MSUB Softball Preview: Jackets Look for Improvement in ‘07
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BILLINGS, MT – To say that 2007 will be a year of transition for the Montana State-Billings softball team would be an understatement.  The program will be under the direction of its third head coach in as many seasons.  The Yellowjackets will also be competing in their final season in the Heartland Conference and NCAA South Central Region before moving to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and NCAA West Region.

Kim Lemmens is in her first season at the helm of the Yellowjacket program that started in 2001.  It is Lemmens’ first head coaching stint at the collegiate level after spending time as an assistant at Colorado State and Fort Hays State.  Lemmens becomes the program’s third head coach in its seven years.  Jeff Aumend guided the startup of the program from 2001 to 2005, taking the team to the NCAA West Region semifinals in 2005.  Sean McGary served as the interim head coach last season after Aumend’s departure.

Lemmens inherits a relatively young squad that is very similar to last year’s team that went 20-31.  The only losses to graduation were outfielders Christy Wankel and Anna Henderson.  Wankel is the all-time school record holder for games played, games started, hits, RBI, and total bases.  Henderson ranks ninth in school history for games played and games started and is eighth all-time for runs scored at MSUB.  Wankel and Henderson combined to start 302 games in the outfield for the Yellowjackets over the last four years.  Also missing from the lineup will be Rachel Quarnburg, the school record holder for career batting average and slugging percentage, who did not return for her senior season.

The Yellowjackets will rely heavily upon a large class of sophomores, including three of their four pitchers.  Terina Stacks (Washougal, WA), Lisa Moore (Bakersfield, CA), and Rebekah Tsatsa (Eagle, ID) combined for all but two of the team’s nearly 320 innings pitched last season.  Moore logged the most innings with 128, posting an 8-13 record. 

Stacks and Tsatsa came on in the second half of the season, combining for 10 of the team’s last 14 wins.  Stacks led the team with a 3.62 ERA and posted a 6-10 record.  Tsatsa had the best winning percentage of the three pitchers, going 6-8.  Freshman Lindsey Trenary (Helena, MT) is also expected to become a productive member of the pitching staff.  She was an all-state selection at Helena Capital High School the last two years.

“From the pitching standpoint, our sophomores will need to be successful, and they are working hard at practice.  Rebekah will definitely get a lot time,” says Lemmens.  “She’s hitting her spots (in practice) and controlling the hitter.  Rebekah and Terina will definitely compliment each other with their different pitching styles."

After fielding one of the most explosive offensive teams in the nation in 2005, the Yellowjackets struggled at the plate for large parts of last season.  They averaged just 3.6 runs per game and were shutout seven times.  In 51 games, they scored two or fewer runs 23 times.  Lemmens will bring a different offensive philosophy to a Yellowjackets program that has thrived on the long ball.  MSUB ranked in the top 25 in the nation for home runs in 2004 and in the top 10 in the nation in 2005.  The 2007 version will implement more of the short game philosophy and try to put pressure on opposing defenses.

“For the most part, we’re going to take advantage of every mistake the defense makes,” says Lemmens.  “We’re going to make sure we’re causing chaos at every opportunity. The team is embracing the element-of-surprise philosophy.  For the most part, it’s going to be a mixture of the short-game and long-ball.  Our identity is going to be ‘no easy outs.’  That’s what we talk about on a regular basis, and so far, so good.  The majority are on board with that philosophy.  It’s not just ‘get up there and swing the bat.’  There’s more to it.  We’re going to try to take advantage of keeping the defense at a disadvantage and capitalizing on any mistakes that are made.”

The Jackets return two players who batted over .300 last season.  Junior Jenna Haacke (Billings, MT) hit .301 and blasted 10 home runs.  Sophomore Stephanie Gosselin (Victoria, BC) hit .370 in 31 games.  Stephanie Rinehart (Gig Harbor, WA) hit .286, and Jenna McCartney (Hamilton, MT) hit .275. 

Defensively, the Yellowjackets will rely on playing solid defense behind their young pitchers.  Lemmens says that fall and spring practices have created good competition for starting spots in both the infield and outfield.  The emphasis in her first season has been on fundamentals and situational awareness.

“We’re going to Aysha Maddox (Richland, WA) for more leadership as our starting senior catcher,” says Lemmens.  “We are looking for her to blossom into a leader.  We’re looking to Leslie Davis (Federal Way, WA) to be an outstanding leader from a sophomore standpoint.  She didn’t get a lot of playing time last year, but right now she’s vying for a starting shortstop position with Jessica Frank (Great Falls, MT).  I think Jessica is right up there with everyone else.  She’s a great leader, has a great work ethic, and leads by example.  Obviously, junior transfer Mandy Schaapveld (Puyallup, WA) will contribute immensely out in the outfield with her speed and strong arm.”

