Lady Jackets Drop Two Against Mustangs (3/30/06)
Box Score 1
Box Score 2

SILVER CITY, NM – The Montana State-Billings softball team was hoping their first Heartland Conference win of the season would come against Western New Mexico in Thursday’s doubleheader in Silver City, New Mexico.  It wasn’t in the cards as the Lady Jackets dropped both conference games against the Mustangs, 9-1, and 3-2.  The Lady Jackets are now 7-21 overall and 0-4 in Heartland Conference play.  The Mustangs improved to 17-14 and 10-2 in the league.

Plagued by errors in game one, the Lady Jackets would like to soon forget the fourth inning.  Two costly errors by the Jackets and a Mustang homerun gave Western New Mexico the 6-1 lead.  Hopes of bringing the game back into reach in the fifth inning did not happen as the Jackets sent three up to bat and three came back to the dug out.  The Mustangs finished off the Jackets in the bottom of the fifth adding three more runs to bring home the conference win.

Jenna Haacke (So., Billings, MT) was the lone scorer for the Jackets.  Haacke was 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI.  Lisa Moore (Fr., Bakersfield, CA) took the loss for the Jackets allowing nine runs off six hits.  Moore struck out one batter.

Although the Jackets fell short of the win in game two, they came out ready to battle.  Unable to score in the first inning, the Jackets did test the Mustang defense getting four hits and leaving three on base.  The Jackets’ Jenna McCartney (Jr., Victor, MT) got things going for the team with a single and two RBI.  Lorel Palmer (Jr., Ogden, UT), and Jessica Frank (So., Great Falls, MT) scored in the second.  Western New Mexico evened the score in the bottom of the third with two runs off three hits.  The two teams went back and forth with solid defense keeping each other from taking the lead.  In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Mustangs first batter hit a homerun followed by three straight outs to give Western New Mexico the 3-2 lead.  The ball game would end with the Jackets going three up and three down.

McCartney was 2-for-4 in game two with two RBI.  Frank and Palmer scored with three other Lady Jackets getting hits.  Rebekah Tsatsa (Fr., Eagle, ID) took the loss pitching all seven innings.  Tsatsa struck out two batters and gave up three runs off seven hits.

The Lady Jackets continue conference play in San Antonio, Texas where, due to unusual scheduling, they will play St. Mary’s (TX) April 1 and 3 with first pitch at noon MST and against University of the Incarnate Word on April 2 and 4 with first pitch set for 11:00 a.m. MST.  Following the final eight road games the Lady Jackets will return to Cenex Stadium April 7 and 8 to host Oklahoma Panhandle State.  That doubleheader will start at 3:00 p.m.