Lady Jackets Start Heartland Schedule on the Road (3/26/06) 

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State-Billings softball team experienced plenty of growing pains through the first month of the 2006 season.  Rebuilding after graduating nine seniors from last year’s record-setting team, the Yellowjackets are 7-17 after the non-conference portion of the schedule.  They will get a fresh start this week when they play their first Heartland Conference games of the season.

The Yellowjackets will be the last team in the Heartland to start conference play.  The top four teams in the final regular season standings will meet in the conference playoffs April 27-29 in San Antonio, TX. 

The first conference road trip for MSU Billings will be the only conference road trip prior to the conference tournament.  The Yellowjackets will play a dozen games between March 29 and April 4 before returning home to close out the season with 12-straight games at Cenex Stadium.

The Yellowjackets start the road swing with four games at Western New Mexico on March 29 and 30.  The Mustangs are 13-13 overall and are currently 2nd in the conference at 5-1, a half game behind St. Edward’s.  Following the back-to-back doubleheaders in Silver City, the Yellowjackets fly to San Antonio for eight games.

In an odd scheduling twist that favors the home teams, the Yellowjackets will play doubleheaders at Incarnate Word and at St. Mary’s on alternating days.  The Jackets are at St. Mary’s on April 1, at Incarnate Word on April 2, back at St. Mary’s on April 3, and at Incarnate Word again on April 4.  St. Mary’s was picked to repeat as Heartland Conference champions and started the season 26-13 overall and 3-3 in the league.  Incarnate Word was picked to finish fourth and started the year with a 29-7 overall mark, 3-1 in the conference.

The Yellowjackets have been led offensively by senior outfielder Christy Wankel (Great Falls, MT).  She ranks fourteenth in the conference for batting average at .342 and is second on the team with 13 RBI.  Jessica Frank (So., Great Falls, MT) leads the Jackets in RBI with 16.  She has hit five home runs and has a .592 slugging percentage.  Sophomore Jenna Haacke (Billings, MT) also has five home runs and leads the team with 10 runs scored. 

The Yellowjacket pitchers are all freshmen.  Lisa Moore (Bakersfield, CA) has logged a team-high 73 innings and is 4-8.  Rebekah Tsatsa (Eagle, ID) is has a 3-3 record in eight appearances.  Terina Stacks (Washougal, WA) leads the team with an average of 6.35 strikeouts per seven innings.