Game 1 - Pioneers 14... Bismarck State 10
2B Ryota Kusumoto (Qairns, Australia) had one of the biggest games in MCC Pioneer history as he hit for a rare cycle and the Pioneers took advantage of some wild Mystic pitching with 17 free passes to 1st base and 5 errors in a 14-10 win over regular season champion Bismarck State.
Kusumoto's historic day started with a double in the 1st inning and then after striking out in the 3rd, Kusumoto homered in the 4th inning that gave the Pioneers a 8-4 lead. A triple to right center field highlighted the 6th inning and then after walking in the 7th inning, Kusumoto had an RBI single in the 8th inning to complete the cycle. His statline for the day was 4-5 (5 RBI, 2 R) as he was the only Pioneer with multiple hits.
SS Jaeden Jordahl (Billings, MT) cracked a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning and also walked twice, scored twice, and had a stolen base in the victory. 1B Tim Holyk (Nanaimo, BC) scored 3 times after getting hit by a pitch twice and also reaching on a single. RF Ian Krump (Rapid City, SD) and LF Grant Gabbert (Thorton, CO) had the other hits for MCC.
The Pioneers also had 5 stolen bases in the game but 4 errors on the defensive side of the field.
Jeremy Gee (Brigham City, UT) started on the mound for the Pioneers and went 4.2 innings (6 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 SO) before giving way to Jack Corriveau (Kalispell, MT). Corriveau was forced to pitch thru a driving rain in the 7th and 8th innings and gave the Pioneers 3.2 innings of work (4 R, 2 H, 5 BB, 3 SO). Noah Aliff (Centralia, WA) finished the final 2 outs in perfect fashion after the Mystics loaded the bases and had the tying run at the plate.
Game 2 - Pioneers 7... Williston State 1
The Pioneers used the strong arm of RHP Jay Neugebauer (Rapid City, SD) and the long ball off of the bats of Tim Holyk and DH Tommy O'Connell (Kalispell, MT) to earn the chance to host the Region XIII Tournament with another game against Williston State on Monday afternoon in Miles City.
Neugebauer was dominant on the mound pitching a complete game 3-hitter and his defense didn't commit an error in the game as the Pioneers held the Tetons to a single run in the 2nd inning. Neugebauer threw 117 pitches over 9 innings (R, 3 H, 3 BB, 7 SO) and 77 of those pitches were for strikes.
The Pioneers got on the board in the 1st inning with a run after Jaeden Jordahl reached 3rd and then scored on a balk by Teton pitcher Riley Smith. MCC took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning after consecutive walks by Ian Krump and C Karter Yancey (St. Anthony, ID). Gabbert then singled, Krump scored on an error by Teton shortstop Garrett Flaagan, and Yancey scored on an error by 1B Jordan Kelley.
The score stayed 3-1 until the 7th inning when Tim Holyk singled and Tommy O'Connell blasted a home run out of Connors Stadium giving the Pioneers a 5-1 lead. MCC got more insurance in the 9th inning on a solo shot by Tim Holyk followed with a double by Kusumoto and a bunt single by Tyler Tenney (Helena, MT). O'Connell grabbed another RBI with a single to center for the games final run.
Holyk finished 3-4 (HR, RBI, R) and O'Connell finished 2-5 (HR, 3 RBI, R). Kusumoto, Tenney, Yancey, and Gabbert had the other Pioneer hits.
Today's game is scheduled for 12:00 PM MST for the right to host the Region XIII Tournament next weekend. Both MCC and Williston have already qualified along with Bismarck State.