The Long Beach Coast’s final game of the season at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field on Tuesday was one to forget—and certainly one they’ll need to quickly forget in the midst of the Pioneer Baseball League Championship Series.
The Coast hosted the Billings Mustangs for Game 1 of the series in a game that appeared evenly matched through six innings before ending in dramatically different fashion. With the game tied through six, the Mustangs strung together 11 hits in an offensive onslaught over the final three innings to take Game 1 over the Coast, 12-2.
Any hopes of a Championship Series comeback will have to come on the road, as the Mustangs hold home-field advantage for the remainder of the series. Game 2 will be on Friday at Dehler Park in Billings, Montana, with a Coast win forcing a decisive Game 3 on Saturday.
Long Beach stuck to the bullpen approach it has relied on since injuries hit its top starters midway through the season, as right-hander Matthew O’Brien got the start and gave up a home run as his only hit allowed through three innings of Game 1. Marco DiGirolamo then pitched two scoreless innings before the Coast had to exhaust three different arms over the final three-inning stretch that saw the Mustangs bring across 11 of their runs.
“It was awesome to get the start,” O’Brien said after the game, adding that he plans to be available to pitch for the remainder of the series. “The fans were great and everyone showed out. It obviously wasn’t the game that we wanted, but it’s alright. We just need to come back and show up for Game 2.”
It was a much different story on the other side, as the Mustangs received a steady complete-game outing from right-hander Cole Calnon, who surrendered nine hits through as many innings while allowing just a pair of runs.
The Coast was the first to strike on Tuesday night, as Emilio Corona led off the bottom of the second inning with a home run to right field for an early one-run lead. The Mustangs answered right back as John McHenry led off the top of the third with a home run, but neither side did any further damage to keep it tied at 1-1 through three innings.
Both offenses continued to pick up from there, as the Coast put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth before a fielder’s choice on a double got the runner out at third, and a flyout ended the frame.
On the other end, O’Brien finished off three innings of work with that home run as his lone hit allowed while racking up three strikeouts without allowing another baserunner. DiGirolamo then came out of the bullpen and found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth before getting out of it with a fielder’s choice at second.
Both teams traded 1-2-3 innings from there until the Mustangs’ offense came back to life on the first pitch of the seventh inning. That’s when Adam Cootway drove a ball deep to left field on a no-doubt home run to give Billings a 2-1 lead.
The Mustangs then rallied together around that homer, as a double by McHenry sandwiched between a pair of walks loaded the bases with no outs. After bringing Steven Ordorica to the mound, the Coast then surrendered a run on an RBI single from Nin Burns II before Jacob Gutierrez brought in a pair of runs on an RBI single.
That’s when the Coast turned to Brett Wozniak out of the bullpen, who hit the first batter he faced to reload the bases. The rally only got worse for Long Beach from there, as Cootway turned on a ball to deep right field near the scoreboard for a grand slam, giving the Mustangs a 9-1 lead before the end of the inning.
The Coast was able to put together a brief response in the bottom of the frame, as Cooper Vest reached on an error and made his way into scoring position on a passed ball. Robert Pitts then drove him in on an RBI single before Calnon got out of the inning with a strikeout and a flyout.
The Mustangs added to their lead in both the eighth and ninth innings, as Burns II doubled in the top of the eighth before being brought in on a groundout from Jacob Gutierrez. Billings added a pair of runs in the ninth to cap the scoring, as Kyle Hvidsten and McHenry each had RBI singles to make it 12-2.
Billings will host Game 2 of the Championship Series in Montana with first pitch set for 5:35 pm, according to the Coast’s schedule. If necessary, Game 3 will be played Saturday at 5:35 pm.
