Jackets Extend Winning Streak to Six (3/9/07)
Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score
Coach Brown post game audio

GOODWELL, OK – The Montana State-Billings baseball team scored 21 runs and pounded out 21 hits, including their first three home runs of the season, to sweep Oklahoma Panhandle State in a Heartland Conference doubleheader on Friday.  The wins (10-2 and 11-9) extended the Jackets’ winning streak to a school-record six games.  Kyle McBride (Billings, MT) and James Lester (Missoula, MT) earned wins on the hill to improve MSUB's season record to 9-11 and their Heartland Conference record to 4-10.  The Aggies dropped to 3-15, 0-14.

“It’s nice to finally put up double-digit runs two games in a row,” said Yellowjacket head coach Chris Brown.  “If you do that you should win both games.  We didn’t do too bad defensively in the first game and did what it took the second game.”

The offense gave McBride (1-1) plenty of run support in the first game, and he pitched a solid seven innings for his first win of the year.  The Jackets rapped out a dozen hits in the 10-2 win.  McBride scattered nine hits over the seven innings, giving up two earned runs.  He struck out seven with just one walk.  MSUB broke open a 3-2 game with three runs in the sixth inning and four in the seventh.

The bottom half of the Jackets’ order carried the load offensively, with the No. 6 through No. 9 hitters accounting for seven of 10 runs and all seven RBIs.  Matt Schoonover (Great Falls, MT) went 3-for-4 and drove in a career-high four RBIs.  Willie Crtalic (Billings, MT) was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.  He also scored a career-high four runs.  Josh Wiley (Belgrade, MT) had two runs and an RBI, and Patrick Smith (Flagstaff, AZ) had a run and an RBI.

“The first game was a decent ballgame until the sixth inning,” said Brown.  “Their starter (Kyle Cremers) was effective.  It took us awhile to adjust to him.  Kyle did what he always does.  He gave us a chance to win.  The bottom of our order really picked us up.”

The Yellowjackets used the momentum of the first game to break out to an 8-3 lead after three innings of game two.  The Aggies rallied for six runs in the final three innings before the Jackets’ Mike Cease (Deer Lodge, MT) stopped the bleeding and preserved the 11-9 win.  Cease pitched the final two outs of the seventh inning, both strikeouts, for his third save of the season.  He entered the game with the bases loaded.

“In the second game, we got up right away and got comfortable,” said Brown.  “We made some errors defensively, and we weren’t making good pitches.  James Lester didn’t have his best stuff today, but he did what he needed to win.  The stats don’t show that Casey Miller had a good game, but we had some balls we should have been able to make plays on for him.  Mike Cease did a heck of a job of coming in and closing it down for us.”

Lester gave up eight hits and six runs in five innings of work, earning the win to improve to 1-3.  He struck out three and walked one.  In relief of Lester, Miller (Miles City, MT) allowed four hits and three runs in an inning and a third.

The Yellowjacket offense was led by Doug Longfellow’s (Lewistown, MT) four RBIs.  He was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double.  Longfellow also doubled in the first game.  Smith was 2-for-3 with a home run.  He scored twice and drove in a pair of runs.  Jake Samuelson (Helena, MT) was 2-for-5, and Crtalic was 1-for-3 with a home run.  The three home runs from Longfellow, Smith, and Crtalic were the Jackets’ first home runs of the season.

“Our approach to the plate is better,” said Brown of the Jackets’ improved offense.  “We’re a lot more disciplined.  We’re working counts.  Last year we watched a lot of first pitch fastballs right down the shoot, and we got down in the count.  We’re not watching those this year.  The biggest difference is we’re getting hits with two strikes and producing runs with two outs.  We didn’t do that last year.  Hits and good at bats are contagious.”

The Yellowjackets will face the Aggies in another doubleheader on Saturday.  MSUB, which notched its first-ever series sweep earlier in the week against Texas-Permian Basin, will try to make it two series in a row and reach the .500 mark for the first time.  They lost their first 18 games in their inaugural 2006 season. 

The Jackets will send Brian Strom (Littleton, CO) to the mound in Saturday’s first game.  First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CST.  Strom is 1-2 in three appearances this seson.  Ben Lewerke (Mason City, IA) will get the call in game two.  He is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts.