Softball Looks to Rebound with Four Game Series in Idaho

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings Yellowjacket softball team looks to rebound this week as it travels to Nampa, Idaho for a pair of games on Friday (3 p.m.) and Saturday (12 p.m.) against Northwest Nazarene. The Yellowjackets are looking to pick up a sweep and stay in the hunt for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship.

The Yellowjackets, 15-20 overall, are 12-12 in league play and currently sit 5.5 games behind league-leading Central Washington after dropping three-of-four to Western Oregon last weekend at home. The Crusaders, who the Jackets swept at home earlier this season, enter the weekend 6-26 overall and 6-21 in conference play.

Freshman Becca Frank leads the Yellowjackets with a .341 batting average that includes four doubles, a team-high two triples and five RBI in 24 games played. Frank has been a spark off the bench this season for the Yellowjackets as she ranks top five on the team in five categories.

The three, four and five spots in the lineup have provided most of the production this season, combining for 50 runs, 14 doubles, 15 home runs and 60 RBI, batting .284 combined. As a team, MSUB is batting .271 with 22 home runs and a .400 slugging percentage. The Jackets have a .733 stolen base percentage with 44 stolen bases on 60 attempts.

In the circle, Lindsey Trenary leads the team with a 3.41 ERA and a 10-7 record with 10 complete games and one shutout. Josie Grotbo carries a 3-7 record overall with a 4.57 ERA in 67.1 innings pitched. Opposing teams are batting .315 against the Jackets, hitting 30 home runs with a .464 slugging percentage.

Last week the Yellowjackets dropped both games on Sunday to the Western Oregon Wolves after splitting the doubleheader on Saturday. The Yellowjackets were held scoreless and tallied just eight hits, stranding 13 runners on the bases in Sunday’s games.