BILLINGS — The Ogden Raptors beat the Billings Mustangs 7-5 in Game 2 of their best-of-three Pioneer League championship series Monday at Dehler Park to capture the franchise's first title since 2017.
Josh Broughton's bases-loaded triple in the top of the fourth scored three runs and gave the Raptors a three-run lead. Ogden extended its lead to 7-1 following RBI singles by Landen Barnes in the fifth and Juan Teixeira in the sixth.
Trailing 7-3, the Mustangs mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth as Mikey Edie drove in two runs with a one-out single. But reliever Dan Kubiuk struck out Billings' Gabe Wurtz — representing the tying run — to end the game and finish the series for Ogden.
Billings took a 1-0 lead in the third on an run-scoring double by Wurtz. The Mustangs added a run in the sixth when Mitch Moralez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and another in the eighth on John Michael Falie's solo home run.
The 2023 season marked the Pioneer League's third year as an independent professional circuit. Ogden's last league title in 2017 came when the Raptors were an affiliate of the L.A. Dodgers.
