March 11, 2008

Softball Opens Home Slate Wednesday

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings softball team is scheduled to open the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday at 11 a.m. against the University of Mary at Cenex Field. The Yellowjackets also will open the Great Northwest Conference home slate against Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon, Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Yellowjackets, under the direction of first year head coach Anthony Stone, are 6-13 and 0-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  MSUB has dropped four straight and eight of 10 games.  During the skid, the Jackets have played nationally ranked Seattle University four times.   MSUB almost defeated No. 18 Seattle in the CWU Invitational (3/2), dropping a 3-2 decision. 

Leading the way for the Yellowjackets this season is Crystal Bentley who is hitting a team-best .381.  Leslie Davis, is leading the team with 22 hits, 10 RBI, 31 total bases and slugging a team-best .492.  She is second on the team in home runs with two and is batting .349.  Terina Stacks is third on the squad in batting average at .333.  She is one of five Jackets to have three doubles on the year. 

As a team, MSUB is hitting .266 on the year in 19 games.  The Jackets have 20 doubles, two triples and six home runs to go along with 52 RBI and 55 runs.  The team is slugging .348 and has 69 strikeouts compared to its opponents’ 85.  The Jackets have 18 errors on the year for a .967 fielding percentage.

On the mound, the Jackets are led by Rebekah Tsatsa who is carding a 4.03 ERA.  She is 4-5 on the year in 12 appearances.  Tsatsa leads the team in innings pitched at 60.1.  She has eight starts and six complete games, to go along with 44 strikeouts.  As a staff, the Yellowjackets have a 5.44 ERA with nine complete games in 125.2 innings.  MSUB has 85 strikeouts compared to its opponents’ 69. 

Mary enters the week with a 9-12 record after going 6-6 in Florida this past week.  Leading the way for Mary this season is Leslie Benavides who is hitting a team-best .367.  Dre Brunskill leads the team in just about every statistical category, including hits (26), doubles (4), home runs (4), RBI’s (25), total bases (42) and slugging percentage at a .568 clip.  She has a team-best just two strikeouts in 21 games.  As a team, the Marauders are hitting .304 compared to .290 by the opponents.  UM is slugging .405 on the year and has 188 hits on the year, including 31 doubles.  Mary steals a lot of bases at 29 of 35. 

In the circle, the Marauders are led by Jessica Phelps who has a team-best 2.92 ERA.  She is 2-2 on the year in five appearances.  Phelps has four starts and three complete games with one shutout.  Ashley Watson is 4-4 on the year with a 3.41 ERA.  She leads the team in innings pitched with 51.1 and 23 strikeouts.  The staff has an ERA of 3.77 compared to a 4.08 ERA by its opponents. 

Saint Martin’s enters the week with a 10-12 record and a 2-0 record in GNAC.  The Saints swept a twinbill from Northwest Nazarene on Mar. 6 in the conference opener.  Leading the way for SMU this season is Holly Morris who is batting a team-best .413 in 22 games.  She leads the team in runs with 12, hits with 26, five doubles, home runs with six, RBI’s with 19 and in total bases with 49.  She is slugging an impressive .778 on the year.  Kristine Kaneshiro is second on the squad in batting average at a .365 clip. 

As a team, the Saints are hitting .261 on the year with 150 hits, 25 doubles, six triples, 10 home runs and 68 RBI.  The staff is allowing a .301 average, 33 doubles, 83 RBI and 186 hits.  Opponents are 27 of 39 in the stolen base department as SMU is 11 of 12.

Alicia Fuchs has an impressive 0.95 ERA in eight appearances in the circle this year.  She is 4-1 on the year with two starts and one combo shutout.  Brandi Klemm (2-2) leads the team in innings pitched with 44.  She has a team-best 24 strikeouts compared to just eight walks and a 3.65 ERA.

Western Oregon enters the week 10-5 and is the only team to hand nationally ranked Seattle a loss this season.  The Wolves are 3-1 in the GNAC, but have dropped two straight against Humboldt State last weekend. 

Leading the way for WOU this season is Whitney Lee who is batting .400 on the year with a team-best 18 hits, eight doubles, nine RBI and 31 total bases.  She is tied for second on the team in home runs with one.  Jessica Hallmark is second on the team in average at .357 and Trina Dorn is third at .356.  The Wolves are hitting .293 as a team and holding their opponents to .195 for the year.  WOU has 118 hits on the year, 21 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 52 RBI and 172 total bases. 

The pitching staff carries a 1.89 ERA as a team.  Christina Cook leads the way with a 1.77 ERA in six appearances.  She is 2-3 on the year with five starts and four complete games and two shutouts.  Katie Fleer (4-1) has a 2.08 ERA in seven appearances with five starts and four complete games and one shutout.  She leads the team in innings pitched with 40.1 and has 39 strikeouts compared to just five walks.