Glacier Range Riders Defeats Great Falls Voyagers On Back Of Clutch Grand Slam From Xavier Casserilla

Xavier Casserilla drove in four runs with one swing of the bat, launching a grand slam in the fourth inning to lead the Glacier Range Riders to a 9-8 win over the Great Falls Voyagers on Thursday at Glacier Bank Park.

In a high-octane matchup, Glacier collected 10 hits while Great Falls racked up 18, but the Range Riders held on late to secure the victory.

The Voyagers opened the scoring in the first when Christian Hall delivered an RBI single. Glacier responded in the bottom half as Kingston Liniak grounded into a fielder's choice to tie the game at 1-1.

The Range Riders grabbed the lead in the second inning on a two-run single by Gabe Howell, making it 3-1. Great Falls answered with a solo shot to right field by Roman Kuntz in the third, but Glacier extended its lead in the bottom half with RBI singles from Antonio Barranca and JT Mabry.

Casserilla blew the game open in the fourth with a towering grand slam to right field, giving the Range Riders a 9-2 advantage.

Kuntz struck again for the Voyagers in the seventh, belting his second solo homer of the game on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Despite a late push by Great Falls, the Range Riders bullpen held firm.

Jason Franks earned the win in relief for Glacier, striking out five over 1.2 innings while allowing just one run on three hits. Nate Madej took the loss for Great Falls, surrendering nine runs on eight hits and six walks over 3.1 innings. Starter Trevor Baker went 4.1 innings for Glacier, giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits. Nick Zegna closed the door to earn the save, with Luke Cooper and Noah Cole also contributing out of the bullpen.

Offensively, Howell and Gavin Tonkel each had two hits for the Range Riders. As a team, Glacier showed patience at the plate, drawing nine walks—led by JD McLaughlin and Liniak with two apiece.

Kuntz led the Voyagers' offense, going 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs. Hall and Dayne Leonard also tallied three hits apiece, while Kody Putnam, Tommy Specht, and Ryley Preece each added multiple hits. Defensively, Great Falls played a clean game with no errors, with Leonard handling 11 chances behind the plate.