Range Riders drop Hawks Friday, Thursday
Eddie McCabe and Ben McConnell had four hits each, Brody Wofford hit a big two-run homer in the fifth inning and the Glacier Range Riders beat Boise 6-3 Friday night at Flathead Field.
Noah Barros went six strong innings and picked up his Pioneer League-best eighth win; he allowed three hits, two walks and Abraham Sequera’s second home run. He struck out six.
Relievers Trenton Toplikar and Nathan Thomas combined for three innings of one-hit relief.
Wofford supported his pitcher with his 17th homer of the season, a two-run shot that gave Glacier (13-15 this half) an insurmountable 4-0 lead. The Range Riders beat the Hawks (6-22) for a third straight night.
McCabe hit two doubles; he and Brandt Broussard each scored twice. McConnell hit RBI singles in the third and eight innings. Ryan Cole had an RBI single in the seventh.
The teams battled again Saturday night, though the game had not ended at press time. Their six-game series ends Sunday, with a game at 1:05 p.m. at Flathead Field.
Hawks 000 002 001 - 3 4 1
Riders 101 020 11x - 6 13 1
Chase Costello, Noah McBride (6), Jordan Nelson (7) and Sean Skelly. Noah Barros, Trenton Toplikar (7), Nathan Thomas (9) and Austin Bates. W — Barros (8-6). L — Costello (1-2).
BOISE HAWKS — Tyler Jorgensen 1-4, Abraham Sequera 1-4, Juan Teixeira 0-4, Raymond Gil 0-4, Trevor Minder 0-4, Skelly 1-3, Haloa Dudoit 0-3, Myles Harris 1-2, Jayce Bailey 0-3.
GLACIER RANGE RIDERS — Ryan Cash 0-3, Brandt Broussard 1-2, Eddie McCabe 4-5, Brody Wofford 1-3, Will Mangurian 0-0, Livingston Morris 2-4, Ben McConnell 4-5, Ryan Cole 1-5, Mason Dinesen 0-5, Bates 0-1.
2B — McCabe 2, McConnell. HR — Sequera, Wofford (17). RBIs — Sequera 2, Minder, Wofford 2, McConnell 2, Cole. Sac — Broussard. SB — Cash.
Late Thursday
Range Riders 4, Hawks 3
Livingston Morris came through again in the Knockout Round, helping the Range Riders break a 3-3 tie after nine innings Thursday.
The Pioneer League uses a home run derby to decide extra inning games, and the Hawks sent up Abraham Gil to take five swings. Gil came up empty, after which Morris hit one shot foul, before his second swing put the ball out and made the Range Riders winners.
It was the second Knockout Round win to Morris’ credit.
David Kyriacou doubled and scored twice for Glacier; Ryan Cole also doubled and scored. Cole appeared to have hit a game-winning grand slam in the ninth but his drive to left field drifted foul.
Tanner Solomon had a solid start for Glacier: six innings, six hits, three walks and three runs allowed. He fanned three. Joey Hennessey Isaiah Henry and Justin Coleman each threw a scoreless inning.
Trevor Minder hit a home run for Boise.
Hawks 000 210 000 - 3 8 1
Riders 001 200 000 - 3 5 1
Glacier wins Knockout Round, 1-0.
Matt Gabbert, Mike Peterson (8) and Jordan Rathbone. Tanner Solomon, Joey Hennessey (7), Isaiah Henry (8), Justin Coleman (9) and Drew Sims.
HAWKS — Dudoit 2-5, Sequera 2-5, Teixeira 0-5, Gil 0-3, Minder 2-2, Rathbone 1-3, Harris 0-3, Smyth 0-3, Walstad 0-1, Jorgensen 1-4.
RANGE RIDERS — McConnell 1-4, Cash 1-4, McCable 0-3, Wofford 0-4, Sims 0-4, Dinesen 0-4, Cole 1-3, Kyriacou 2-4, Broussard 0-1.
2B — Rathbone, Cole, Kyriacou. HR — Minder (2). RBIs — Dudoit 2, Minder, McConnell, Cash, Kyriacou. SB — Cash. CS — Sequera, McConnell.