Jackets Take to the Mound, Open Home Conference Schedule (4/6/06)

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings baseball team went 5-of-8 on its last road trip and are hoping to continue their roll against St. Edward’s University April 7 and 8.  The Hilltoppers are third in the Heartland Conference standings with a 21-14 overall record and are 14-6 in league play.  The Yellowjackets are 7-21 on the season and 5-15 in the conference. 

The Hilltoppers’ Bradley Goldsmith is a danger both at the plate and on base.  Goldsmith is batting a .333 and has 25 RBI, 21 runs, six homeruns and is 13-of-13 in stolen bases.  Teammate Logan Wood (.328) has knocked six balls out of the park to go with his six triples and eight doubles.  Wood has 25 runs off 40 hits and has brought in 36 RBI.  Enrique Lozano leads the Hilltoppers pitching staff with an ERA of 1.17.  Lozano has struck out 50 batters in 54 innings of work and is 5-1 overall. 

Leading the Yellowjackets with a .241 batting average in Willie Crtalic (Jr., Billings, MT).  Crtalic has 15 runs off 20 hits, five doubles, one homerun and 10 RBI.  Crtalic is also 7-of-7 in stolen bases.  Don’t let Matt Kakalecik’s (Fr., Great Falls, MT) stats numbers fool you.  In last week’s four-game series against Lincoln University, Kakalecik batted a .545 and went 6-for-11 with a homerun.  He has nine runs off 15 hits with seven RBI.  David Ducharme (Sr., Hamilton, MT) is 2-4 on the season with an ERA of 7.04.  Ducharme has allowed 26 runs off 31 hits and has struck out 17 batters.  In the game against Oklahoma Panhandle March 26, Ducharme pitched a one-hit shutout in a 2-0 Heartland Conference win with no runner advancing past second.

The Jackets will begin their 23-game home stand against the St. Edward’s Hilltoppers April 7 and 8 at Cobb Field.  Friday’s Heartland Conference doubleheader will start at 2:00 p.m. while first pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.