Vibes Clinch First Division Title in Team History

For the first time in club history, the Rocky Mountain Vibes are headed to the postseason. With their 8-4 win over the Jackalopes on Thursday night, the Vibes clinched the South Division second-half title, and they will face off against the Ogden Raptors in the Divisional Round of the PBL Playoffs beginning Monday. Grand Junction was the first to strike, scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Cruce in the first inning, but RBI singles by Dusty Stroup and Stephen Wilmer put Rocky Mountain ahead in the second. Mark Herron Jr. padded the lead with a two-run homer in the third inning, and Jacob Barfield tacked another run with a solo homer in the fifth. For Barfield, it was his 22nd homer of the season, breaking his own club record from 2022. Jake McMurray added a two-run single in the sixth, which loomed large after the Jacks scored three runs in the seventh inning. Ethan Lopez's sacrifice fly gave the Vibes an insurance run, and Herron Jr. capped off the night with a sliding catch for the final out of the game. The reigning champion Jackalopes won't be in the big dance this season, but Jaylen Hubbard drove in his 117th run of the season with his groundout in the seventh inning, which broke Matt Feinstein's single-season record from 2021. In addition, Joe Johnson scored his 115th run in the top of the first inning, and he's now just one behind Jakob Goldfarb's record from 2021.

Missoula 8, Glacier 6: PaddleHeads Ride Six-Run Fifth Inning Back into First Place

The PaddleHeads and Range Riders kicked off a massive series in Missoula, and Glacier opened the scoring with an RBI single by Jackson Raper in the top of the first inning. Dean Miller drove home a run with a grounder in the third inning, but Missoula got the run back immediately on an RBI knock by Ryan Cash. In the fifth inning, the PaddleHeads loaded the bases before Dondrei Hubbard tied the game with an RBI single. Josh Elvir followed up by smacking a grand slam over the left-field wall, giving Missoula a 6-2 lead. Keaton Greenwalt finished off the rally with an RBI double with two outs. On the mound for Missoula, Izzy Fuentes put together a quality start, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk and six strikeouts over seven innings. Glacier mounted a bit of a rally in the ninth inning, getting a two-run single by Mason Dinensen and an RBI knock from Gabe Howell to cut the Missoula lead to 8-6, but Mark Simon got Dean Miller to hit a comebacker to secure the win. Missoula leapfrogs the Mustangs and are back in first place in the North Division second-half standings with two games left to play.

Northern Colorado 6, Billings 3: Buraconak's Strong Outing Knocks Billings Out of First Place

The Mustangs got on the board first in their series opener against Owlz, with Taylor Lomack hitting a solo home run in the top of the first inning. The Owlz fired back though, scoring three runs in the second inning with RBI knocks by Danny Perez and Euro Diaz, and an RBI groundout by Josh Glenn. Lomack drove home another run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning, but Tim Bouchard answered in the bottom of the frame with a solo homer. Bouchard added an RBI double in the fifth inning, and Henry George added another tally with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. On the mound, Will Buraconak settled down, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out eight over 7 1/3 innings. Cory Wills recorded the final five outs of the game for his 13th save of the season. Billings has now lost two games in a row and fallen out of first place in the North Division second-half standings.

Boise 9, Great Falls 7: Hawks Score Six in Sixth to Down Voyagers

The Hawks scored two runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead, but the Voyagers evened score thanks to an RBI single by Charley Hesse and a solo homer by Eddie McCabe. The score remained deadlocked at two until the top of the sixth inning, when the Hawks busted through for six runs, taking advantage of two errors by the Voyagers. Tyler Jorgensen, Raymond Gil, Ronnie Allen Jr., and Trevor Minder all drove in runs in the rally. The Voyagers battled back, cutting the deficit down to 9-7 in the ninth inning, but Nate Alexander was able to limit the damage and pick up his eighth save of the year.

Ogden 9, Idaho Falls 5: Raptors Erase Deficit with Six Unanswered Runs

The Chukars offense came out of the gates hot, answering Ogden's run in the top of the first with three in the bottom half of the inning, courtesy of RBI singles by Tyler Wyatt, Stephen Cullen, and Jordan Myrow. After the Raptors tied the game with RBI doubles by Nick Ultsch and Jonathan Soto, the Chukars scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. In the top of sixth though, Josh Broughton evened the score with a two-run single, and Logan Williams gave Ogden the lead with an RBI single in the seventh. The Raptors tacked on three more runs in the eighth on a two-run double by Reese Alexiades and another RBI knock by Soto. Meanwhile, Jackson Smith, Brandon Bonner, Quinn Waterhouse, and Brandon McCabe combined for four shutout innings of relief to close the game out.