Yellowjackets Pick Up Two Victories

Davis & Elkins

Cal State Dominguez Hills

TURLOCK, Calif. -  Not even the weather could stop Montana State Billings on the first day of competition at the Best of the West Invitational.  The Yellowjackets beat Davis & Elkins 11-0 and Cal State Dominguez Hills 3-2.  The tournament had been scheduled to start on Friday, Feb. 6 rain caused the first day to be cancelled.  MSUB concludes the tournament tomorrow taking on Central Washington and Sonoma State.

In the opening game against Davis & Elkins, Dawn Norcross led off with a walk.  A wild pitch and a fly out moved her to third.  Steph Gosselin then hammered the ball over the fence to make it 2-0.

In the second inning,  Kelly Parsons hit a shot to centerfield that hit the fielder’s glove and went over the fence.  The result was a four-base award that scored Parsons.  Following a strike out, Alyssa Frank put the ball out of the park to make it 4-0.

In the third inning, with one out, Leslie Davis singled to centerfield.  Two wild pitches put her on third bases.  Terina Stacks then drew a walk to put runners at the corners.  Parsons came up and delivered a double to right center to drive Davis and Stacks in to make it 6-0.

In the top of the seventh, a bobbled ball allowed Gosselin to reach first.  Stacks took advantage of that by belting the sphere over the fence.  Jenna VanEykeren singled and Whitney Whittemore  moved her to third with a sharp double down the left field line. 

Stevie Howard ripped a double to left center field to push both runners across the plate.  Shay Oberg singled to right field to score Howard.  That made it 11-0 and the Senators went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.

Rebekah Tsatsa (1-0) threw a three-hitter with a career high of 12 strikeouts to pick up the win.  Stacks had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two runs, Howard had two hits and drove in two runs while Gosselin scored two runs and drove in two runs.

“I was very happy with the way our team came out and played today,” said head coach Anthony Stone.  “First game of the year, rained out the day before, we had the potential for a letdown.  We came out very determined and I think it showed in both our offense and pitching.  Steph set the tone with a two run bomb in the first inning.  Bekah tossed a 12 strikeout shutout and we played flawless defense.”

The second game saw the Jackets taking on Cal State Dominguez Hills, an NCAA West Regional qualifier last year.  The Toros started strong as Emiley McEwen doubled to drive in Liz Vasquez in the first inning.

In the bottom half, Oberg laid down a perfect bunt single and then stole second base.  Gosselin singled through the left side to push Oberg to third.  Gosselin stole second and then she and Oberg crossed the plate, courtesy of Stacks’s double to left center field.

In the top of the second, Dominguez Hills came back as Kaci Carroll singled to drive in Katie Jordan.  That tied the game at 2-2.  In the bottom of the fourth, Parsons ripped a double to right field.  Amanda Goings came in to run for Parsons and crossed the plate on a double by Lisa Moore.

In the top of the seventh, Katie Garcia led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.  MSUB dug deep and got the Toros to ground out twice to end the game.

“We knew we were going to be challenged and it happened early on,” said Stone.  “Dominguez Hills scored first and we responded.  Terina had a crucial two strike, two out double to give us the lead.  After they came back and tied it in the second, Lisa settled in and found her groove.  I think our mettle really showed when they put the tying run on with no outs in the seventh.  Lisa came up with some very good pitches in a difficult situation.  This shows how far these girls have come, being able to finish close games like this.”

For Montana State Billings (2-0), Norcross, Gosselin, Parsons and Moore all had two hits in three at bats while Stacks drove in two runs.  Moore (1-0) gave up five hits, two runs, neither of them earned and struck out four going the distance.

“Overall today was a pretty good day for us,” said Stone.  “I think we’ve got some things to work on, as always, but I’m very pleased with our performance.  We have a long way to go, but this is a very positive start for us.”