April 10, 2008

Softball Records Key Doubleheader Sweep of First-Place Central Washington, 11-1, 4-3

     Game One
     Game Two 

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Montana State Billings softball team brought the lumber Thursday afternoon in a key doubleheader sweep of first-place Central Washington, 11-1 and 4-3.  With the victories, the Jackets move into the thick of the conference race, improving to 17-16 on the year and 6-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.  The Wildcats fall out of first-place to 14-19 overall and 9-5 in the GNAC.

The Yellowjackets outhit CWU 24-11 in the twinbill and 13-3 in the opener.  Leslie Davis went 3 for 4 with four RBI and two runs scored in the first game.  She was one of three Yellowjackets who went deep in the game with a three run home run in the fourth inning.

The series with Central Washington was the first conference series the Yellowjackets had played since Mar. 15 against Western Oregon in Billings.  MSUB now has won six-straight conference games.

The teams each scored a run in the first with two out, RBI doubles.  Davis gave the Jackets the 1-0 lead with her double.  CWU countered in the bottom half of the inning with a RBI double from Logan Mohr.

MSUB scored three times in the second and fourth innings and four times in the third.  Jessica Frank tallied a two run home run in the second inning, Kelly Parsons went deep for another two run blast in the third and Davis’ shot in the fourth. 

That would be all the Jackets would need as Lisa Moore (5-5) held the Wildcats to just three hits in five innings as the game was call due to the eight-run rule.  Moore allowed one earned run and had one walk in just 48 pitches.  Moore also helped herself from the plate as she went 3 of 3 with one RBI and she scored twice.

In the nightcap, the Jackets took the early 1-0 lead as Crystal Bentley scored Frank on a RBI single for the 1-0 lead in the first inning. 

Central Washington evened the score in the bottom of the third with a RBI single up the middle from Liz Wallace who went a combined 3 for 6 to lead the Wildcats in the doubleheader.

The Jackets regained the lead in the fifth on a single, a bunt and a sacrifice fly by Davis for a 2-1 lead.

Central Washington came storming back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a triple by Holly Rossman and a groundout to second by Mohr for a 2-2 score.  Later, Cami Halstead doubled to left field scoring Mohr for a 3-2 advantage.

The Wildcats’ lead was short lived, however, as the Jackets put a pair of hits together – a single by Amanda Schaapveld and a double by Frank and an error scored the first run.  Jenna Haacke singled through the infield to score the game-winning run.

Moore (6-5), who pitched in relief of Rebekah Tsatsa, earned her second win of the day in one-and-two-thirds innings allowing just one hit.  Tsatsa went five and a third innings, allowing seven hits, three runs – two earned and one strikeout.

The Yellowjackets continue on the road at Northwest Nazarene for a four-game series beginning tomorrow at 2 p.m. and concluding on Saturday at 11 a.m.  The doubleheader on Friday is the make-up series from Mar. 22 in Billings when the games were snowed out.