MUSTANGS WIN 10-9 IN 10 INNINGS ON WALK-OFF HIT-BY-PITCH

 

W: Benenati (1-0)

L: McWilliams (0-1)

S: None

 

BILLINGS, Montana - The Billings Mustangs (8-7) overcame a 9-6 deficit in the bottom of the 10th inning to top the Great Falls Voyagers (8-7) 10-9 in front of 3,036 fans at Dehler Park on Friday night. It was the Mustangs' second win in extra-innings in the past three games, keeping them undefeated in extras.

 

The Voyagers would command the first lead of the evening, once again scoring in the top of the first. Jameson Fisher singled with two outs and scored on the RBI single of Brady Conlan. Fisher finished 3-for-5 with a home run, his third of the season, all of which have come against the Mustangs.

 

Billings tied it up in the bottom of the first when Jose Siri singled, stole both second and third, and scored on the RBI grounder from Alejo Lopez. Montrell Marshall singled in the fifth to score Lopez which would tie the game at 5-5. Marshall is now on a seven-game hitting streak, the longest Billings has had this season.

 

Trailing 6-5 going to the eighth, the Mustangs needed late heroics just to get it to extras. Cassidy Brown was walked to lead off the inning by Brandon Magallones and scored on Colby Wright's RBI single. Wright went 2-for-3 while Brown threw out three Voyagers baserunners. 

 

Billings also had an opportunity to win in the ninth when they put men at second and third with two outs. Ben Wright shut down that rally, getting a grounder to second to end the frame.

 

Ryan Hendrix pitched two solid innings of relief, throwing shutout baseball in the eighth and ninth while picking up a strikeout. Hendrix would touch 98 MPH with his fastball.

 

Great Falls thought they had things locked up when they scored three runs in the 10th off Lucas Benenati (1-0). Singles from Fisher, Corey Zangari and Jake Jarvis, coupled with an error and a Steve Pollakov double, paved the way to a comfortable three-run lead heading to the bottom of the 10th.

 

In a back-and-forth game which included six lead changes, Billings would use walks to secure the win. Leading 9-6 going to the bottom of the 10th, Voyagers pitcher Kevin Escorcia walked three of the four batters he faced to load the bases before being pulled from the game. Richard McWilliams (0-1) was not able to do any better as he walked Taylor Trammell to bring in Daniel Sweet from third and score the first run of the inning. Jose Siri immediately followed up with a game-tying 2-RBI single to center, putting the winning run in scoring position. Alejo Lopez then singled to right to load the bases and bring Marshall back to the plate. With two strikes, McWilliams ran a fastball inside that hit Marshall on the hand to give the Mustangs a walk-off winner. 

 

The win evens the series at one game apiece and forces a rubber match on Saturday. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. at Dehler Park.