Range Riders extend win streak in walk-off fashion

Joe McLaughlin capped off a three hit day with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth that scored Trevor Sheehan to push the Glacier Range Riders past the Oakland Ballers 6-5 Sunday afternoon at Glacier Bank Park. 

Sheehan entered the game as a pinch runner for Chad Castillo after he walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Sheehan then advanced to second on a Nick Block groundout to shortstop. The following Glacier batter Benjamin Fitzgerald popped out to the catcher. After Gavin Tonkel was hit by a pitch McLaughlin stepped in the box with Jake Dahle on the hill for the Ballers and the rest was history. 

The Riders lead 5-3 after a sixth inning 454-foot moonshot by Mason Dinesen until Oakland strung together a pair of runs in the top half of the ninth against Glacier’s Connor Housley to set up the Riders walk off opportunity.

Glacier starter Nick Zenga tossed 5 1/3 innings of three-run baseball and struck out six. Jack Lynch, Seth Pinkerton, and Cameron Cowan combined for 2 ⅔ scoreless innings in relief. Housley earned the win for Glacier.

Reed Butz was on the bump to start for the Ballers (2-4) and allowed four earned runs across 2 ⅓ innings.

Austin Davis, Noah Martinez, and Trevor Halsema all homered for Oakland.

The win was the fourth straight for the Range Riders (4-2) after dropping their first two games of the season to Oakland. 

Oakland    100    101    002    –    5    10    3

Glacier    103    010    001    –    6    10    0

BALLERS — Austin Davis 1-4, Myles Jefferson 1-3, Noah Martinez 2-3, Dondrei Hubbard 3-4, Trevor Halsema 1-4, Brad Burckel 0-3, Jaylen Smith 0-1, Tyler Lozano 0-3, Coleton Horner 0-1, Dan Covino 0-2, Brian Williams 0-1, Payten Harden 2-4. 

RANGE RIDERS — Andy Atwood 2-4, Christian Kirkley 0-5, Chad Castillo 0-4, Trevor Sheehan 0-0, Nick Block 2-5, Ben Fitzgerald 0-4, Drew Sims 1-1, Gavin Tonkel 0-2, Joe McLaughlin 3-5, Freddy Guilamo 0-4, Mason Dinesen 2-4. 

2B — Hubbard. Block, McLaughlin. 3B — Harden. HR — Davis, Martinez, Halsema. Dinesen. RBI — Halsema 2, Martinez, Davis. McLaughlin 2, Dinesen 2, Block, Sims.