Glacier bounces back in Great Falls

GREAT FALLS — Brock Vradenburg drove in three runs and Alex Fernandes broke the game open with a three-run triple in the eighth inning as the Glacier Range Riders rallied past the Great Falls Voyagers 8-4 Thursday night in Pioneer League baseball. 

Great Falls (15-24) grabbed an early 4-0 lead in the first inning when Ryan Skjonsby blasted a grand slam, but Glacier (24-15) chipped away the rest of the night. 

Vradenburg got the Range Riders on the board with a two-run homer in the second inning, his second of the season, before Carson Hornung lined an RBI single to center in the fifth to cut the deficit to 4-3. 

Glacier completed the comeback in the eighth. Vradenburg drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game before Joe McLaughlin followed with an RBI single through the left side to give the Range Riders their first lead. Fernandes then cleared the bases with a triple to left-center, extending the advantage to 8-4. 

Vradenburg finished with three RBIs, while Fernandes also drove in three. Tommy Rover and McLaughlin each collected two hits as Glacier totaled eight hits. 

Aidan Elfering settled in after the first inning to earn the win, while Alex Bustamante and Connor Housley combined for three scoreless innings of relief to close out the victory. 

Glacier    020    010    050    -    8    8    0 

Great Falls    400    000    000    -    4    9    1 

Aidan Elfering, Alex Bustamante (7), Connor Housley (9) and Johnny Luetzow. Sam Lavin, Landon Smiddy (8), Will Rogers (9) and Antonio Barranca. 

GLACIER RANGE RIDERS — Alex Fernandes 1-5, Kyle Ashworth 1-4, Tommy Rover 2-4, Carson Hornung 1-4, Carson Garner 0-2, Brock Vradenbrug 1-4, Joe McLaughlin 2-4, Jacob Steele 0-4, Luetzow 0-4. 

GREAT FALLS VOYAGERS — William Ponce 2-4, Tommy Specht 2-4, Kyle Schmack 0-4, Trey Cruz 0-2, Ethan Ott 0-3, Ryan Skjonsby 1-4, Zack Blaszak 2-4, Barranca 0-4, Vincent Temesvary 1-4. 

2B — Rover. Specht. 3B — Fernandes. HR — Vradenburg (2). Skjonsby (). RBIs — Fernandes 3, Vradenburg 3, Hornung, McLaughlin. Skjonsby 4. 

Voyagers 22, Range Riders 12 

Great Falls used a nine-run third inning to snap the Glacier Range Riders' eight-game winning streak on Wednesday night. 

The Voyagers broke open a 2-2 game in the third. Kyle Schmack belted his seventh home run of the season before Trey Cruz capped the inning with a grand slam, his eighth homer of the year, as Great Falls built an 11-2 advantage. Cruz finished the game with a game-high five RBIs, while Schmack added three. 

Glacier answered with six runs in the sixth to pull within 11-9. Brock Vradenburg drove in a run with a single, Kyle Ashworth and Carson Garner each added RBI singles, and Donovan Ratfield drew a bases-loaded walk during the rally. 

Great Falls responded immediately, scoring eight runs in the bottom half of the inning to put the game away. 

Garner and Tommy Rover each finished with three hits for Glacier, while Vradenburg added two hits. Schmack, Cruz and William Ponce each collected three hits for the Voyagers, who totaled 16 hits in the victory. 

Glacier    020    106    021    -    12    13    3 

Great Falls    309    008    02x    -    22    16    2 

Evan Langston, Will Maynard (3), Ryan Humphreys (4), Jacob Hasty (6), Ricky Tibbett (7), Jack Maruskin (8), and Donovan Ratfield. Esteban Hernandez, Simon Murray (6), Colin Murphy (7), Clay Thompson (8), and Blake Wilhoite. 

GLACIER RANGE RIDERS — Alex Fernandes 0-4, Kyle Ashworth 2-5, Ratfield 0-3, Carson Hornung 1-5, Carson Garner 3-5, Brock Vradenburg 2-5, Tommy Rover 3-4, Walker Zampella 1-4, Andrew Collins 1-4. 

GREAT FALLS VOYAGERS — William Ponce 3-5, Tommy Specht 1-6, Kyle Schmack 3-4, Anthony Manisero 0-2, Trey Cruz 3-5, Ethan Ott 0-1, Ryan Skjonsby 1-5, Anthony Swenda 1-3, Wilhoite 3-5, Vincent Temesvary 1-3. 

2B — Garner, Vradenburg, Zampella. Skjonsby, Temesvary. 3B — Specht. HR — Schmack (7), Cruz (8).  RBIs — Zampella 2, Garner 2, Fernandes, Ashworth, Ratfield, Vradenburg, Rover. Cruz 5, Schmack 3, Ponce 2, Skjonsby 2, Swenda 2, Specht, Temesvary.