Jackets Take Two From Aggies (4/21/06)
Box Score 1
Box Score 2
Game
Photos
BILLINGS, MT – After winning
three of four games in Goodwell, Okla. earlier in the season,
the Montana State-Billings baseball team swept Oklahoma
Panhandle in Friday’s doubleheader at Cobb
Field. The Jackets cruised to the
5-0 shutout victory in the first game and finished off the sweep
3-1 in game two. The Heartland Conference wins improved the
Jackets to 10-20 in the league and 12-28 overall. The Aggies
continued their downward spiral falling to 3-27 in the
conference and 4-40 on the season.
The Jackets started the first
inning with a line drive out to third baseman Kyle Slater (Jr., Missoula, MT) followed up with a grounded double play to
leave one Aggie stranded on base. Left fielder Willie
Crtalic (Jr., Billings, MT) used smart thinking in the
bottom of the first. Crtalic was caught off base but instead of
taking the tag, he preoccupied the Aggies long enough to allow Kyle Pryor (Jr., Billings, MT) to score giving the Jackets the 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, Doug
Longfellow (Jr., Lewistown, MT) hit a double to advance Matt
Kakalecik (Fr., Great Falls, MT) to third. Pryor hit a
sacrifice fly to right field bringing in Longfellow and
Kakalecik for two RBI.
In the sixth inning Crtalic added
another stolen base to his resume and on the next at bat Nick Hoskyn (Jr., Oelwein, IA) hit his first home run of the season for
two additional insurance runs. In the top of the seventh the
Aggies’ K.D. Bressler grounded out to end the ball game. Hoskyn
went 1-for-3 with one run, two RBI, and a home run. Hurler Nathan
Herbig (Jr., Noxon, MT) pitched a complete game shutout, scattering six hits over seven innings to improve to 2-6.
The Aggies’ Ricky Reagan took
the loss giving up five runs off eight hits. Wes Wise went
2-for-2 and Dave Pierson went 2-for-3. Bressler hit a double.
Game two started off with Kyle
McBride (Jr., Billings, MT) headed toward his fourth shutout as
he seated three Aggie batters in a row. At bat, Pryor singled
to left field and advanced to second base on an Aggie error
setting up Crtalic to make the sacrifice fly bringing in Pryor.
The third and fourth innings for the Aggies ended like the first
with McBride seating six batters in a row. In the third,
Crtalic was walked and Mike
Wardell’s (So., Billings, MT) sacrifice bunt advanced
Crtalic to second. Earning his second steal of the day, Crtalic
reached third and Hoskyn’s single brought him home for the 2-0
lead.
In the fifth inning, the Aggies’ Pierson singled and then
advanced on a passed ball getting to second base. Brock
Hixenbaugh singled down the left line to score Pierson bringing
the Aggies within two runs. McBride kept his cool in the sixth
and seventh innings walking a total of two batters and striking
out six to earn his fourth win on the season. For the game,
McBride allowed just two hits and struck out a career high
eleven batters. Pryor went 2-for-4 with one run while Slater
went 1-for-2 also with one run.
Chance Greenwood took the loss
for Oklahoma Panhandle, allowing three runs off seven hits and is
1-11 on the season. Hixenbaugh went 1-for-2 in the game
bringing in the teams only RBI while Pierson scored.
The Jackets and Aggies will
square off again Saturday for a Heartland Conference
doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
Note: Saturday’s
game time has been changed from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. |
