2007 Softball Wrap Up

BILLINGS, MT – The Montana State University Billings softball team had one of its most successful seasons in terms of wins and losses in 2007.  The Yellowjackets were 26-24 overall—just the second winning record in the program’s seven years.  A relatively young team accomplished that feat in the highly competitive Heartland Conference, where the Yellowjackets were 10-5 and finished third.  The two teams above them in the standings both went to the NCAA Tournament. 

The Yellowjackets’ success came in the team’s second and final year in the Heartland Conference and under its third head coach in three years.  MSU Billings, which was in the Pacific West Conference until 2005 and the Heartland until 2007, joins the Great Northwest Athletic Conference for the Jackets’ 2008 softball season. 

The Jackets’ inaugural season in the GNAC will also be under the direction of a new head coach.  Kim Lemmens resigned following the 2007 Heartland Conference Tournament, leaving the ’08 seniors in the odd circumstance of having a different head coach in each of their four seasons.  They came to MSUB under Jeff Aumend, the program’s first head coach and current head coach at Division I Charleston Southern.  They then played one season for Sean McGary and one season for Lemmens.

The new coach will have a solid core to work with.  The Jackets graduated only four seniors in 2007 and will bring back the entire pitching staff in 2008.  Rebekah Tsatsa (9-10), Terina Stacks (6-4), and Lisa Moore (5-5) will all be juniors.  Lindsey Trenary (6-5) will be a sophomore.  All four pitched between 53 and 114 innings this season.

While the pitching staff gained experience in 2007, the offense had one of the best years in the program’s history.  As a team, the Jackets ranked in the top two in school history in 10 different offensive categories.  That included a school-record 67 stolen bases.  The 2007 Jackets ranked second in school history—behind the 2005 NCAA Tournament team—for batting average, runs, runs per game, hits, doubles, slugging percentage, RBIs, and walks.

MSUB was shut out just seven times in 50 games, the last time coming in a 3-0 loss against eventual league champion St. Edward’s on March 24.  The offense that was sporadic early in the season picked up steam in the second half and had a hot-swinging month of April.  The Jackets averaged 6.4 runs a game in April.

The team’s offensive success coincided with several outstanding individual performances.  Terina Stacks, Jenna McCartney, Jessica Frank, and Leslie Davis were each named to the All-Heartland Conference first team.  Jenna Haacke and Lorel Palmer were picked to the All-Heartland second team.  All six players were recruits of Aumend’s in his final two seasons at MSUB.

Stacks was the Jackets’ most valuable hitter all season.  She finished the season with a 15-game hitting streak, the second longest in school history, to win the Heartland Conference batting title with a .410 average.  Stacks started 26 games at first base, four games in left field, one game in right field, 18 games as a designated player, and 11 games as a pitcher.  Along with her league-leading batting average, she ranked first in the conference with a school-record 71 hits, fourth with 42 runs, fifth with six home runs, first with 19 doubles, fourth with 35 RBIs, sixth with 11 stolen bases, third with a school-record 110 total bases, third with a .452 on base percentage, fourth with a .636 slugging percentage, seventh with six pitching victories, and tenth with a .295 opponent batting average.

McCartney had a strong second half of the season, finishing fifth in the conference for batting average at .353 and ninth in the league for on base percentage at .405.  As late as March 9, McCartney’s batting average was below .300, but nine multiple-hit games after that point made her one of the Jackets’ most valuable hitters in the lineup.

Davis had a breakout season after seeing action in just 13 games last year as a freshman.  She batted .288 with 27 runs scored and 26 RBIs.  Davis ranked seventh in the conference with five home runs and ninth for RBIs.  She was also one of five Yellowjackets with a slugging percentage over .430.

Frank also had an offensive surge late in the season.  She used a 4-for-4 performance against Oklahoma Panhandle State on March 18 to boost her batting average over .300 for the first time this season.  The four hits tied a single game school record.  From that point, Frank went on to finish ranked seventh in the Heartland with a .346 batting average, second with 13 doubles, fifth with a school-record 14 stolen bases, fourth with a .438 on base percentage, and ninth with a .478 slugging percentage.

