Fuson Leads the Way

Justin Fuson twirls a gem as the Mustangs win 11-4 Sunday to win their first six-game series since the season-opener in Great Falls where Billings took four of six from the Voyagers in May. 

Fuson improves to 2-2 as he tossed five and two thirds giving up three runs on five hits with a walk. He tied Grant Taylor's team-high nine strikeouts Sunday afternoon. 

The Raptors took a 1-0 lead in the third on a leadoff double by Pearce Howard and a two-out double by Nick Ultsch. 

The Mustangs responded with a six-spot in the home half of the frame as they sent 10 men to the plate. 

Wyatt Crenshaw led off the inning with a single. Jacob Kline walked, and Connor Denning hit home Crenshaw to tie it at 1-1. 

With one out, Gabriel Pacheco hit Brendan Ryan with a pitch, and Gabe Wurtz brought home Kline and Denning, while Ryan scored on the play, when the catcher Chris Sargent tried to throw him out at third with Ryan rounding the bag and the toss sailed into left field with a error to take a 4-1 lead. 

Evan Blum knocked an RBI double to score Gabe Wurtz, while Blake Evans brought home Blum to take a 6-1 advantage. 

Ogden answered in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs. Fuson hit two batters with a pitch, while Connor Bagnieski moved them over on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Howard struck again with a two-run double to make it a 6-3 game. 

Billings collected an RBI single by Blake Evans with one out after a pair of basehits by Wurtz and Blum to lead 7-3. 

A leadoff first pitch single in the bottom of the sixth got things rolling for the Mustangs in the inning. Quinn Waterhouse hit Denning with a pitch and walked Dylan Leach. Kline would later score on a wild pitch, while Denning would do the same. Brendan Ryan reached on a fielder's choice where Leach tried to score on a ground ball to short, but got caught in a pickle allowing Ryan to reach second. 

Ryan scored stealing third when Sargent threw it over the head of Barnes at third and that made it a 10-3 game to the seventh. 

Abe Valdez hit his fourth homer of the season to lead off the seventh 400 feet to right-center field to lead 11-3. 

Daniel Wilie and Earl Johnson combined for two and a third scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. Willie one and a third innings giving up just a hit, while Johnson tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning. 

Jonathan Haab finished it off for the Mustangs giving up a run on two hits with two walks and a strikeout. 

The Mustangs have a six-game home series against the Great Falls Voyagers lined up. Coverage starts at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday with first pitch at 6:35 p.m. on ESPN910/105.5 FM or espnbillings.com. You can also watch every pitch on FloBaseball.TV.