Sansone, Mustangs cap Pioneer sweep

Six days before the start of the Pioneer League playoffs, Billings was swept at home by Great Falls in a five-game series.

Heading into the best-of-3 semifinals against the Voyagers, Billings second baseman John Sansone -- the Reds' eighth-round pick in this year's Draft -- said his squad was itching for a chance to redeem itself.

The Mustangs made good on Saturday by completing a sweep of Great Falls as Sansone went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead two-run homer in a 5-1 victory.

It was his second homer in as many playoff games after hitting five in 50 regular-season contests.

"I think the whole team's confidence level is through the roof right now," Sansone said. "We got swept by Great Falls five games in a row, and I don't want to say it was demoralizing, but we said, 'How are we going to beat this team in two out of three games?'

"We shut them down and we hit the ball great. We clicked at the right time."

Great Falls took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on Brady Conlan's RBI double. Michael Beltre led off the bottom half with a single, stole second base and Sansone put Billngs ahead for good by depositing a 2-2 changeup over the left field wall at Dehler Park.

"You know, I've been getting down 0-2 in the count in the couple home runs that I hit," the Florida State product said. "In that at-bat today, I was really just trying to move the guy to third. We had no outs in the inning, so I was trying to put the ball in play. I ended up putting a good swing on it.

"All through the season, they've tried to get me out with off-speed pitches in the dirt. I have a history of chasing it a lot, but lately, I've been doing better with it. The last couple days, they've thrown me more fastballs and pitches over the plate that I can handle."

The 22-year-old second baseman singled to left leading off the fourth, ripped another single through shortstop in the sixth and went down swinging in his final at-bat in the eighth.

Billings starter Wennington Romero (1-0) gave up a run on four hits and three walks while striking out six over 6 2/3 innings.

The Mustangs added a run in the third and tallied two more in the sixth as Montrell Marshall doubled twice and scored a run. Beltre finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

"We had two, three and maybe four good games to end the season, and we rolled with that," Sansone said. "We're not scared to make mistakes right now. We're playing good team baseball."

Great Falls starter Bernardo Flores (0-1) allowed five runs on nine hits while striking out five over five innings.

The Mustangs will face Ogden or Orem in the Pioneer League Finals, starting on Wednesday.

In other Pioneer League playoff action:

Raptors 7, Owlz 4

With Ogden down, 3-1, heading into the sixth, Luis Paz smacked a go-ahead three-run homer that sparked a six-run inning for the Raptors. Orem's Keinner Pina laced a three-run double in the fourth. The series concludes Sunday in Ogden. Box score