Quigley Retires 15-Straight to Clinch First Ever Glacier Postseason
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 0 |
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0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
BOISE, Idaho – The Glacier Range Riders (29-18) are going dancing for the first time in franchise history. With an 8-5 win on Saturday night over the Boise Hawks (24-23), the Range Riders clinched at least a tie for the second-best record in the first half of the Pioneer League. With one game to go and the tiebreaker being runs allowed, the Hawks would need to score at least 46 runs for a chance to flip the tiebreaker against the Range Riders. It is safe to say the Flathead Valley will see playoff baseball for the first time ever come September.
Glacier came out of the gates with one clear goal in mind, to get the clinch with the win. Three runs came across in the first as Chad Castillo knocked an RBI single, Jerry Huntzinger tallied an RBI double, and Andy Atwood produced a run on an RBI groundout. Gabe Howell scored Ajay Sczepkowski in the second and it was 4-0 quick. Two runs came across from Boise in the bottom of the second, but then Glacier came through for four unanswered. First, a Chad Castillo RBI double, then Howell ripped a 450-foot home to straight away center, then new Range Rider Kevin Johnson dropped down an RBI sac bunt in the fifth and it was 8-2 Glacier.
The Hawks looked to have life in the fifth when they scored three on a home run by Troy Viola, but it was Montana Quigley who came out spitting fire to the tune of three straight strikeouts to end the frame and rid the Range Riders of the jam. Quigley then retired 12 more Hawks in order, helped in big part by a couple gems from third baseman Gabe Howell, to decimate any chance of a Boise comeback and pick up the winning decision.
This victory clinched the first playoff berth in franchise history as two of the four playoff spots go to the two teams with the best record in the first half of the season. Glacier will join the Missoula Paddleheads as one of the two teams to book their tickets in this first half. More information on the specifics of playoff dates and tickets will be available at a much later date.
This first ever playoff team in franchise history will expect a warm welcome home when they play their first game back at Glacier Bank Park on Tuesday, July 16th, for a 7:05 PM start against the Missoula Paddleheads.