Welcome everybody to the Keeping Score podcast from the Daily Inter Lake and Hagadone Sports Network, I am Josh Amick. This week on the Range Riders recap, the team gets back into the win column, the bats are starting to heat up and how a few costly mistakes are the difference between a winning and a losing streak. We will also check in on how the new players are helping the team and what to look forward to for the upcoming week. So, let’s get into it.

In game one against the Billings Mustangs, the Range Riders snapped their …

Welcome everybody to the Keeping Score podcast from the Daily Inter Lake and Hagadone Sports Network, I am Josh Amick. This week on the Range Riders recap, the team gets back into the win column, the bats are starting to heat up and how a few costly mistakes are the difference between a winning and a losing streak. We will also check in on how the new players are helping the team and what to look forward to for the upcoming week. So, let’s get into it.

In game one against the Billings Mustangs, the Range Riders snapped their seven-game losing streak and defeated the Mustangs 7-4. Ben Fitzgerald homered for the Range Riders and newcomer Jared Engman pitched three strong innings, allowing just one run. It was Engman’s first appearance with the team after spending his last three years at the University of Washington.

Game 2, the bats exploded, with 18 team hits highlighted by Andy Atwood’s three-run home run to lead the Range Riders to an 11-4 victory. In Ricky Tibbet’s second action with the team, he pitched four scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

In game 3, the Range Riders committed a costly error in the ninth inning that led to a walk off single by Brenden Ryan for a 12-11 victory. The bullpen allowed 6 runs over the final three frames, with two of them unearned due to errors. It was a heartbreaking loss for a team that led the game since the third inning.

Game 4, Kaleb Sophy pitched a complete game allowing just one earned run, but untimely errors cost Glacier the game as they dropped their second-straight game in the Pioneer League to the Billings Mustangs, 4-3 on Friday. On his way to a complete game, Sophy only surrendered one extra-base hit and struck out seven. Antonio Barranca started the scoring in the second inning by lacing a double to centerfield, scoring two runs. He finished the day 2-for-4, the only Range Rider with multiple hits.

Game 5 was my game of the week, as the Range Riders fought back from likely defeat, even after their two heartbreaking losses. They used a five-run ninth inning rally to retake the series lead with a 7-6 comeback win. Down 5-2 heading into the final inning, the Range Riders had seven-straight hitters reach base, highlighted by Chad Castillo’s two-run RBI single. TJ Clarkson, River Orsak and JD McLaughlin would tack on RBIs to take a 7-5 lead into the ninth. After giving up a solo home run to Taylor Womack, Tibbett retired the next three batters to end the game.

In the final game of the series, Ben Fitzgerald hit his eighth home run of the season en route to a 3-for-5 day to lead the Range Riders to a road series win over the Billings Mustangs 8-4. It was the first series win of the second half for the team and hopefully they can carry that momentum home to a big series against Missoula.

That’s it for this week’s scoring recap, so let’s get into this week’s edition of in case you missed it.

The new additions of Jared Engman, Antonio Barranca, Ricky Tibbett and River Orsak have all played a big part in getting the Range Riders back into their winning ways. Engman has pitched well in both his starts, Barranca has played in 5 games with a home run and 5 RBIs and plays an important role as a catcher. Tibbett has allowed two earned runs across 7 innings, including that huge save in game 5 against Billings. Orsak is batting .414 with 4 doubles in just 9 games played. Hopefully these players continue to contribute like they did this week.

Looking ahead, the Range Riders will need to clean things up defensively as they face one of the better hitting teams in Missoula this upcoming Tuesday at home. In their only two losses against Billings, errors proved costly as it forced home runs and led to those back-to-back 1-run losses. That is the only difference between a six-game winning streak for the Range Riders, are those errors committed in those two games. The good news is, they bounced back with a huge comeback win and a series finale win and didn’t let those heartbreaking losses pile on. A sign of the resiliency of this team absent in this half of the season seems to be showing life again. They will need to continue that effort in this big series against Missoula as they are currently 3-9 against them.

That’s it for the Range Riders recap, be sure to make it to Glacier Bank Park Tuesday as the Range Riders only have 9 total games left at home. Hopefully with some improved second half play they can earn a home playoff advantage. For the Keeping Score podcast from Daily Inter Lake and Hagadone Sports Network, I am Josh Amick and until next time, take care.