Dinesen walks it off for the Range Riders

In a game featuring great pitching by both teams, the game wasn’t decided until a wild bottom of the ninth featuring balks, intentional walks and walk-offs, leading to a 2-1 Range Riders win over the Voyagers. 

Nick Zenga pitched five strong innings for the Range Riders, allowing one run across five innings. Not to be out done, the Voyagers’ Danny Galvan pitched eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven. 

For the second straight night at Glacier Bank Park, the Range Riders bullpen was the X-factor. In the last two games they have pitched 8 2-3 innings, not giving up a single run to keep their team in the game as it played from behind.  

The only run the Voyagers scored was in the fourth inning, on an error by Zenga where the runner scored all the way from first. 

The Range Rider offense was shut down until the bottom of the ninth when Andy Atwood was hit by a pitch to start the inning. With one out, a pickoff attempt went by the first baseman and Atwood advanced to third. With two outs, the Voyagers elected to intentionally walk Chad Castillo to face the reigning Pioneer League player of the week, Mason Dinesen. 

“The walk shows respect to Chad because he is a great hitter, but I did take it to heart,” Dinesen said. “I was telling myself, they’re gonna disrespect me like that, I’m going to do something.” 

Halfway through Dinesen’s at-bat, Dayan Reinoso was called for a balk that scored Atwood to tie the game. Pinch-runner Gavin Tonkel advanced to second.  

“I think it was something the pitcher was doing all inning and the umpires finally became aware of it,” Dinesen said. “The team was calling balk for 20 straight pitches and the umpires got the call right and it worked out.” 

With Tonkel in scoring position, the Voyagers elected not to walk the Range Riders leading hitter. A few pitches later, Dinesen lined a base hit to left field and Tonkel easily scored to cap off the comeback. 

“At first I was just trying to put a barrel on it but then I realized he wasn’t going to throw me a fastball, so I started to look slider and after the fifth one in a row I swung,” Dinesen said. 

The Range Riders (16-10) evened the series and are currently tied for the second seed in the Pioneer League. They will face the Voyagers (6-20) four more times at home, before heading to Missoula to take on the first-place PaddleHeads in a big six-game series.  

G. FALLS    000    100    000    –    1    6    1

GLACIER    000    000    002    –    2    4    1

Danny Galvan (8), Dayan Reinoso (9) and Hernan Yanez. Nick Zenga (5), Luke Cooper (7), Montana Quiqley (9) and Nick Gore.

GREAT FALLS VOYAGERS – Ryan Major 1-4, Xane Washington 0-4, Mahki Backstrom 1-4, Jack Lynch 1-3, Frank Podkul 1-3, Kody Putnam 0-4, Hylan Hall 2-3, Hernan Yanez 0-3, Freddy Rojas Jr. 0-2.

GLACIER RANGE RIDERS – Andy Atwood 0-2, Ben Fitzgerald 0-4, Christian Kirtley 0-4, Chad Castillo 0-3, Mason Dinesen 2-4, Ajay Sczepkowski 0-3, Nick Block 1-3, Nick Gore 1-3, JD McLaughlin 0-3.