Pilot’s Gem, Wurtz’s Homer Pace 8-0 Win Over Glacier
BILLINGS—The inaugural meeting between the Billings Mustangs and the Glacier Range Riders was a one-sided one, as the Mustangs blanked the Range Riders 8-0 on Wednesday night at Dehler Park.
BILLINGS—The inaugural meeting between the Billings Mustangs and the Glacier Range Riders was a one-sided one, as the Mustangs blanked the Range Riders 8-0 on Wednesday night at Dehler Park.
Kelvin Pilot worked 6.0 scoreless innings in the longest outing by a Mustang this season and Gabe Wurtz homered for the fourth time in three games to lead the Mustangs (3-3) to their third consecutive win, while Glacier (5-2) saw a four-game winning streak come to an end.
After both teams went quietly in the first inning, the Mustangs went to work against Glacier starter Andrew Stout. Jackson Raper battled for nine pitches to draw a leadoff walk, then Wurtz hit his round-tripper to begin the scoring, blasting a full-count offering over the left field wall.
The Mustangs then received three free baserunners from a hit batter, a walk, and an error to load the bases. Christian Pena rolled into a double play to put a damper on the rally, but it did bring in a run, staking Billings to a 3-0 lead after two.
After Jacob Kline threw a runner out at the plate to stifle a potential rally in the fourth, the Mustangs went to work extending the lead. Kline drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on a hit-and-run single by Tristan Peterson, then scored on a Brian Parriera RBI single, which chased Stout.
The Mustangs were able to add a couple more against Luke Laurita as Pena lofted a sacrifice fly and Mitch Piatnik drove in a run with a groundout, doubling the lead to 6-0 after four innings.
From there, the pitching held down the fort. After a walk and a single to begin the fifth, Pilot struck out the next three hitters to end the threat, before adding another scoreless frame for good measure.
Billings put a bow on the contest in the bottom of the seventh as Raper roped a triple to left-center to drive in a run before scoring two batters line on Kline's own triple to stretch the lead to 8-0.
The bullpen shut down the Glacier offense as Al Pesto, Jack Goonan, and Cory Wills each threw scoreless innings as the Mustangs shut down an offense that came in averaging 16 runs a game to just five hits and no runs in an 8-0 Billings win.
Pilot worked 6.0 shutout innings, allowing four hits, three walks, one hit batter, and one wild pitch, while striking out seven batters to earn the win. Pesto threw a scoreless seventh with a walk and a strikeout, which Goonan followed with a scoreless eighth with a hit and a strikeout, capped off by a 1-2-3 ninth from Wills.
The Mustangs will be back in action Wednesday night as they look to go over .500 for the first time this season. Yasnier Laureano (0-0, 0.00) gets the ball for his first start of the season while Andrew Tri (0-0, 3.00) opposes him for Glacier. Pregame starts at 6:15 p.m. on ESPN 910/105.5 with Brennan Mense on the call ahead of a 6:35 first pitch.