Palmer batted .298 in the leadoff spot.  She ranked eighth in the league with 50 hits, eighth with 10 stolen bases, and tenth with 30 runs scored.  Haacke batted .265 with 21 RBIs and 18 runs.  She hit two home runs in four games at the Heartland Conference Tournament.

The Yellowjackets salvaged a winning season after starting the year losing seven of their first eight games.  It took until March 18 to get to the .500 mark when a four-game sweep at Oklahoma Panhandle State put them above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2005 season. 

In the midst of the Jackets’ mid-season surge was a 5-3 record at the Central Washington Invitational in early March.  The tournament was important for MSUB because all eight games were played against some of next year’s GNAC opponents.  The Jackets defeated eventual league champion Western Washington and runner up Western Oregon.  They lost once to host Central Washington and twice to eventual NCAA West Region finalist Seattle University.

The biggest damper on the season was delivered by Mother Nature.  Between March 31 and April 10, MSUB had nine games cancelled.  Seven of those games were scheduled for Cenex Stadium.  The Yellowjackets entered that stretch having fallen three games below .500.  Three of the nine cancellations were against Texas-Permian Basin, and the entire series against defending Heartland champ St. Mary’s was washed out.

When spring finally arrived and the Jackets were able to get back to action, they won six of their final eight regular season games.  The only losses came at Division I Idaho State.  Included in the six wins was a series sweep against Incarnate Word at Cenex Stadium to lock up the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.

MSUB opened the conference tourney with a 4-1 win against Oklahoma Panhandle State.  The game was highlighted by a sixth-inning home run from Haacke.  The Jackets dropped their second round game to host St. Mary’s 5-3.  The loss sent MSUB to the loser out bracket, where they dispatched Lincoln 7-0 on Friday morning of the tournament.  Tsatsa threw a complete game two-hitter in the win.

The Jackets’ season ended in Friday’s nightcap when they faced Incarnate Word.  MSUB was responsible for knocking the Cardinals out of the 2006 conference tournament.  The Cards returned the favor in 2007, outlasting the Jackets 7-5 in 13 innings.  It was the longest game in school history for MSUB.

School Records from 2007 Season
Team Single Game
45 at bats – 1st
37 at bats – 5th
35 at bats – 10th
20 runs – 1st
14 runs – 5th
11 runs – 10th
20 hits – 1st
16 runs – 3rd
15 runs – 5th
14 runs – 7th
18 RBIs – 1st
13 RBIs – 5th
10 RBIs – 9th
6 doubles – 1st
4 doubles – 9th
3 home runs – 6th
13 walks – 1st
6 walks – 6th
10 stolen bases – 1st
9 stolen bases – 2nd
5 stolen bases – 4th
4 stolen bases – 5th
3 stolen bases – 3rd
15 run margin/victory – 1st
10 run margin/victory – 7th
7 consecutive victories – 4th
6 consecutive victories – 7th
17 consecutive games scoring – 3rd
13 innings – 1st
9 innings – 5th

Team Season
50 games played – 3rd
26 wins – 3rd
.520 W/L % - 2nd
.667 conf. W/L % - 2nd
1,381 at bats – 2nd
.296 batting average – 2nd
251 runs – 2nd
5.02 runs/game – 2nd
409 hits – 2nd
558 total bases – 3rd
69 doubles – 2nd
4 triples – 4th
24 home runs – 4th
.404 slugging % - 2nd
220 RBIs – 2nd
67 stolen bases – 1st
.720 stolen base % - 4th
119 walks – 2nd
37 complete games – 1st
325.2 innings pitched – 3rd
3.78 ERA – 5th
5 shutouts – 3rd
177 strikeouts – 4th
3.80 strikeout ratio – 6th
.954 fielding % - 1st

