Dinesen Slams Range Riders to Father’s Day Victory

FLATHEAD VALLEY, MT. – The Glacier Range Riders (12-10) used a lot of power to get back to their winning ways on Sunday afternoon as Mason Dinesen played hero ball by hitting two home runs and making a huge catch in right field in the top of the ninth. In a game that featured nine total home runs, including four from the Range Riders and five from the Missoula Paddleheads (18-6), Glacier outlasted their Mission Mountain rivals, winning 14-11.

The long ball derby got started in the bottom of the first as Jackson Raper slapped his second home run of the season the opposite way to left field for a 1-0 lead. Missoula answered with four runs in the top of the second, but a combination of a Dinesen two-run home run and a Jackson Raper RBI double made it all square.

On the Raper double, Ben McConnell scored the run, marking the 100^th time that he's crossed the plate as a Glacier Range Rider, the first player in franchise history to eclipse that mark. He would score one more time on the day, bringing his total to 101.

Glacier starter Noah Barros would settle in on the mound, the next three innings scoreless, as did the Missoula starter. The home runs returned in the sixth, however, with Missoula hitting a solo shot and Crews Taylor powering a two-run blast over the right field fence. Later in the sixth, the bases were packed for the Range Riders when Dean Miller whipped a ball down the right field line to clear the bases on a double and put Glacier up 9-5.

The tug-of-war continued with the Paddleheads scoring two in the seventh and Gabe Howell responding with an RBI single. After Missoula pulled within one going into the bottom of the eighth, the bases once again got loaded for Glacier, this time with Mason Dinesen at the plate. The Florida native took the second pitch of the at-bat for a huge ride, blasting it 411 feet for the first ever grand slam hit by a Range Rider in the history of Glacier Bank Park. He is also the first Glacier player to hit two homers in a single game in 2023.

When Missoula hit a two-run bomb of their own in the top of the ninth, they had cut it back to three and on the next at-bat, Dinesen stepped up on the defensive side crashing into the wall at full speed to make an incredible catch for a miraculous first out of the inning. Two more fly outs to center with John Natoli pitching locked down a gutsy win for Glacier. Tanner Solomon picked up the win out of the bullpen.

The Range Riders have six more games in this homestand as they host the Great Falls Voyagers (7-15) starting Tuesday, June 20^th at 7:05 PM. Make sure to get your tickets at GoRangeRiders.com.