IRVINE — A pitchers' duel ensued Sunday at Great Park, and it was Montana State Billings who came out on top, beating the Stanislaus State softball team with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, winning 3-1 on the final day of the Concordia Kickoff Classic.
 
Delaney Pamplin (1-1) limited the Yellowjackets (2-3) to just one hit over the first five innings. She retired the first seven she faced and 15 of 17 through the fifth. MSUB finally broke through in the sixth, starting with a leadoff infield single. Pamplin could have gotten out of the inning, but two errors kept the inning alive. MSUB cleanup hitter Maycen O'Neal doubled home two unearned runs with two outs, and another error allowed a third run to score, making it 3-0.
 
Stanislaus State (2-3) didn't go down without a fight. In their final at-bat in the top of the seventh, the Warriors put together back-to-back one-out singles, then got consecutive two-out walks to force in a run and make it 3-1. The Warriors put the ball in play with the bases loaded and two outs, but the game ended on a force out at third base.
 
Stanislaus State takes next weekend off, then opens California Collegiate Athletic Association play with its first home games of the season on Feb. 18 and 19 with a four-game series versus Cal State San Marcos. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on WarriorAthletics.com.