Jones Dominates, Voyagers Hold Off Mustangs In 5-3 Win

BILLINGS, MT— Quincy Jones was virtually unhittable for the first seven innings of Thursday night's game at Dehler Park and the Great Falls Voyagers (29-21, 2-1 2H) staved off a valiant comeback effort from the Billings Mustangs (26-23, 1-2 2H) to notch their second straight road victory by a score of 5-3. Jones's 7.1 innings of work is the longest outing by a Voyager starter on the year and his 52.2 innings on the year ranks first in the Pioneer League North Division.

Jones put together one of the most consistent pitching performances for a Great Falls starter all season, as the lefty faced just 27 batters through his first seven innings of work, allowing only one Billings baserunner to advance past second before the eighth inning. On the offensive side, the Voyagers saw notable contributions from third baseman Collin Runge, who recorded two hits on the evening, and center fielder Jake Malec, who reached base three times and came through in the top of the ninth on what would ultimately be the deciding play of the game.

Matching up against right-handed starter Kenny Serwa, who came into the night sporting a miniscule 0.90 ERA in limited action, the Voyagers took advantage of defensive miscues from the Mustangs defense to get on the board early, a theme that would reappear down the stretch. After two innings of limited production at the plate for either side, Great Falls second baseman Myles McKisic reached on an error to open the third frame and was followed immediately by a Riley Jepson walk and a Breydon Daniel bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Runge proceeded to break open the scoring with a base hit of his own before Jepson came home on a double play ball. Michael Deeb plated Breydon Daniel with an RBI single to cap off the three run inning, the only productive frame for either team until the eighth.

The Mustangs were finally able to chase Quincy Jones (7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 6 K) from the game with a one-out walk and an RBI double in the bottom half of the eighth, giving the home fans a glimmer of hope for a late-game rally. Pioneer League saves leader Montana Quigley entered the two-run ballgame with a runner on second and one out looking to limit the damage and preserve the lead. Unfortunately for Great Falls, the Mustangs got to Quigley in a hurry, welcoming him to the game with a double off the bat of Jalen Garcia and a two-run single from Gabe Wurtz that evened the score at three.

One of two Pioneer League teams (Idaho Falls) yet to find themselves in a Knockout Round tiebreaker scenario this season, the Voyagers headed into the ninth looking to tap into some of the gritty late-game heroics that have become so common for Tommy Thompson's squad. After two quick outs, Michael Deeb hit a ball on the ground to the right side that required first baseman Jordan Barth to flip the ball to reliever Al Pesto, who came off the bag and allowed Deeb to reach on the third of four Mustang errors in the contest. Down to his final strike, Cristopher DeGuzman poked a ball into the outfield to keep the inning alive and bring up Jake Malec with the go-ahead run in scoring position. The speedy outfielder hit a slow roller towards second base that looked like it may spell the end of the potential Great Falls rally, but as Malec beat out the infield single, Deeb wheeled his way around third, coming in to score the go-ahead run all the way from second base. Lukas Polanco would tack on an insurance run with an RBI single in the next at bat as the Voyagers finished the night scoring all five of their runs unearned in the books. A leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth showed signs of life from the Mustangs before Anthony Becerra-Lopez entered for his second save of the year, setting down the next three hitters in order on just eight pitches, all for strikes.

The Voyagers will look to make it three in a row when they match up with the Mustangs yet again on Friday night at Dehler Park in Billings. The season series is now knotted at three games apiece, as each team holds a 2-1 record on the road in the first six games between the two clubs. First pitch for game four of the series is set for 6:35 MDT.