Crews and Co. Break Records in Monster First Inning and Win Over Billings

BILLINGS, MT. – It didn't take long for the Glacier Range Riders (34-18) to score their first run Sunday afternoon at Dehler Park in Billings against the Billings Mustangs (22-32).

On the second pitch of the game Crews Taylor absolutely hammered a ball over the right field fence for a leadoff dinger. After four more runs crossed the plate for Glacier in that half inning, Taylor would again step up and perform an act of déjà vu to the Billings fans, when he sent another home run to right field. This time, however, the bases were packed with Range Riders and his grand slam made it 9-0 before the Mustangs could even pick up a bat.

Taylor became the first ever Glacier player to homer twice in one inning, he set a franchise record for RBIs in an inning with five, and the grand slam capped off a nine-run first, the highest scoring single inning in franchise history.

Knocking out the Billings starter after he only recorded one out was just the start as Glacier harassed the Mustang bullpen for the rest of the hot summer Sunday. Ben Fitzgerald mashed a three-run bomb in the sixth, Matt Clayton ripped a double in the gap that scored Jackson Raper and Raper worked an RBI walk in the ninth. Beside the Taylor homers, Glacier scored via a Clayton infield single, a Fitzgerald single, and Nick Lucky two-run single, all in the first.

With a nine-run lead before throwing his first inning, Nick Zegna had a fairly simple task: eat up innings and keep the lead. He did exactly that, throwing six innings and striking out three. Zegna picked up the fifth win of his professional career. Connor Housley and Roy Robles each tossed a frame, before Justin Coleman slammed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth. JCole also added two strikeouts to keep his K/BB ratio incredibly lopsided.

In the bottom of the first inning, Taylor also made the defensive highlight of the game when he threw out a run at home from deep right field to prevent a sac fly and end the inning. That was the second throw out of the inning as a fortunate bounce on an overthrown ball to third base had Raper throwing to Clayton for an easy out at the plate.

The Range Riders now turn their sights to Tuesday where they start a six-game home series against the Missoula Paddleheads. The matchup sees the two teams with the best records in the PBL battle for the top of the table. First pitch Tuesday-Saturday is at 7:05 PM, while Sunday's game will get underway at 1:05 PM. Get your tickets at GoRangeRiders.com.

Make sure to vote for Glacier Bank Park as the best ballpark in the MLB Partner Leagues here: https://ballparkdigest.com/2023/07/14/voting-opens-on-best-of-the-ballparks-mlb-partner-leagues-edition/