Pioneer League Insider
FRITZ NEIGHBOR | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 3 weeks AGO
SPORTS EDITOR Fritz Neighbor is the Sports Editor for the Daily Inter Lake. He oversees sports coverage across the Flathead Valley, including high school athletics, youth sports, and regional competitions. In his leadership role, he helps shape the newspaper’s sports coverage and editorial direction. Fritz’s column, Full Count, taps into his decades’ long career covering Montana sports. You’ll also see Fritz sharing his thoughts and insights on the Big Sky Now podcast. IMPACT: Fritz’s work celebrates the athletes and teams that bring Northwest Montana communities together. | June 12, 2025 12:00 AM
Pitcher of the Week: Matthew Sox, Missoula. The righthander threw six shutout innings on June 7, allowing three hits and fanning nine in a 9-0 win over Great Falls. He lowered his ERA to 2.35 over 15.1 innings.
Hitter of the Week: Simon Baumgardt, Idaho Falls. The infielder went 13-for-22 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in six games. He also stole a base and scored 10 runs.
Hottest team: Baumgardt’s Chukars (15-3). They went 6-0 against Grand Junction with run totals of 18, 25, 30 and 24. In their 30-17 win over the Jackalopes, the Chukars’ Tyler Wyatt went 5-for-7 with three doubles, a homer and eight RBIs. He scored four runs. In Idaho Falls’ 24-19 win on June 10, Wyatt went 4-for-6 with two doubles and four RBIs. In a 25-7 Chukars win on June 5, Wyatt went 5-for-6 with three RBIs. He’s hitting .471 and is tied for the league lead with 10 doubles (Briley Knight of Billings also has 10).
Coldest team: The Great Falls Voyagers (2-17) have lost 14 straight games to fall behind the road-weary Northern Colorado Owlz (3-15). The Voyagers are 11th in the 12-team Pioneer League in batting average (.272) and ERA (12.07). In 12th? The Owlz (.271 and 12.14).
Old friend alert: In 15 games with the Rocky Mountain Vibes, Sam Linscott is hitting .508 with 11 extra-base hits, including four HRs. Linscott hit .325 with the 2022 Range Riders, .259 in 2023 and split last season between two Frontier League teams, hitting .222.
Notable: In that 24-19 game with Idaho Falls, Boise’s Jake Hjelle went 4-for-6 with two homers and eight RBIs. ... After Tuesday’s games the Glacier Range Riders held the No. 3 ERA in the league at 5.90. The Oakland Ballers lead at 3.92, and the Rocky Mountain Vibes are second (5.84) despite the thin air of Colorado Springs. ... Glacier shortstop John Mabry is the son of former big league outfielder John Mabry, who hit .263 with 96 home runs over 14 seasons with eight MLB teams. The younger Mabry is hitting .222 in 10 games with Glacier. ... Missoula’s Roberto Pena has a league-high 12 home runs in 19 games. Boise’s Max Junge-Goldberg is next with nine. ... Pena hit three HRs with seven RBIs in Missoula’s 25-3 win over Great Falls on June 3. ... Glacier’s Luke Schafer leads the PBL in strikeouts with 27 in 16.2 innings, and Range Riders teammate Ty Bothwell is tied for third with 23 in 16.2 innings.
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