Maddox will be joined by Megan Moeller (Ontario, OR), Lorel Palmer (Ogden, UT), and Jenna McCartney (Hamilton, MT) as the seniors on the team.  Along with juniors Frank, Haacke, and Schaapveld, the Yellowjackets will have seven upperclassmen to help the younger players learn the ropes.  Lemmens admits that this year’s sophomores will play a key role.

“With a team of eight sophomores, that is a good core of athletes that we are building our team around," she says.  “We’re not forgetting about the juniors or seniors, but the sophomores are the core.  The juniors are great; Jessica Frank is outstanding, and you can’t say enough about Jenna Haacke.  She’s a quiet leader, gets the job done, and leads by example.  We’ve got a really good group of talented kids; it’s just being able to put 'we' ahead of 'me' and put it together.”

Like all other teams from the Northern parts of the country, the Yellowjackets will be road warriors during the early season.  They open with a week’s worth of games in Phoenix, including an appearance at the Schutt Sports Division II Leadoff Classic.  The season opener will be against Western New Mexico on February 11 in Phoenix.  The Jackets will be tested early during the seven days in Phoenix with games against WNMU, Grand Canyon, Dixie State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Angelo State, and Cal State-Bakersfield.

“Going to Phoenix will be a great trip because of the weather, and the opportunity to play some great teams,” Lemmens says.  “At this point, I’m not very concerned with the opponent.  I’m more concerned about us executing and doing our job.  Taking care of ourselves it the most important part.  We are really excited to get outside and on the field”

Following the Phoenix trip, the Yellowjackets will have a short turnaround before making their annual pilgrimage to Washington for the Red Lion Hotel Central Washington University Invitational on March 1-4.  The tournament will give the Yellowjackets a sneak peak at their future conference foes in the GNAC.  MSUB is scheduled to meet six GNAC teams at the tourney.

The Yellowjackets are scheduled to open the home schedule the week after the Central Washington tournament, hosting University of Mary for a doubleheader on March 7.  If the weather allows the games to be played, they will be the earliest games ever played at Cenex Stadium.  Last year the Jackets hosted Dickinson State on March 11.

After the double-dip with Mary, the Yellowjackets open Heartland Conference play in earnest starting with a 14-game trip to Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.  A dozen of those games will be conference games, four each against Lincoln, Oklahoma Panhandle State, and St. Edward’s.  In the middle of the trip, the Jackets will sneak in a non-conference doubleheader at West Texas A&M.

MSUB returns from their trip South on March 26 and plays in Great Falls two days later.  UGF, a first-year NAIA program, will make a return trip to Billings on April 22.  The Argos are coached by Gary Ehnes, father of former Yellowjacket great Joey Ehnes.  Joey serves as one of the Argos assistant coaches.

Following the trip to Great Falls, the Yellowjackets play 12 of their next 14 games at home.  Eight of those are conference counters against two of the best teams in the Heartland.  St. Mary’s, a perennial NCAA Tournament participant, visits Cenex Stadium on April 5 and 6.  Incarnate Word, the defending Heartland champion and preseason conference favorite, comes calling April 13 and 14.  The Cardinals reached the NCAA South Central Region finals last year, a week after the Yellowjackets knocked them out of the Heartland Conference tournament.

“I think Incarnate Word will be a tough team,” says Lemmens.  “They have a lot of players coming back, including the player of the year.  St. Mary’s has the pitcher of the year coming back, and they always seem to come to the forefront at the end of the season.”

The games against Incarnate Word will close out the Jackets’ conference slate.  They play at Idaho State, a first-year NCAA Division I program, on April 20 and 21 before closing the regular season against UGF at home the next day.  MSUB will make one more trip to Texas for the Heartland Conference Tournament, April 26-28 in San Antonio.  All six teams in the Heartland will attend the tournament.  In a recent poll of league coaches and sports information directors, MSUB was picked to finish fourth in the six-team league.

“I think the other teams in the conference will be surprised,” says Lemmens of the Jackets.  “Everyone in the conference is aware of the talent we have; they’re going to be surprised as to how we put it all together.  We have a very talented team.  I think it’s a mixture of fundamentals and getting them to understand and believe in the different philosophies and strategies.  With all the talent we do have, people will be pleasantly surprised.”