Lady Jackets Stop Losing Skid (4/3/06)
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, TX – The Montana State-Billings softball team endured a late night and used one big inning to snap its 12-game losing streak Monday.  The Yellowjackets bounced back from a 2-1 loss and a long rain delay to defeat St. Mary’s University 5-4 in the nightcap.  The Jackets moved their season record to 8-26 and won their first conference game of the season to improve to 1-9.  St. Mary’s moved to 31-16 overall and 8-6 in the Heartland Conference. 

“It feels great to get a win,” said Yellowjacket head coach Sean McGary.  “I’m proud of the way we played today.  All three things we talked about we did.  We got some offense, we played good defense, and we pitched well.  You get that feeling that it’s going to happen again.  You start to think that way, so it’s to nice shed that.  I think the win will help them relax a little and not try to press so hard.”

The Yellowjackets jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one when Stephanie Gosselin (Fr., Brentwood Bay, BC) hit a bases-loaded single to left to drive in Jenna McCartney (Jr., Victor, MT).  In the bottom half of the first, Yellowjacket starter Terina Stacks (Fr., Washougal, WA) walked the first two batters she faced then struck out three in a row.

The Yellowjackets went down in order in the top of the second, and Stacks retired the first two Rattlers in the bottom half of the inning.  That’s when Mother Nature took over, delaying the game for 90 minutes with rain and lightening.  The second inning of the first game didn’t resume until 7:15, fifteen minutes later than the second game was scheduled to begin.

The Rattlers bounced back from the long delay to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning.  Tiffani Craft led off the inning with an infield single, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch.  Three batters later, Craft scored on a sacrifice fly by Terrie Cox.  St. Mary’s manufactured the winning run in the bottom of the sixth and held on for the 2-1 win.  Mary Pederson slapped a leadoff single to left and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.  Kelcy Walker then singled to right to drive in Pederson for what would turn out to be the winning run.

The Yellowjackets went down in order in the top of the seventh, spoiling another strong pitching performance by Stacks.  She scattered six hits and two runs over six innings and struck out eight.  Despite having the team’s second-lowest ERA, Stacks fell to 0-9 on the season.  The Rattlers’ Malissa Magee went the distance for the win to improve to 17-8.  She allowed four hits and struck out five.

The two pitchers allowed only a combined 10 hits in the game without an extra base hit.  McCartney, Rachel Quarnburg (Jr., Billings, MT), Jenna Haacke (So., Billings, MT) and Gosselin each singled for the Jackets.

After a scoreless first inning to start the second game, the Yellowjacket offense erupted for five runs in the top of the second for their second-biggest inning of the season.  MSU Billings hadn’t scored five runs in an entire game for 12-straight games.  All 12 of those games were losses.  The Jackets’ last win came back on March 11.

The Jackets’ big inning started with two small plays.  Aysha Maddox (Jr., Richland, WA) reached on catcher’s interference and was moved to second by a perfect sacrifice bunt by Stephanie Rinehart (Fr., Gig Harbor, WA).  One of the Yellowjackets’ best hitting performances of the year followed as six different players hit safely.

Megan Moeller (Jr., Ontario, OR) started the barrage with a single to center, driving in Maddox from second for the first run of the game.  After a groundout, Gosselin singled to right field to plate Moeller for a 2-0 lead.  McCartney then doubled to the left center gap to score Gosselin. 

Quarnburg followed with a single to left to bring in McCartney.  A Haacke line drive single off pitcher Brittany Brown’s leg sent Quarnburg to second and Brown to the bench.  She was replaced by Magee with two outs in the second.  Jessica Frank (So., Great Falls, MT) pinch ran for Quarnburg at second and promptly scored following a Christy Wankel (Sr., Great Falls, MT) single and a throwing error by the Rattlers’ catcher.

The Rattlers were on the verge of a rally with one out in the bottom of the fifth after Craft singled to centerfield with one out.  Yellowjacket centerfielder Wankel narrowly missed making a spectacular catch on Craft’s hit in shallow center.  The next St. Mary’s batter, Jamie Bertsch, sent a Lisa Moore (Fr., Bakersfield, CA) offering over the centerfield fence for what looked like a two-run homer.  Wankel leaped and reached over the fence at the last moment to rob the home run then turned and gunned down Craft at first base for an inning-ending double play.

After the Jackets went down in order in the top of the sixth, the Rattlers finally broke through in the bottom half of the inning when Cox sent a towering solo shot over the centerfield fence to lead off the inning.  The Rattlers were unable to score another run in the sixth, but almost stole the game in the bottom of the seventh.  Bertsch doubled to left to score Craft and Sade Moore to cut the lead to 5-4.  With two outs, Stacks replaced Moore on the rubber for the Jackets.

Against the first batter she faced, Stacks gave up an RBI double to Cox, scoring Bertsch.  Following a long at bat, Stacks finally got Lindsay Barnes to groundout to short to end the game and the losing streak.  Stacks earned her third save of the year, and Moore improved 5-11 with the win.  Moore gave up eight hits and four runs in 6 2/3 innings, striking out five.

The Yellowjacket offense, which had eight total hits, was led by McCartney and Haacke who were each 2-for-4.  The Rattlers were led by Cox, who was 3-for-3 and drove in two of the team’s four runs.  Brown took the loss to fall to 13-8.

The Yellowjackets conclude their 12-game conference road trip with a doubleheader at fifteenth-ranked University of the Incarnate Word on Tuesday.  First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., a short turnaround for the Jackets after Monday’s rain-delayed doubleheader went deep into the night.  The Lady Jackets will fly back to Billings Tuesday night to prepare for their Heartland Conference home opener on Friday.  MSU Billings hosts Oklahoma Panhandle State beginning at 3:00 p.m. Friday at Cenex Stadium.  Friday’s doubleheader will also be MSUB Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day.  The Yellowjackets and Aggies will meet again on Saturday at 1:00.