Yellowjackets Finish Own Tournament Unbeaten; McCrae Earns MVP Honors (March 23, 2003)

BILLINGS, MT –MSU Billings captured top honors at its own softball invitational on Sunday, winning two games to finish 4-0 at the two-day tournament.  The Yellowjackets routed Valley City State in their first game Sunday, 10-0.  They then rallied from a 6-1 deficit to defeat Minot State 9-6 in the tournament’s finale.

In Sunday’s noon game, Megan McCrae and Jordan Waverek combined for a two-hit shutout of Valley City State (0-4) in a game that ended in the sixth inning due to the eight-run rule.  McCrae gave up one hit in five innings, striking out seven and walking two.  Waverek pitched a scoreless sixth inning to close out the win.

The Yellowjacket offense, which batted a tournament-best .370, pounded out 13 hits against the Vikings.  Stephanie Cochrun went 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBI.  Christy Wankel was 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.  Cami Rainey was perfect at the plate in the game, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored.  Meghan O’Donnell also scored twice.

The Yellowjackets and Vikings played to a 0-0 tie through three innings.  MSUB broke the game open with three runs in the fourth.  Rainey doubled to left center to score O’Donnell and Wankel, then crossed the plate on Cochrun’s single.

The Jackets added to the lead in the fifth with four runs on four hits.  Wankel’s bunt single scored Tahnea Murphy from third.  Joey Ehnes’ single to left center plated Wankel, followed by Michelle Falskan’s single that scored Rainey and O’Donnell.

MSU Billings put the finishing touches on the Vikings with three runs in the sixth.  Murphy, Waverek and Wankel each scored to provide the final margin of victory. 

The Yellowjackets faced Minot State in the final game of the tournament Sunday evening.  The Beavers jumped on the Jackets early, tagging starter Joey Ehnes for six runs in the first three innings.  Kristen Saxon and Ashley Lanz each scored a pair of runs for Minot State.

McCrae replaced Ehnes after 2 1/3 innings and held the Beavers scoreless for the final 4 2/3, striking out five and walking none.  With time running out on the Yellowjackets, they put together their biggest rally of the season in the fifth inning, scoring eight runs on seven hits.

Joey Ehnes, who moved to designated hitter after being replaced by McCrae, started the rally with a leadoff infield single.  After walks from Cochrun and Falsken, Layne Pavey roped a single to left to drive in two runs.  Terilee Ehnes followed with a hard double down the right field line, scoring Pavey and Falsken.  Wankel then hit the Jackets’ third straight double to score Terilee Ehnes.  After McCrae struck out, Sara Hanley hit MSUB’s fourth double of the inning, slapping the ball down the right field line to score Wankel.

Rainey’s groundout to second accounted for the second out of the fifth inning.  Joey Ehnes then singled to center for her second hit of the fifth, scoring Hanley from third.  Cochrun followed Ehnes with the Yellowjackets’ fifth double of the inning, bringing in Ehnes for her second run of the inning.

McCrae mowed down the Beavers in the sixth and seventh innings, retiring six of seven batters faced.  She struck out the final batter of the game for her fifth K of the game and fifteenth of the tournament.  McCrae made three appearances in the tournament, earning three wins while posting a 0.00 ERA to earn tournament MVP honors.

The Yellowjackets improved to 8-13 with their current five-game winning streak.  They will next play at Dickinson State on April 2.  The next MSUB home game will be April 12 and 13 against PacWest foe Chaminade University.

Yellowjacket Invitational Results
Saturday
Minot State 15, Valley City State 2
Jamestown 4, Valley City State 2
MSU Billings 8, Jamestown 0
Dawson CC 13, Minot State 4
MSU Billings 6, Dawson CC 0

Sunday
Jamestown 3, Dawson CC 1
Minot State 4, Jamestown 1
MSU Billings 10, Valley City State 0
Dawson CC 14, Valley City State 5
MSU Billings 9, Minot State 6

Yellowjacket Invitational Standings
MSU Billings (4-0)
Minot State (2-2)
Dawson CC (2-2)
Jamestown (2-2)
Valley City State (0-4)