Wildcats Defeat Jackets in Windy Conditions, 12-10 and 6-5
BILLINGS, Mont. – Windy conditions helped the Montana State Billings and Central Washington University softball teams combine for 10 home runs on a day that saw winds gust upwards of 30+ miles per hour. The league-leading Wildcats took the twinbill at Cenex Stadium on Saturday afternoon after 12-10 and 6-5 wins to improve to 31-13 overall and 26-8 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. With the losses, MSUB falls to 20-25 on the season and 17-17 in league play.
Stevie Howard led the way for the Yellowjackets, going 6-for-8 with four runs, a double, a home run and one RBI. Junior transfer Kaycee Hoffman unleashed a pair of home runs on her way to a 4-for-8 performance, including two runs and five RBI.
As a team, MSUB hit a combined .339 with 15 runs scored on three doubles and five home runs. The Jackets slugged .629 as a team and had an on base percentage of .397. The Yellowjackets stole three of four bases attempted and committed three errors in the game.
In game one, the Wildcats jumped out to a hot start, knocking in four runs on four hits and one Yellowjacket error.
MSUB answered back in the second when Hoffman drove a 1-0 pitch from Lauren Hadenfeld over the batting cage in left center to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Central again struck in the third, scoring a pair of runs on two hits off of MSUB starter, Josie Grotbo. Grotbo fell behind 6-1, but the offense picked her up in the next two innings.
A solo home run by Howard in the third cut the lead to 6-2, but it was the fourth inning that gave the Jackets the lead. After Becca Frank was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Kelly Parsons walked to put two on with nobody out and was replaced by Ashley Moeller.
After a double steal, Rachel Eisenmann hit her second home run of the season on a 2-2 pitch to bring the score to 6-5. Then, Angela Lingle was hit by a pitch as Central decided to pull Hadenfeld and bring in Katriina Reim. After Jenna VanEyekeren singled through the left side to move Lingle to second, Amanda Hood slapped a 2-0 pitch down the right field line and over the fence for a three-run homer. The Jackets added two more for an eight run inning on six hits.
The Wildcats answered back in the fifth as Grotbo loaded the bases and was replaced with Lindsey Trenary. CWU batted the ball for five runs on four hits to retake the lead 11-10, and then added another run in sixth to lead 12-10.
The Jackets were unable to make a push in the final two innings as Trenary took the loss and Reim picked up her sixth win of the season to move to 6-0. The teams combined for 22 runs on 23 hits and seven home runs.
Game two saw both offenses get off to hot starts, CWU earning a run in the first and MSUB earning two in the bottom of the frame. Howard, who went 4-for-4 in the game, started the inning with a single down the right field line then moved to third on a single by Amanda Goings. After Goings stole second, Parsons singled a 1-2 pitch to the left center gap to score the two runs.
The Wildcats earned runs in the third and fourth innings, but the Jackets answered back in the fifth. Howard and Goings started the inning off with back-to-back singles, then after a pair of outs, Hoffman crushed a first pitch offering to right field to take a 5-3 lead.
Central bounced back in the sixth when Keilani Cruz drove Trenary’s first pitch offering over the fence for a three-run home run. The Yellowjackets had a chance in the sixth when they had two on with two outs, but couldn’t get the runs across.
Trenary again took the loss in game two, falling to 13-11 on the season as Hadenfeld picked up the win to move to 18-4 on the year. In addition to Howard, Goings went 2-for-4 with two runs and Hoffman hit her ninth home run on the way to a 2-for-4 game.
The Yellowjackets and Wildcats will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. at Cenex Stadium to finish their four game series.
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