BILLINGS, Mont. — With a 14-11 win over Long Beach Coast on Friday night, the Billings Mustangs have won their first Pioneer Baseball League title since 2014 and their first in the independent era, doing so in front of the home crowd fans.
The Mustangs swept the Coast 2-0 in the championship series after also winning game one on the road 12-2 on Tuesday.
The Mustangs struck first in the bottom half of the first inning thanks to a Justin Johnson Jr. RBI double. A few batters later, John McHenry would clear the bases with a grand slam putting the Ponies ahead 5-0 early.
In the third, Billings would break it open even further scoring four more run.
A Jacob Guiteirez three-run double made it 8-0, and then AJ Shaver brought his teammate home on a single moments later.
Trailing 9-0 with plenty of game left, Long Beach Coast put up a seven spot in the top half of the sixth to get themselves back in the game.
Following that half inning, there was a 30-minute lighting delay that paused play.
Following the delay, the Mustangs would score four runs of the bottom half of the sixth and would hold off a late Coast rally to get the 14-11 win and clinch the PBL title.
The Mustangs finished their season with a 71-28 record, and they went 4-0 in the playoffs sweeping the Missoula PaddleHeads in the semifinals round and sweeping Long Beach Coast in the championship round.
It is the 16th overall Pioneer Baseball League title for the Mustangs.