Yellowjackets Take-On Wildcats in Pivotal GNAC Match-up

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings softball squad heads back on the road for a vital four-game series with Great Northwest Athletic Conference leader Central Washington on Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 20 and 21, in Ellensburg, Wash. The Yellowjackets enter the weekend series with a 10-7 record overall and an 8-4 mark in GNAC play. The Wildcats sit atop the leader board with a 10-4 season record and a 10-2 mark in conference.

Sophomore Amanda Goings leads the Yellowjackets with a .615 batting average, but juniors Kaycee Hoffman and Kelly Parsons have supplied much of the power this season with a combined seven home runs and 28 RBI. Hoffman is batting .380 with 12 run on 19 hits, including four doubles and a trio of home runs. Parsons is coming off of one of her most productive weekends, crushing three of her team-leading four home runs against Northwest Nazarene last weekend.

The pitching staff has started to find its rhythm, lowering its ERA to 2.81 with 63 total strikeouts against 37 walks. Lindsey Trenary has been excellent in the circle, going 6-1 this season with a 2.04 ERA and 28 strikeouts. Josie Grotbo has come on lately with a 2-0 record and a 1.67 ERA, allowing five earned runs in 21.0 innings pitched.

The Yellowjackets are coming off of weekend series in which they swept Northwest Nazarene with wins of 5-1 and 9-4 on Friday and 5-3 and 8-0 on Saturday. The Jackets sit just two games behind the Wildcats after the sweep and bouncing back from a rough trip to Western Oregon in which the Yellowjackets dropped three of four to the Wolves.

Central Washington is coming off a series sweep of Western Washington last weekend in Bellingham, Wash. The Wildcats are led by Danielle Monson who is batting .510 for the season and has 25 hits, 14 runs and seven RBI. Purdue University transfer, Kelsey Haupert, leads the team with five home runs and has a .326 average.

Lauren Hadenfield leads the pitching staff with a 2.58 ERA in eight appearances. She has a 6-1 record on the year with 49 strikeouts and just 13 walks. As a staff, the Wildcats have a 2.68 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 31 walks.