Individual Single Game
7 at bats, Aysha Maddox – 1st
6 at bats, Lorel Palmer – 2nd
4 hits, Terina Stacks – 1st
4 hits, Jessica Frank – 1st
4 hits, Lorel Palmer – 1st
4 runs, Terina Stacks – 1st
3 runs, 9 players – 2nd
3 doubles, Terina Stacks – 1st
2 doubles, 4 players – 3rd
7 total bases, 3 players – 8th
3 walks, Jenna McCartney – 4th
3 walks, Aysha Maddox – 4th
3 stolen bases, Terina Stacks – 1st
2 stolen bases, 5 players – 4th
9.0 innings pitched, Rebekah Tsatsa – 3rd
8.0 innings pitched, Rebekah Tsatsa – 10th
8.0 innings pitched, Lisa Moore – 10th

Individual Season
173 at bats, Terina Stacks – 2nd
168 at bats, Lorel Palmer – 6th
.410 batting average, Terina Stacks – 2nd
.353 batting average, Jenna McCartney – 7th
.346 batting average, Jessica Frank – 8th
42 runs, Terina Stacks – 2nd
30 runs, Lorel Palmer – 4th
28 runs, Stephanie Gosselin – 9th
27 runs, Leslie Davis – 10th
110 total bases, Terina Stacks – 1st
71 hits, Terina Stacks – 1st
50 hits, Lorel Palmer – 8th
19 doubles, Terina Stacks – 2nd
13 doubles, Jessica Frank – 3rd
7 doubles, Jenna McCartney – 9th
6 home runs, Terina Stacks – 9th
.636 slugging %, Terina Stacks – 6th
35 RBIs, Terina Stacks – 4th
30 RBIs, Stephanie Gosselin – 6th
14 stolen bases, Jessica Frank – 1st
11 stolen bases, Terina Stacks – 2nd
10 stolen bases, Lorel Palmer – 3rd
9 stolen bases, Mandy Schaapveld – 4th
5 stolen bases, Stephanie Gosselin – 7th
5 stolen bases, Aysha Maddox – 7th
16 walks, Megan Moeller – 5th
15 walks, Aysha Maddox – 6th
14 walks, Jessica Frank – 7th
21 pitching appearances, Rebekah Tsatsa – 6th
16 pitching starts, Rebekah Tsatsa – 7th
13 pitching starts, Lindsey Trenary – 9th
14 complete games, Rebekah Tsatsa – 3rd
10 complete games, Lindsey Trenary – 7th
8 complete games, Terina Stacks – 9th
114.2 innings pitched, Rebekah Tsatsa – 5th
93.1 innings pitched, Lindsey Trenary – 9th
9 wins, Rebekah Tsatsa – 3rd
6 wins, Terina Stacks – 6th
6 wins, Lindsey Trenary – 6th
3.15 ERA, Lindsey Trenary – 6th
3.36 ERA, Rebekah Tsatsa – 7th
63 strikeouts, Rebekah Tsatsa – 6th
60 strikeouts, Lindsey Trenary – 7th
15 game hitting streak, Terina Stacks – 2nd
14 game hitting streak, Lorel Palmer – 3rd
11 game hitting streak, Terina Stacks – 8th
3 consecutive victories, Lindsey Trenary – 10th
3 consecutive victories, Rebekah Tsatsa – 10th
21 multi-hit games, Terina Stacks – 2nd
15 multi-hit games, Jessica Frank – 4th
9 multi-RBI games, Stephanie Gosselin – 4th
9 multi-RBI games, Terina Stacks – 4th
8 multi-RBI games, Jessica Frank – 7th

