Yellowjackets Earn First Victory with Dominating Pitching in One-Hitter, Twinbill Split

Game One

Game Two

ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Montana State Billings baseball team earned its first victory of the season courtesy of a dominating pitching performance from senior Archie Smith in a 2-1 victory at Dixie State Monday afternoon.  Smith held the Red Storm to one run and one hit.  Dixie State won the nightcap, 5-1.

In the opener, senior Yellowjacket hurler, Smith (1-0) went the distance allowing one earned run and held the Red Storm batters in check only surrendering one hit, while stranding six Dixie State batters on base. 

Offensively, the Yellowjackets (1-7) tallied their second home run of the season as Jaret Chatwood went yard for a two run blast in the fourth inning to provide the scoring for the Yellowjackets.  MSUB also left five on base.  Chatwood went 2 for 3 in the game, while Smith walked four and fanned five.

Smith got in trouble in the first as the Red Storm loaded the bases with one out courtesy of a couple of walks.  Smith got out of the jam with two strikeouts and a line out to end the threat.  MSUB had a good scoring opportunity in the second as it left two on base on a pair of singles from Jordan Kessler and Chatwood.

Senior Matt Schoonover led off the fourth inning with a double to left center and later scored on the Chatwood bomb for a 2-0 lead.  Smith retired nine straight before a fielding error put the first batter in the fifth on for DSC.  A strikeout and a fielder’s choice followed and a fly out to deep center ended the threat as Smith 12 in a row without a hit.

Brett Adams doubled down the left field line breaking up the no hitter in the sixth to put runners at first and third with nobody out.  After a pop out, Smith balked scoring the lone run of the game for DSC.  A walk loaded the bases for the Red Storm for the second time in the game.  Rhett Welsh hit into an inning-ending double play to end the comeback bid.

MSUB opened game two with a run in the first as lead-off batter, Patch Wirtzberger, began the game with an infield single and then scored on a Matt Schoonover ground out for a 1-0 lead.

The lead was short lived, however, as Dixie State (6-6) came thundering back in the bottom of the frame for four runs on five hits and two Yellowjacket miscues.  The Red Storm just missed hitting for the cycle to open the inning with a triple, a RBI double and a single, scoring the second run on a throwing error.  Two more runs came across on a RBI single and the fourth run scored on an error.

The Red Storm added a run in the fourth inning for a 5-1 lead and that would be all they would need for a 5-1 victory.

Blake Nelson went 2 for 3 to lead the Yellowjackets while Wirtzberger, Sam Kinseler, Chatwood, Schoonover and Brian Dukart each had one hit.

Brian Howe (0-2) took the loss as he went four innings, allowing 10 hits, five earned runs and two strikeouts.  Ryan Pollock pitched two innings in relief with one hit and one strikeout.

The Yellowjackets now head to Seaside, Calif., for a pair of non-conference, nine inning games versus Cal State Monterey Bay (2-15) and Sonoma State (7-6) on Wednesday.  MSUB and CSUMB start at 11 a.m., while the Yellowjackets and the Seawolves are scheduled for 2 p.m.