for 24 hits.  Incarnate Word led 8-7 after the third inning and added two more runs in the fourth and an insurance run in the sixth.  The Yellowjackets closed the gap with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, but came up empty in the seventh.

James Lester (Missoula, MT) took the loss after giving up eight hits and eight earned runs in two innings of work.  Kevin Roberts (Terry, MT) and Casey Miller (Miles City, MT) combined to limit the Cards to five hits and three runs over the final four innings. 

Pryor was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs.  Willie Crtalic (Billings, MT) went 2-for-4 with a double.  He drove in three runs and scored once.  Shine was 1-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in three RBI.  The Cardinals’ Drew Hamilton and Mojica drove in three runs apiece.  Mojica was 2-for-3 with a triple. 

The Yellowjackets and Cardinals meet in a conference doubleheader again on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon in San Antonio.  Jeremy Knowles (Three Forks, MT) and Ben Lewerke (Mason City, IA) are the Jackets’ probable starters.  MSUB is on a 10-game road trip to kick off its 2007 season.