Marathon Heartbreaker Ends Lady Jacket Season (4/27/07)
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Heartland Conference Softball Tournament Web Page

SAN ANTONIO, TX – The longest game in school history ended on a sour note for the Montana State-Billings softball team Friday night at the Heartland Conference Tournament.  The Yellowjackets rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning only to lose to Incarnate Word 7-5 in 13 innings.  The previous longest game in school history was a 10-inning affair against BYU-Hawaii n 2004. 

The loss eliminated the Yellowjackets (26-24) from the tournament and ended their season.  The Cardinals (21-32) will have to try to recover from the three and a half hour battle that ended after 10:00 p.m. local time to face regular season champion St. Edward’s at 11:00 a.m. 

The Yellowjackets, who swept Incarnate Word in Billings just a few weeks ago, jumped to a 2-0 lead with runs in the second and third innings.  Aysha Maddox (Richland, WA) drove in Jessica Frank (Great Falls, MT) with an RBI single in the second.  Back-to-back doubles from Jenna McCartney (Hamilton, MT) and Terina Stacks (Washougal, WA) produced the Jackets’ second inning run.

The Cardinals answered with five runs over the next three innings.  They appeared to break the game open with a three-run fifth inning highlighted by a three-run home run from Ashley Hinojosa.  Hinojosa’s homer came off Yellowjacket starter Lindsey Trenary (Helena, MT).  Trenary went 7 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and five runs.

Megan Moeller’s (Ontario, OR) solo home run to lead off the fifth put the Jackets within striking distance.  Down to their last out in the bottom of the seventh, the Jackets drew three straight walks to load the bases.  A single up the middle by Frank plated Stacks and McCartney to force extra innings.

The Jackets’ Rebekah Tsatsa (Eagle, ID) and the Cardinals’ Amanda Sparks threw zeros for five-straight innings after the seventh, even though both teams put runners in scoring position.  Incarnate Word finally broke the standoff with a pair of runs in the top half of the 13th.  After loading the bases with two outs, the Cardinals’ Hinojosa reached on an error by Frank at shortstop, allowing Allison Britt and Stacy Segner to score.  The Jackets were able to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the 13th, but a strikeout and a foul out ended the threat and the game 

Tsatsa (9-10) gave up six hits in 5 2/3 innings in the loss.  Both runs allowed were unearned.  Sparks (6-11) picked up the win after going 8 2/3 innings.  She gave up four hits and 11 walks.

Only two Yellowjackets managed multi-hit games.  Frank was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.  Moeller was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  McCartney was 1-for-3 and drew three walks, one short of the school record.  Stacks went 1-for-5 to finish the season with a .410 batting average, likely winning the conference batting title.

The Cardinals’ Britt was 3-for-7 and scored twice.  Hinojosa was just 1-for-7 but drove in three runs with her home run.  Segner went 3-for-5.

To advance to meet UIW, the Jackets had to get past Lincoln in the afternoon elimination game.  It took a few innings to get into gear, but the Jackets finished strong in a 7-0 win.  While the Yellowjacket offense was warming up, Tsatsa kept the Blue Tigers in check.  She allowed just two hits in the complete game shutout.  Tsatsa struck out two without a walk and only allowed base runners in the second and fourth innings.

The offense finally sprung to life with three runs in the third inning.  Base hits from Stephanie Gosselin (Victoria, BC), Jenna Haacke (Billings, MT), Maddox, and Tsatsa sparked the rally.

The Yellowjackets broke the game open with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Back-to-back home runs from Gosselin and Haacke accounted for all three runs.  Frank scored on Gosselin’s fifth homer of the year.  Haacke’s home run was her third of the season and second of the tournament.

Gosselin and Haacke were each 3-for-4 with two runs in the game.  Gosselin drove in a career-high three RBIs.  Leadoff hitter Lorel Palmer (Ogden, UT) went 2-for-3 and drove in an RBI with a bases loaded walk in the third inning.

Jessica Fowler (5-11) took the loss for the Tigers.  She gave up 13 hits and seven earned runs in six innings.  Beth Arnel and Asia Coleman each singled for Lincoln’s only two hits.