Howell’s Four-Hit Night, Taylor's Terrific Start Power Range Riders Past Voyagers, 16-3

The Glacier Range Riders rode a dominant offensive performance and a strong outing from starter Grant Taylor to a 16-3 victory over the Great Falls Voyagers on Friday at Glacier Bank Park.

Gabe Howell led the charge at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a solo home run in the first inning, a double in the third, and singles in the fifth and eighth. His first-inning homer to left field quickly erased an early 1-0 deficit after Freddy Rojas Jr. had given Great Falls the lead with a solo shot to center in the top half.

The Range Riders pulled ahead in the second on a solo home run by Xavier Casserilla and a groundout RBI from Angel Mendoza, making it 3-1.

A five-run fifth inning broke the game open. Kingston Liniak delivered a two-run single, Logan Beard drew a bases-loaded walk, JT Mabry added an RBI single, and Mendoza capped the rally with a sacrifice fly.

Roman Kuntz hit a solo home run for Great Falls in the seventh, but Glacier responded with four more runs in the bottom of the eighth. An error plated one, and TJ Clarkson crushed a three-run homer to right field to put the game well out of reach.

Taylor earned the win for Glacier, tossing seven innings of two-run ball. He scattered four hits, struck out four, and didn't walk a batter. Davis Pratt threw a scoreless eighth in relief, striking out one. CJ Czerwinski took the loss for the Voyagers, allowing eight runs on nine hits over 4.1 innings.

The Range Riders racked up 19 hits on the night. Clarkson drove in four runs as part of a 3-for-5 performance. Liniak, Casserilla, Kenny Levari, and Beard all had multi-hit games, while Beard also led the team with two walks. As a team, Glacier showed patience at the plate, drawing eight walks overall.

Defensively, the Range Riders were flawless, committing no errors. Casserilla led the way with 10 chances in the field.

Tommy Specht paced Great Falls with a 2-for-4 night. Rojas Jr., Kuntz, and Ryley Preece each collected an RBI. The Voyagers also turned two double plays defensively.

Glacier and Great Falls will meet again on Saturday as the series continues at 7:05 PM back in the Flathead Valley.