Jackets Split with Wolves, 3-2 and 5-7

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

BILLINGS, Mont. – It was a drama-filled day at Cenex Stadium as the Montana State Billings softball squad split a doubleheader with Western Oregon University Saturday afternoon, winning game one 3-2 and dropping game two 7-5. The Yellowjackets were unable to close the gap between them and the Wolves in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, moving to 15-17 on the season and 12-9 in conference play.

“We just weren’t able to complete the rally in the second game and get the sweep today,” said Yellowjackets Head Coach, Anthony Stone. “Western Oregon is a very talented team defensively and we struggled with our bats today. It was good to see the team fight for the win in the first game and not give up in the second game when we had two outs in the seventh. We just have to come back tomorrow and swing the bats a little better and try to take two games.”

The Yellowjackets were led by senior Whitney Whittemore who combined to go 3-for6 with two runs scored, a home run and two RBI. Three other players had a pair of hits on the day as the Jackets hit .260 on the afternoon as a team and gathered six walks.

Game one was a defensive battle on both sides, even though the Wolves scattered 12 hits against MSUB’s Lindsey Trenary. The Yellowjackets had problems getting runners on the bases as Western Oregon starter Jessica Wood carried a perfect game into the fifth before issuing a lead-off walk to catcher Kelly Parsons.

After Parsons walked, Coach Stone made a substitution, pinch running Ashley Moeller for Parsons with Kaycee Hoffman coming to bat. After Hoffman struck out looking, Moeller advanced to second on a passed ball, and then moved to third when Jenna VanEyekeren grounded out to second.

Rachel Eisenmann drove Moeller home with the next at bat, doubling to right center field to break the scoreless tie and give MSUB a 1-0 lead at the end of five.

The Wolves struck right back in the sixth with two out and one on when Ellen Bogardus slapped a double to left field to score Amanda Fleer from second base to tie the game at 1-1. After both teams were unable to do anything in the seventh, Western Oregon took the lead in the eighth when Jessica Hallmark singled to start the inning and later scored on a single to right field by Stephanie Albrecht.

Down 2-1, MSUB provided late inning fireworks with some help from the Wolves pitchers. Eisenmann walked to lead-off the inning, and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Madison Smith. She then advanced to third after Woods’ throw found the dirt and skipped passed the catcher.

With Becca Frank standing in the box, Woods hung a pitch that the freshman took to right field for an RBI triple, scoring Eisenmann on the play. The Wolves changed pitchers, going with Jessie Lessard, but her first pitch to Amanda Goings was in the dirt and found the backstop allowing Frank to score on the wild pitch.
The Jackets took the game 3-2 despite getting just two hits in the game, while Trenary tossed eight complete innings, allowing two earned runs on 12 hits, fanning two. Trenary improved to 10-5 on the season with the win, giving her double digit wins for the first time in her career.

The Wolves jumped on the Jackets early in the day cap, scoring a pair of runs in each, the first and third innings. Leading 2-0 in the third, sophomore pitcher, Josie Grotbo, gave up a two-run homer to Fleer to trail 4-0.

The Yellowjackets cut the deficit to one in the bottom half of the third when Stevie Howard drove in Frank with a double to left center and moved Goings to third. Goings and Howard each scored on the next two at bats as Whittemore and Parsons each had sacrifice flies to score the runners.

Down 5-3 in the fifth, Whittemore brought the Jackets back to within one with a solo home run to left.

Western Oregon extended their lead to 7-4 in the sixth when Trenary, who came in in relief of Grotbo, got taken deep for a two-run bomb by Kendra George.

Again the Jackets tried for some late inning heroics in the seventh with two away. Whittemore singled up the middle and then went to second after Parsons singled through the left side. With two on board, Hoffman singled past the first baseman to score Whittemore and cut the lead to 7-5. The rally was cut short when VanEyekeren grounded out to short.

The Yellowjackets finished game two with five runs on 11 hits and had two errors. Grotbo took the loss, dropping to 3-7 on the season as she tossed five full innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and striking out two. Trenary threw two innings, allowing one run on two hits and struck out two.

Western Oregon’s Brittany Reeves received the win as the Wolves used three pitchers to get the victory.

The Yellowjackets and Wolves return to the diamond tomorrow morning for another doubleheader at Cenex Stadium starting at 11 a.m. The doubleheader will wrap-up the season series between the two schools, as MSUB trails 2-4 in the series this season.