Softball Packs Bags for California Tournament

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings softball team takes a break from the conference season this week to travel to Turlock, Calif. for the ninth annual Mizuno Tournament of Champions hosted by Cal State University-Stanislaus. The tournament is a three-day event comprised of 22 teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Pacific West Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Yellowjackets will begin pool play on Friday against Cal State Eastbay at 4:15 p.m. and will then take on Notre Dame de Namur in a night cap at 8 p.m. The Jackets then have three games on Saturday, taking on 14th ranked Sonoma State at 9:30 a.m., UC San Diego at 1:30 p.m. and wrap-up pool play against CSU Monterey Bay at 3:45 p.m.

Based on pool play results, MSUB will be placed in one of three brackets during Sunday’s bracket play finale to determine the overall and bracket champions. The Yellowjackets have been placed in Pool B before the start of the tournament, which was won by Hawaii Pacific last season.

Entering the tournament, MSUB is ranked 46th in the nation in stolen bases per game with 1.57 swipes per game. As a team the Yellowjackets have swiped 35-of-48 attempts this season, 19 of which come from seniors Stevie Howard (10) and Whitney Whittemore (9).

The Yellowjackets are 11-10 overall on the season and 9-7 GNAC play. They’re coming off a tough series against the GNAC-leading Wildcats of Central Washington last weekend, dropping 3-of-4 games to fall four games back in the standings.

Junior transfer Kaycee Hoffman leads the team with a .356 batting average (21-for-59), scoring 12 runs, and 13 RBI and collecting three dingers. Hoffman also has one of the highest fielding percentages defensively for the Yellowjackets, committing just two errors with a .986 percentage.

Amanda Goings is second on the team in hitting, going 8-for-24 (.333) with a pair of RBI and a .385 on base percentage. Junior Kelly Parsons currently leads the team with four home runs and has a team-leading 15 RBI on the season. As a catcher, Parsons has three errors on the season with a .965 fielding percentage.

The MSUB pitching staff has a combined 3.36 ERA, led by Lindsey Trenary’s 2.66 ERA with a 7-2 record and 32 strikeouts in 58 innings of work. Josie Grotbo is 2-2 on the year with a 3.69 ERA in nine appearances this season. Grotbo has struck out 13 and walked 16 in 30 1/3 innings.

The Yellowjackets have struggled from the plate just a bit this season, hitting .272 with 81 RBI and 14 home runs. MSUB is .294 with runners aboard and are just .222 with the bases loaded. The Yellowjackets have managed to hit .306 with runners in scoring position however.

Looking at the Yellowjackets known competition this weekend, Cal State Eastbay enters the tournament with a 7-15 record overall and 5-15 in CCAA play. East Bay is hitting .242 as a team while the pitching staff carries a 4.16 ERA. As a team, they have just 27 extra base hits this season, 22 doubles and five homers.

The Yellowjackets second opponent, Notre Dame de Namur, enters weekend play with an 8-20 record overall and a 6-14 record in conference. The Argonauts are batting .252 as a team while their opponents are hitting .330 against a pitching staff that has a 3.85 ERA.

The 14th ranked Seawolves of Sonoma State enter the weekend as one of the hottest teams coming into the tournament, crushing opponents with a .317 team batting average. The Seawolves are 20-7 on the season and 15-5 in conference play.

Sonoma State’s pitching staff is allowing opposing batters to hit .217 against them and have a 1.86 ERA on a four person staff. Opponent’s ERA against the Seawolves is a ballooned 4.94 on the year including 133 RBI.

In the fourth game, UC San Diego brings in a 19-9 record into the tournament with a 13-7 record in the CCAA. The Tritons have a team ERA of 1.54 while opponents have a 3.08 ERA, which has translated into a .278 batting average for the UCSD.

The Yellowjackets will take on Cal State Monterey Bay in their final game of pool play Saturday evening. The Otters have an 18-8 record overall and bring in a 14-6 conference record in the CCAA. CSUMB is batting .252 with 13 home runs and 94 RBI on the year. Their pitching staff has a 2.65 ERA with 103 strikeouts and allowing just four home runs.