Valiant Yellowjacket Comeback Falls Just Short, 13-11

Box Score

GREELEY, Colo. – The Montana State Billings baseball team plated seven runs over the final four innings, but it wasn’t enough as Northern Colorado prevailed 13-11 in the second game of a three game series at Jackson Field.  The two teams will play the final game tomorrow at 12 p.m.

“Offensively we hit the ball well and we hit guys in today with 14 hits and 11 runs,” head coach Chris Brown said.  “Defensively we made the plays we were supposed to make and we just didn’t get it done.  We came out flat in the seventh and in the eighth we bounced back and put up a five spot but came up short.”

The Yellowjackets (8-19) were led by a 4 for 5 outing from Jonathon Crews as he scored a run and drove in three.  Blake Nelson and Patch Wirtzberger each had two hits.  Wirtzberger was 2 for 3 with three runs scored and two RBI, while Nelson was 2 for 5 with two runs scored and one RBI.

As a team, the Yellowjackets belted out 14 hits, but surrendered another big inning as the Bears tallied six runs in the fourth inning to regain the lead.  Yesterday, the Bears tallied 10 runs in two innings for a 13-5 victory in the opener.

The Bears (6-15) opened the game with a run in the first as Seth Budde doubled to right center, scoring the first run of the game and could have had more, but a great throw from MSUB left fielder Ryan Dennehy through Crews (SS) gunning down Budde at the plate to end the inning.

The Yellowjacket bats caught fire in the second inning as they scored four runs highlighted by a Crews three-run home run to right and a Wirtzberger RBI single for a 4-1 lead.  UNC added a run in the bottom of the frame to the cut the deficit to two on a sacrifice fly.

Six runs crossed the plate for UNC in the fourth for an 8-4 lead, followed by two more runs in the fifth for a 10-4 advantage.  The Jackets continued to fight and cut into the deficit in the sixth as they scored two runs courtesy of two Bear miscues for a 10-6 score.

A home run and a bases loaded hit batsman plated two more runs for UNC in the sixth for a 12-6 lead and added a run in the seventh for a 13-6 advantage.

That’s when the rally began for the Yellowjackets as they scored five runs in the top of the eighth as Chris Round began the inning with a double to center, followed by a Nelson double to right for the first run.  Nelson then scored on a wild pitch followed by a RBI single by Dennehy and Jordan Kessler singled through the left side for the fifth run all with one out. 

UNC tallied 15 hits in the game, but committed four errors leading to four unearned runs for MSUB.  The Jackets did not commit an error in the game, but surrendered two unearned runs courtesy of passed balls.   

Vulk (0-4) went three innings, allowing nine hits, seven runs – six earned and one strikeout.  UNC starter, Joe Willman (2-3), pitched six innings, allowing eight hits, six runs – four earned, two walks and two strikeouts. 

After the game tomorrow, the Yellowjackets return home to begin a stretch of 16-straight home games.  The Yellowjackets open the home stand with a doubleheader versus Saint Martin’s Saturday, April 10 at 3 p.m. at Dehler Park.