Individual Career
.368 batting average, Terina Stacks – 2nd
.320 batting average, Stephanie Gosselin – 4th
.319 batting average, Jenna McCartney – 5th
.293 batting average, Jenna Haacke – 8th
.287 batting average, Jessica Frank – 9th
195 games played, Aysha Maddox – 1st
138 games played, Jenna Haacke – 9th
178 games started, Aysha Maddox – 2nd
132 games started, Jenna Haacke – 8th
395 at bats, Aysha Maddox – 7th
382 at bats, Jenna Haacke – 8th
60 runs, Aysha Maddox – 6th
50 runs, Terina Stacks – 8th
48 runs, Jenna Haacke – 10th
112 hits, Jenna Haacke – 6th
19 doubles, Terina Stacks – 6th
17 doubles, Jessica Frank – 8th
14 doubles, Jenna Haacke – 9th
14 doubles, Jenna McCartney – 9th
17 home runs, Jenna Haacke – 5th
7 home runs, Jessica Frank – 8th
7 home runs, Terina Stacks – 8th
6 home runs, Stephanie Gosselin – 10th
64 RBIs, Jenna Haacke – 6th
49 RBIs, Aysha Maddox – 9th
47 RBIs, Jessica Frank – 10th
181 total bases, Jenna Haacke – 5th
119 total bases, Terina Stacks – 9th
112 total bases, Jessica Frank – 10th
112 total bases, Aysha Maddox – 10th
.569 slugging %, Terina Stacks – 2nd
.474 slugging %, Jenna Haacke – 6th
.462 slugging %, Stephanie Gosselin – 8th
.446 slugging %, Jessica Frank – 10th
33 walks, Aysha Maddox – 5th
24 walks, Jenna Haacke – 6th
21 walks, Megan Moeller – 8th
.411 on base %, Terina Stacks – 2nd
.377 on base %, Megan Moeller – 3rd
.366 on base %, Jessica Frank – 6th
.362 on base %, Jenna McCartney – 7th
.359 on base %, Stephanie Gosselin – 9th
16 stolen bases, Jessica Frank – 1st
14 stolen bases, Lorel Palmer – 2nd
11 stolen bases, Terina Stacks – 4th
9 stolen bases, Stephanie Gosselin – 6th
7 stolen bases, Aysha Maddox – 9th
500 put outs, Aysha Maddox – 2nd
263 put outs, Jenna McCartney – 6th
183 put outs, Terina Stacks – 9th
170 put outs, Jenna Haacke – 10th
216 assists, Jessica Frank – 1st
125 assists, Jenna Haacke – 6th
121 assists, Leslie Davis – 7th
119 assists, Aysha Maddox – 8th
86 assists, Megan Moeller – 10th
.979 fielding %, Jenna McCartney – 2nd
.974 fielding %, Terina Stacks – 5th
.963 fielding %, Leslie Davis – 8th
.957 fielding %, Lorel Palmer – 9th
.955 fielding %, Aysha Maddox – 10th
3.15 ERA, Lindsey Trenary – 2nd
3.61 ERA, Rebekah Tsatsa – 3rd
3.81 ERA, Terina Stacks – 4th
3.94 ERA, Lisa Moore – 5th
15 victories, Rebekah Tsatsa – 3rd
13 victories, Lisa Moore – 4th
12 victories, Terina Stacks – 5th
6 victories, Lindsey Trenary – 6th
40 pitching appearances, Terina Stacks – 3rd
38 pitching appearances, Rebekah Tsatsa – 4th
37 pitching appearances, Lisa Moore – 5th
18 pitching appearances, Lindsey Trenary – 9th
31 pitching starts, Lisa Moore – 3rd
29 pitching starts, Rebekah Tsatsa – 4th
26 pitching starts, Terina Stacks – 5th
13 pitching starts, Lindsey Trenary, 7th
20 complete games, Rebekah Tsatsa – 3rd
18 complete games, Lisa Moore – 4th
18 complete games, Terina Stacks – 4th
10 complete games, Lindsey Trenary – 7th
194.0 innings pitched, Rebekah Tsatsa – 3rd
181.1 innings pitched, Lisa Moore – 4th
174.1 innings pitched, Terina Stacks – 5th
93.1 innings pitched, Lindsey Trenary – 7th
136 strikeouts, Lisa Moore – 3rd
108 strikeouts, Terina Stacks – 4th
108 strikeouts, Rebekah Tsatsa – 4th
60 strikeouts, Lindsey Trenary – 6^th

Individual Honors
Heartland All-Conference
Terina Stacks – First Team
Jenna McCartney – First Team
Jessica Frank – First Team
Leslie Davis – First Team
Jenna Haacke – First Team
Lorel Palmer – First Team

Heartland All-Tournament
Terina Stacks
Jessica Frank
Jenna Haacke

Heartland Player of the Week
Jenna McCartney, hitter, 4/9-13
Jessica Frank, hitter, 3/12-18
Lorel Palmer, hitter, 2/26-3/4
Terina Stacks, hitter, 2/12-18