Tuesday: Range Riders snap seven game skid
BILLINGS – The Range Riders opened a six-game road series against the Billings Mustangs on Tuesday and won 7-4, snapping their seven-game Pioneer League losing streak.
After being swept at home last week in a six-game series against the Boise Hawks, Dehler Park might have looked like a welcome sight. It was a well-balanced team effort from the Range Riders, as they totaled 12 hits to score seven runs, five of them for extra bases.
Jared Engman started the game for the Range Riders, after just signing with the team two days prior. He pitched three innings with one earned run and struck out four.
Ben Fitzgerald homered for the second-straight game, hitting his seventh of the season to drive in Freddy Guilamo. Guilamo went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and scored two runs.
Utilityman Jerry Huntzinger earned the win for the Range Riders, pitching four scoreless innings and striking out five.
It was the second win of the second half for the Range Riders (2-11), as they came out of the starting blocks slow. They have had a lot of roster turnover in the last few weeks, including the additions of Engman and TJ Clarkson, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI in his debut Tuesday.
Glacier will face Billings for five more games before returning home next Tuesday to take on the Missoula PaddleHeads.
Glacier 010 024 000 - 7 12 3
Billings 010 000 102 - 4 9 1
Jared Engman (3), Jerry Huntzinger (7), Luke Cooper (9) and Freddy Guilamo. Shane Spencer, Trevor Jackson (6), Daniel Willie (9) and Dylan Leach.
GLACIER RANGE RIDERS – Gabe Howell 1-4, Chad Castilo 1-4, Christian Kirtley 1-4, Ty Penner 1-5, Andy Atwood 2-5, TJ Clarkson 2-5, JD McLaughlin 0-4, Freddy Guilamo 3-4, Ben Fitzgerald 1-4.
BILLINGS MUSTANGS – Taylor Lomack 1-4, Brendan Ryan 2-5, Connor Denning 0-4, Gabe Wurtz 2-5, Jacob Kline 0-5, Dylan Leach 1-4, Mitch Moralez 1-4, Casey Harford 2-4.
2B – Atwood, Guilamo, Howell. Wurtz, Ryan 2. 3B – Atwood. HR – Fitzgerald (7). Leach (1).