Yellowjackets Split with Wolves in Final Regular Season Doubleheader

Game One

Game Two

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings baseball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the final innings for a 3-2 victory over Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion, Western Oregon, Friday afternoon at Dehler Park.  MSUB’s Patch Wirtzberger laced a single up the middle scoring the game winner in the bottom of the ninth of game one.  WOU won the nightcap, 4-3 in the final inning.

“I am proud of the way the guys showed up today, they played hard,” head coach Chris Brown said.  “I said at the beginning of the year the biggest challenge would be how we respond to adversity and we did that this year and I am really proud of them as and we really turned things around.”

The Wolves (33-12, 24-4) began the second inning of the first game with a double from Justin Speer and he advanced to third on a fly out and scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Kyle Boe for a 1-0 lead.  J.J. Mascolo added to the lead in the fifth with a RBI double to left field for a 2-0 lead.  The Yellowjackets and hurler Steve Scott got out of the inning with a nice 643 twin killing.

The Wolves had another scoring opportunity in the sixth, but the Yellowjacket defense stood strong as Eric Renander hit a single to right and Drew Humphrey was trying to get to third.  A great throw from Mike Cease in right to Matt Schoonover gunned down Humphrey at third.

MSUB (24-28, 16-16) returned the favor in the seventh as it had runners on first and second with one out, but WOU pitcher Jacob Pettit got a strikeout and a long fly out to center to end the Yellowjacket threat.

The Yellowjackets broke through on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth as Wirtzberger singled and later scored on a Schoonover single to right.  Prior to Schoonover’s two out single, the Wolves looked as if they got out of the inning unscathed, but Andrew Hernandez hit a pop fly towards second base and the WOU fielder’s had a miscommunication as the ball dropped in for an infield single. 

WOU hurler, Jacob Pettit then was tagged for a balk scoring the tying run.

The Yellowjackets began the ninth as Levi Johnson singled, followed by a nice sacrifice bunt from Cease, moving pinch runner Brian Dukart to second.  After a Bryce Thomas just missed the possible game winner as he lined a ball to short, setup Wirtzberger who singled through the right side and scored Dukart for a 3-2 score.

With the win, the Yellowjackets tie the modern day school record for wins in a season with 24.  The Yellowjackets also tallied 24 wins (24-26) in 2007.  In addition, the Yellowjackets clinched second place in the league this year with the win. 

Hernandez and Wirtzberger led the way as each went 3 for 4 in the opener with one run scored.  Wirtzberger also had the game-winning RBI.  The Wolves were led by Drew Humphrey and Justin Speer who were both 2 for 3 with a run scored. 

Steve Scott (6-5) went the distance for the Yellowjackets as he scattered eight hits over nine innings with two earned runs and one strikeout. Brad Carter (1-1) took the loss in relief of Pettit who went 7.2 innings, allowing nine hits, two earned runs and he fanned five.

The Wolves jumped on top in the first inning as Travis Fox and Nick Fleck both singled to get things started.  Both runners advanced to second and third on a nice sacrifice bunt by Thomas McCarthy and Fox stole home for a 1-0 lead.  The Yellowjackets got out of the inning with no further damage as WOU hit into an inning-ending double play.

Western Oregon moved ahead 2-0 in the second with a lead-off double from Kyle Boe, followed by a hit batsman and a sacrifice bunt to set up a sacrifice fly from J.J. Mascolo.  Fox singled up the middle scoring Joe Pratt for a 3-0 lead.

WOU loaded the bases in the third with nobody out, but a comebacker to MSUB pitcher Archie Smith started a 123 double play and Smith got a fly out to get out of the inning unscathed.

MSUB got on the board in the third as Cease and Thomas began the inning with singles and a sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third.  Cole Pryor grounded out, but scored Cease for a 3-1 score.  Hernandez laced a single to left to score Thomas for a 3-2 deficit.

The Yellowjackets tied the game off relief pitcher Jesse Nunley in the fifth as Pryor began the inning with a walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt and Harris reached on a WOU miscue, scoring Pryor to tie the game at three.

A single by McCarthy, an error, a stolen base and a wild pitch plated the go ahead run for the Wolves in the seventh.

Schoonover and Thomas each had two hits in the nightcap for the Yellowjackets.  Fox and McCarthy each had two hits for WOU. 

Smith went 3.1 innings before he was hit by a comebacker in the fourth and had to leave the game.  He allowed seven hits, three earned runs and tallied one walk.  Cody Clark (2-2) finished the game going 3.2 innings, allowing two hits, one walk and one unearned run.

Nunley (5-2) earned the victory in relief as he went three innings and allowed one hit and one unearned run and a walk.