Range Riders find power too late, lose to Mustangs
Daily Inter Lake | Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 57 minutes AGO
BILLINGS — The Range Riders found their offense in the late innings on Friday night, but the Billings Mustangs built too large of a lead and defeated Glacier 13-6 in Pioneer League action.
Glacier (38-38, 19-19) was held scoreless through the first six innings while Billings (51-24, 15-13 in second half) built its lead.
In the third inning, AJ Shaver doubled home Nin Burns II before Charlie Muniz followed with a two-run homer to left field.
Billings added two more in the fourth and another pair in the fifth as Michael Soper drove in three runs over the two frames.
The biggest damage came in the sixth.
Shaver tripled home two runs and Adam Cootway’s homer extended the Mustangs’ lead to 12-0.
Glacier broke through in the seventh as Jake Millan tripled and came home on a Tommy Rover groundout.
In the eighth, Donovan Ratfield launched his eighth longball of the season to left field, cutting into the lead 12-3.
Cootway answered with his second homer of the night in the bottom half, but Glacier responded with one of its own in the ninth as Tommy Rover hit a three-run shot to right field.
Billings’ Cole Calnon kept Glacier quiet for most of the night, allowing six hits and three runs in eight innings.
The series continues Saturday at 6:35 p.m. in Billings.
Glacier 000 000 123 - 6 8 0
Billings 003 226 01x - 13 12 1
Zach Longshore, William Bartkoski (5), Davis Pratt (6), Ricky Tibbett (7), and Donovan Ratfield. Cole Calnon, David Stich (9), and Sean Lynch.
GLACIER RANGE RIDERS — Kyle Ashworth 1-5, Logan Beard 0-4, Ratfield 2-4, Brock Vradenburg 1-4, Carson Garner 0-4, Carson Hornung 1-3, Jake Millan 2-3, Tommy Rover 1-4, Casey Murray 0-4.
BILLINGS MUSTANGS — Cameron Bowen 1-4, AJ Shaver 3-5, Charlie Muniz 1-4, Justin Johnson Jr 0-5, Adam Cootway 3-3, Michael Soper 2-4, Lynch 0-3, John McHenry 0-3, Nin Burns II 2-4.
2B — Shaver, Cootway, Soper. 3B — Millan, Shaver. HR — Ratfield (8), Rover (9). Cootway (17) 2, Muniz (24). RBIs — Rover 4, Ratfield 2. Shaver 3, Cootway 3, Soper 3, Muniz 2, Burns II.