Range Riders knock out PaddleHeads Wednesday

The Glacier Range Riders needed a little extra to beat the Missoula Paddleheads Wednesday, and Dean Miller provided it.

With the game tied at 3-3 after nine innings, Miller hit two home runs in the knockout round to one for Missoula’s Keaton Greenwalt, and the Range Riders got the Pioneer League victory at Glacier Bank Park.

Miller, whose two home runs on July 22 gave him a Range Riders-record 22 career big flies, has seven home runs this season compared to 12 for Greenwalt.

Missoula is missing 2022 Pioneer League Jayson Newman, who has been fighting injury, but got a two-run homer from Jakob Guenther — playing first in place of Newman — and a solo shot from Luis Navarro in the sixth inning to eat up a 3-0 Glacier lead.

Glacier jumped ahead when Crews Taylor led off the first inning with a home run, his 10th this season.

Christian Kirtley’s RBI double and Mason Dinesen single made it 3-0 in the fifth.

Jack White had a quality start for Glacier, throwing six innings and allowing six hits, one walk and three earned runs. He fanned eight, and Connor Housley, Michael YaSenka and Justin Coleman all handled a scoreless inning of relief.

The teams played again Thursday, the third game in a six-game series at Glacier Bank Park.

CLIFF NOTES: The Range Riders picked up infielder Colin Gordon from Grand Junction on Monday, for a player to be named later. … Gordon hit 10 home runs for the Jackalopes, giving Glacier four players with double figures homers. Gabe Howell (11), Jackson Raper (10) and

Taylor are the others, and Benjamin Fitzgerald has nine homers. … The Range Riders ranked third in the PL with 81 homers.

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Range Riders win knockout round, 2-1.

Dawson Day, John LaRossa (7), Karl Blum (8), Mark Simon (9) and Austin Bernard, Jared Akins. Jack White, Connor Housley (7), Michael YaSena (8), Justin Coleman (9) and Matt Clayton.

MISSOULA PADDLEHEADS — Patrick Chung 1-4, Dondrei Hubbard 1-4, Jakob Guenther 1-4, Keaton Greenwalt 0-3, Lui Navarro 1-4, Thomas DeBonville 1-4, Austin Bernard 0-3, Jared Akins 0-0, Jacob Kline 0-3, Cameron Thompson 0-0, Ryan Cash 1-4.

GLACIER RANGE RIDERS — Crews Taylor 1-4, Gabe Howell 1-4, Jackson Raper 1-4, Nck Lucky 0-0., Dean Miller 1-4, Matt Clayton 2-4, Kingston Liniak 0-4, Christian Kirtley 1-3, Mason Dinesen 1-3, Sam Linscott 1-4, Benjamin Fitzgerald 0-0, Ben McConnell 0-0.

2B — Hubbard, DeBonville, Clayton, Kirtley. HR — Guenther (5), Navarro (6), Taylor (10). RBIs — Guenter 2, Navarro, Taylor, Kirtley, Dinesen.