Softball Alumni Game Scheduled for Saturday (10/6/05)

BILLINGS, MT – First year head coach Sean McGary and the Montana State-Billings softball team will play their annual alumni game Saturday afternoon.  The 7-inning game is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m., weather permitting.

For the young Yellowjacket squad, Saturday’s alumni game may be one of the toughest they face this year.  Participating for the alumni team will be the nine recently graduated Yellowjackets who advanced to the NCAA West Region semifinals last year.  The list of credentials for those former Yellowjackets is considerable: ranked ninth in the nation for home runs, twelfth for slugging percentage, and seventeenth for batting average; five all-conference selections; three all-region selections; the conference pitcher of the year; one NCAA All-West Region Tournament selection; one All-America selection; and one player who played professionally all summer in Europe.

MSU Billings will return just seven players in 2006 that saw action in 2005.  The returnees include All-West Region first baseman Rachel Quarnburg (Jr., Billings, MT) and NCAA West Region All-Tournament outfielder Christy Wankel (Sr., Great Falls, MT).  Both players were also all-conference selections last year.  The Yellowjackets have 13 new players on the roster plus redshirt freshman Stephanie Rinehart (Gig Harbor, WA).

Following Saturday’s alumni game, the Yellowjackets will wrap up fall practice with a Blue-Gold Scrimmage on October 15.  The Jackets are scheduled to open the regular season February 11-13 at a tournament in Phoenix.