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Pioneers Stave Off Elimination; Advance to Final 3 of Region XIII Playoffs

Pioneers Stave Off Elimination; Advance to Final 3 of Region XIII Playoffs
Posted: May 08, 2026

Game 1 - Pioneers 0... Williston State 15 (5 Innings)

The leadoff batter for the MCC Pioneers struck out to start the game. From that point forward until the last out was made in the top of the 5th inning, nothing went the way of the MCC Pioneers as the Williston State Tetons advanced to the semifinal round of the Region XIII Playoffs with a convincing 15-0 win over the Pioneers on Friday afternoon. 

Williston notched 4 runs in the 1st inning after the 1st 2 batters drew walks and then piled on 8 runs in the 2nd to put the game out of reach. Teton starting pitcher Collin Cobb tossed a 2-hitter as the Pioneers never mounted a serious threat to score. WSC added 3 runs in the 4th for insurance purposes to add insult to injury for MCC. 

Ethan Forrest (LF - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Karter Scott (1B - Regina, Saskatchewan) mustered up the only 2 hits for the Pioneers. 

AJ Truman (Eureka, MT) got the start and pitched 3 innings (9 H, 15 R, 7 ER, 9 BB, SO) before handing the ball to Logan Bertagnolli (West Jordan, UT) for a perfect 4th inning. 

Inside the Box Score

  • The Pioneers had 2 hits and the Tetons had 9 hits (3B, 3 2B).
  • Each team had 1 error. 
  • Pioneer batters struck out 12 times and were hit by pitch once. 
  • Teton batters struck out once and walked 9 times. 
  • WSC had one stolen base.

 

Game 2 - Pioneers 20... Dawson CC 7

A nightmare of a 1st game turned in to a glorious 2nd game on Friday in Williston, ND. The MCC Pioneers bounced back from being shut out and only getting 2 hits to piling up 20 runs on 18 hits in a 20-7 win over Dawson CC to advance to Saturday action at the Region XIII Playoffs. 

From start to finish, this was the Pioneers game. MCC scored 2 runs in the 1st inning enroute to building a 8-1 lead and then finished things off with an 8-run 9th inning. 

All 10 Pioneers that entered the batters box got at least one hit and 8 different players had RBI's in the game. Dane Gilbert (DH - Monument, CO) hit 2 home runs and Anthony Williams (C - Billings, MT) connected for another home run to highlight the Pioneer efforts. 

Gilbert notched 5 RBI and Luke Thorne (SS - Missoula, MT) had 3. 

MCC scored a run in the 2nd inning, 5 in the 3rd, 2 in the 5th and 6th before the 8 run 9th inning. 

Lee Neugebauer (Rapid City, SD) got the start and pitched 5 innings (4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 9 SO). Chaise Tracy (Billings, MT) pitched the 6th inning (H, R, BB) and Eli Kelley (Rapid City, SD) shut the door on the Buccaneers over the final 3 innings (4 H, 2 R, ER, BB, 2 SO).

Inside the Box Score

  • The Pioneers had 18 hits (3 HR, 4 2B) and the Buccaneers had 9 hits (5 2B).
  • Each team had 2 errors.
  • MCC had 2 stolen bases and DCC had 1. 
  • Pioneer batters struck out 8 times, walked 9 times, and were hit by pitch 3 times. 
  • Buccaneer batters struck out 11 times, walked 6 times, and were hit by pitch once. 

The Pioneers will face the loser of Williston State/DCTC Saturday at 12:00 PM MDT in Williston. The winner of that game will advance to the Region XIII Championship series.