Range Riders Host High Wheelers in Championship Rematch
Kalispell, MT – The Glacier Range Riders are winding down the regular season, and the squad they'll face for their final six-game home series of the year is the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers. Not only is this a rematch of the 2024 PBL Championship, but the stakes are raised even more with the playoff race heating up and many Glacier players having their sights set on team and league records.
The Matchup
Tuesday's matchup with Yuba will only be the 14th time these two squads have met with the High Wheelers entering the league last year and not matching up with Glacier in the regular season. It wasn't until the championship when the Range Riders saw the then-Yolo High Wheelers for a best-of-five series starting with two games at Glacier Bank Park. In game one, the Range Riders shut out the High Wheelers as the pitching staff teamed up for their first shut out of the season. It was Kaleb Sophy, Justin Coleman, Aidan McEvoy, Nick Zegna, and Noah Owen that combined for the clean sheet – Sophy allowed five hits in his four inning start, while the bullpen did not allow a hit in the final five innings. The lone scoring play of the day came when Gabe Howell slapped a home run to left center with Ryan McCarthy on base which was enough for the 2-0 win.
Yolo would go on to win the next three games and win the championship, before an offseason shift from their 2024 home of Davis, California to their new residency in Marysville, about an hour north of Sacramento. Glacier went there for six games in June and the two squads played each other close. Yuba won the first two games in the Knockout Round, before a narrow 2-1 win in game three. Game four went to the High Wheelers again, this time thanks to a late grand slam in the bottom of the eighth. Glacier finally grabbed their first ever win in California thanks to a comfortable Saturday night victory, then survived to win in the KO Round themselves on Sunday's finale. The only other time Yuba-Sutter and Glacier have played was the first series at Glacier Bank Park in the month of July where the High Wheelers swept the Range Riders.
Yuba-Sutter leads the overall series 10-3, while also being 4-1 in the Flathead Valley. This season, the Range Riders are 2-7 against Yuba.
A Hot August
The Range Riders have seen their season-high five-game winning streak take place in the month of August and their have certainly been some key members on both sides of the ball responsible for that. JT Mabry was the walk-off hero in the five-run bottom of the ninth on August 7th, but he has been solid throughout since August 1st, batting .370 with 10 RBIs. Kingston Liniak has provided the most power in the month with three homers to go along with a .347 clip and 11 RBIs. Jack Lynch also has 11 runs brought in as well as two homers and two triples. TJ Clarkson and Gabe Howell have also been epitomes of consistency with a .357 and .333 batting average, respectfully, in the month of August.
On the mound, Luke Schafer set the bar for the starters with a complete game two weeks ago, helping him to a 2-0 record and a 2.11 ERA and a total of 22 strikeouts to just three walks. The bullpen has a trio of hurlers who have not allowed any runs in their time on the bump this month. Davis Pratt has gotten the most outs out of the scoreless trio with 7.2 innings in six appearances, while Jacob Hasty has thrown 7.1 innings and struck out the most with 10 Ks. Ethan O'Neal is the other clean bullpen member; he has allowed just one hit in over three innings pitched.
Milestones and Records on the Horizon
The Range Riders already saw a major record fall two weeks ago when Ty Bothwell surpassed Noah Barros and Kaleb Sophy for the most strikeouts in a single season in franchise history when he hit his 93rd of the year. Bothwell is now at 105 strikeouts and is chasing the PBL single season record for Ks in a year, which was set by Alfredo Villa in 2023 with a mark of 129.
A huge franchise milestone is likely to happen this week if Glacier wins two games because that second win would mark the 100th home win in franchise history. The Range Riders play in front of the best fans in the PBL, and their record shows it, with a winning mark at home in every year of existence.
Nick Zegna has been a steady presence for the Range Rider pitching staff over the past three seasons and is on the cusp of setting some career marks over his former teammate, Noah Barros. When Zegna gets his next out, it will mean he has pitched 192.2 innings, surpassing Barros for the most seasoned arm in franchise history. The Big Z also trails the franchise strikeout record set by Barros by just 14, with a total of 165. Zegna will have a good chance to stand alone when he hits 180 in his career. Zegna also has a chance for the most saves in a single season, as he has five, while Justin Coleman set the record with eight in 2023.
Luke Schafer is also on the cusp of single season marks with seven wins and 89.2 innings pitched. Those are both very close to records that Barros set as he had 102.0 innings pitched in 2022 and he had nine wins on the bump in the 2023 campaign. Grant Taylor and Bothwell will also have a chance at the innings pitched mark with their IP number just behind Schafer's.
The final clip to keep an eye on is Jacob Hasty's ERA which sits at 1.75 for the entire 2025 campaign. Coleman set the low bar for eligible pitchers (0.3 innings per team game) with his phenomenal 2023 campaign that set at 2.86. If Hasty continues his scoreless streak and also stays above the eligibility line, he could have a shot at setting a new standard for ERA in a single season.
Playoff Push
The playoff picture remains hazy, but with just 18 games to go in the regular season, the Range Riders sit nine games back of a playoff spot. This is the series to capitalize on with Yuba currently standing above Glacier in the table, so every win for the home side is ground made up on the High Wheelers.
Final Six Gamer
The is the LAST six-game series at Glacier Bank Park in the 2025 season, so that means there will be no more chances to catch the squad on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday after this week (in the regular season). Once Sunday's game is gone, there will be just THREE games left in the regular season, so make sure to soak in the last rays of summer with your favorite team starting Tuesday at 7:05 PM. There are a very limited number of suite and premium options so make sure to book your spots now before they're all gone! As always, the series will end with family day on Sunday with kids getting a chance to run the bases after the conclusion of the 1:05 PM game.