Voyagers bust through against Ghosts
Stephen Sauer retired the only four batters he faced, threw fewer than 20 pitches and earned his fourth save of the Pioneer League baseball season Saturday night as the Voyagers defeated the Casper Ghosts 6-2.
A crowd of 2,416 watched as Great Falls got back to .500 ball, 6-6 in the Second Half of the Northern Division season, 25-25 overall.
Sauer, a 6-foot-2 righthander from Arizona State, has been used mostly in one-inning situations lately, but his presence was needed Saturday in the eighth inning after the Ghosts loaded the bases against southpaw Ronnie Morales. Pitching coach Curt Hasler summoned Sauer from the bullpen, and he needed just one pitch to retire Carlos Martinez on a grounder to third.
Sauer then got a strikeout and two grounders in the ninth to preserve the victory for lefty starter Kevin Skogley, who hurled six solid innings to improve his record to 4-2.
Sauer lowered his earned-run average to 3.12.
Skogley, Drew O'Neill, Morales and Sauer combined on a seven-hitter against the Ghosts, who never led in the game. Ethan Hollingsworth (4-5) took the loss for Casper, which dropped to 4-8 in the Second Half.
Lyndon Estill led the Voyagers at the plate with two singles and a double, and he also stole his first two bases of the summer. In all, the Voyagers swiped five bases and ran themselves into some insurance runs.
The Voyagers scored in the first on a single by Kent Gerst and a two-out double by Johny Celis.
After Casper knotted the score at 1-all in the second on Chad Jacobsen's run-scoring double, Great Falls went up 2-1 on a bunt single by Jesus Avila, who stole second and scored on Lee Fischer's single to left. Avila hustled home to beat the tag, which was mishandled by catcher Wilin Rosario.
Estill and Celis both tallied in the fifth inning after pulling off a double steal. A fielder's-choice grounder by Kyle Shelton and a single by Jordan Cheatham scored the runs.
Kiel Roling blasted a solo homer in the sixth off Skogley to bring Casper within 4-2, but Estill doubled and scored on a passed ball in the seventh, then Danny Jordan homered to left in the eighth for the Voyagers.
The teams conclude their four-game series this afternoon at 4:00 with Casper sending Matt Baugh to the mound against the Voyagers' Josh Billeaud. Today is Great Falls Tribune Family Day, and also Hawaiian Day, with fans encouraged to wear beach gear.
After Sunday's matinee, the Voyagers are home Monday through Wednesday for a three-game series against the Idaho Falls Chukars.