Softball Splits Twin Bill at Western Oregon

Game One

Game Two

MONMOUTH, Ore.  – The Montana State Billings softball team split a Great Northwest Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Western Oregon.  The Wolves won the opener 5-2, while the Jackets won the nightcap, 5-2 highlighted three home runs and two from Whitney Whittemore.  The Yellowjackets improved to 6-5 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while WOU moved to 3-4 overall and 2-4 in conference play.

The Wolves led off the opener with a home run from Tyler Sutherland off Yellowjacket hurler, Kacie Conder (2-5).  WOU added another run in the third as Sutherland doubled home Kendra George for a 2-0 advantage.

WOU broke the game open in the sixth, plating three runs as Jessica Hallmark homered with two on for a 5-0 lead.

The Jackets battled back for two runs in the top of the seventh as Jenna VanEykeren singled to get things started.  After a single from Madison Smith, Bobbie Lee doubled home VanEykeren and Smith, but Lee was thrown out at third to end the game. 

Lee went 2 for 3 to lead the Yellowjackets in the opener from the plate.  Hallmark went 1 for 3 with a run scored and three RBI for the Wolves. Sutherland went 2 for 3 with a run scored and two RBI. 

Conder went the distance in the loss, surrendering five earned runs, one walk and one strikeout while scattering six hits.  Stephanie Albrecht picked up the win in relief, while Brittany Reeves earned her first save of the season.

The nightcap was the reverse of the opener as MSUB jumped out to the early lead and added insurance runs for the 5-2 victory and the split.  Stevie Howard doubled, followed by a two run blast from Whittemore for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

The Jackets added two more runs in the third courtesy of the long ball as Kaycee Hoffman belted a two run home run after a Whittemore single for a 4-0 lead.  The Wolves got on the board in the bottom of the frame as Sutherland doubled and later scored on an Andrea Bailey two run single for a 4-2 score.

The game remained 4-2 until the seventh when Whittemore homered for the second time in the game for a 5-2 score.  Conder pitched a perfect seventh for her first save of the season.

Lindsey Trenary went 4.1 innings, allowing two earned runs, four walks and one strikeout in the victory as she improved to 4-0.  Josie Grotbo pitched a third of an inning before Conder came in for the final 2.1 innings and the save.

Whittemore led the way offensively as she was 3 for 4 with three runs scored and three RBI.  No other Yellowjacket had more than one hit.  Hoffman was 1 for 3 with a run scored and two RBI.  The Jackets outhit WOU 9-4 in the nightcap.

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow to conclude the four-game set with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. local time.