Taylor drills pair of first inning home runs in Riders win
BILLINGS — It was the Crews Taylor show early on Sunday afternoon at Dehler Park as Taylor drilled a pair of bombs before the first inning was over to jumpstart the Range Riders offense and help lead Glacier to a 14-9 win over the Billings Mustangs.
Taylor set the tone with a leadoff homerun in the top of the first and before the Billings crowd could take the mid-inning trip to the concession stand Taylor hit a grand slam after stepping to the plate with one out and the bases loaded.
Benjamin Fitzgerald chipped in a three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to push the Rider lead to 12-4. Fitzgerald finished 2-5 with four RBI and two runs scored while Taylor rattled off four hits in six at bats while scoring twice and driving in five RBI.
Glacier starter Nick Zenga was the winning pitcher after scattering five runs across six innings and striking out three. Reliever Justin Coleman struck out two while tossing a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth inning for the Riders to seal the deal for Glacier.
Next up for the Range Riders is a Tuesday home matchup with the Missoula PaddleHeads at Glacier Bank Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Sunday
Glacier — 900 003 011 — 14 16 1
Billings — 200 021 310 — 9 12 1
Nick Zenga, Connor Housley (7), Roy Robles (8), Justin Coleman (9), and Matt Clayton. McLain Harris, Keagan McGinnis (1), Brandon McPherson (4), Jared Kengott (5), Hunter Schilperoort (8), Tyler Statler (9), and Brady West.
RIDERS — Crews Taylor 4-6, Dean Miller 3-5, Jackson Raper 1-3, Matt Clayton 1-6, Benjamin Fitzgerald 2-5, Kingston Liniak 0-4, Christian Kirtley 1-4, Nick Lucky 1-4, Mason Dinesen 2-5.
MUSTANGS — Mikery Edie 0-4, Taylor Lomack 2-5, Connor Denning 1-4, Gabe Wurtz 1-4, Jason Ajamian 1-5, Alejandro Figueredo 2-4, Luke Fennelly 2-4, Brady West 1-4, Emmanuel Sanchez 2-3.
HR — Taylor, Fitzgerald. Figueredo 2, West. 2B — Raper, Clayton. Fennelly. 3B — Sanchez. RBI — Taylor 5, Fitzgerald 4, Lucky 2, Clayton 2, Raper. Figueredo 2, Edie, Lomack, Denning, Ajamian, West, Sanchez.
Saturday
The Range Riders dropped their game with the Mustangs Saturday night 13-9 after Billings stormed back from an early deficit. The Riders struck first with a pair of first inning runs off RBI singles from Crews Taylor and Benjamin Fitzgerald but the Mustang rallied back with three runs in the bottom of the second and a six-spot in the bottom half of the fourth capped off by a Gabe Wurtz two-run homer.
Glacier fought back with solo shots from Dean Miller and Kingston Liniak in the top of the fifth to make things 9-5 but Billings tacked on two more in the bottom half of the inning to extend their lead. Miller drilled his second home run of the night in the top of the sixth for Glacier. He finished 3-5 with two runs scored and three RBI.
Jonathan Clark was the Riders starter and took home the loss after allowing nine total runs (five earned) over four innings of work. Reliever Nate Jenkins was the winning pitcher for the Mustangs.
Glacier — 200 122 011 — 9 13 4
Billings — 030 621 10X — 13 13 1
Jonathan Clark, Luke Dawson (5), Ryan Cloude (6), Joseph Kinsky (7), Michael YaSenka (8) and Christian Kirtley, Matt Clayton. Luke Trueman, Tristen Hudson (5), Nate Jenkins (5), Hunter Schilperroort (8), Tyler Statler (9).
RIDERS — Gabe Howell 2-4, Matt Clayton 0-0, Jackson Raper 1-5, Dean Miller 3-5, Benjamin Fitzgerald 2-5, Kingston Liniak 2-5, Crews Taylor 1-4, Christian Kirtley 0-2, Mason Dinesen 1-4, Ben McConnell 1-4.
MUSTANGS —Mikey Edie 1-4, Taylor Lomack 1-5, Connor Denning 2-5, Gabe Wurtz 1-3, Mitch Moralez 1-5, Alejandro Figueredo 1-4, Bryce Donovan 1-3, John Michael Faile 2-3, Emmanuel Sanchez 3-4.
HR — Miller 2, Liniak. Wurtz. 2B — Liniak. John Michael Faile. RBI — Miller 3, Taylor 2, Raper, McConnell, Fitzgerald.