Four-Run Innings Fail to Fuel NoCo in Loss

GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- The Owlz scored four runs almost immediately, but basically just as quickly, they were trailing, and it stayed that way the rest of the game.

It seemed closer than a 17-10 game at times, but with that final score, Great Falls (1-0) won its first game of the year.

Kevin Higgins capped NoCo's (0-1) torrent in the top of the first with an RBI single, giving his team a 4-0 lead right away.

But the Voyagers answered that first-inning flurry with firepower of their own. Andy Atwood rocked an RBI double to start his squad's scoring. Tyler Krabbe followed it up with liner off Seth Strong's glove, which brought home another run. Atwood's double was probably 10 feet shy of a homer, but Collin Runge made up for it two at-bats later by smashing a grand slam.

The first inning took 40 minutes, and it finished with a 6-4 Great Falls lead.

Owlz starter Austin Schneider (L, 0-1) didn't last much longer than those first 40 minutes. His day finished after just 1.1 innings, in which he allowed six earned runs and walked five batters.

On the flip side, Great Falls starter Shane Gustafson (W, 1-0) sure settled in after surrendering that first-inning four-spot. The six-foot-five-inch starter sat down the Owlz in order over the next three innings.

In that time, Gustafson's guys built on their lead. Adam Oviedo squared up a sac fly in the third. In the fourth, after a couple Owlz errors, the Voyagers tapped three RBI singles to make their advantage 10-4.

NoCo made some noise over the next couple innings. Alex Jackson scored on a passed ball in the fifth, and when Gustafson left the game after that frame, his opponents shrunk the deficit. In the sixth, Euro Diaz scored Higgins on a fielder's choice, Ty Lewis knocked in two with a single to left, Danny Molinari dropped in another RBI single, and suddenly it was a 10-9 game.

Will Buraconak, who relieved Schneider in the second, had his day end after that eventful top of the sixth. The lefty lasted 3.2 innings, struck out four, and allowed only one earned run. Christian Griffin replaced him for an inning and made quick work of the five batters he faced.

Quickly after that, things got out of hand.

Great Falls found the scoring column again when Michael Deeb drilled a double off Owlz reliever Kyle Adkins in the seventh. That scored two, and then the Voyagers scored five off Chase Wilkerson in the eighth to really put this one out of reach.

Jackson reached three hits on the night, which led the team. Lewis and Molinari each chipped in two hits. Those three combined for six of the team's eight RBI, Lewis leading the way with four of those.

Despite all that, the Owlz left nine men on-base, and defensively, they committed five errors on the night.

They'll look to capitalize on more opportunities in game number two of this inaugural season in NoCo. That game will take place Thursday night at Centene Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.