Gray, bats lift CMR baseball to crosstown victory over Great Falls High
Gavin Gray pitched a complete game while Roehrich Soldano and Dalton Heggem each knocked in three runs apiece for CMR.
An automatic berth into the state tournament is in sight for the C. M. Russell High baseball team.
The Rustlers (11-5 overall, 8-4 Eastern AA) held off a strong effort from rival Great Falls High, putting together two big innings to take a 13-7 victory on Tuesday, May 12, at Don Olson Field. CMR controls its own destiny to secure the No. 2 seed and second automatic berth to state in Butte on May 28-30 with two conference games to play.
More: Vote for the Tribune's Athlete of the Week nominees, May 12-15 More: Big sixth-inning rally lifts Great Falls High softball to crosstown win over CMR “Give Great Falls High a lot of credit,” CMR head coach Tony Forster said. “They came out ready to go. They had a pitcher (Oliver Braaten) that threw a lot of strikes and mixed up the timing on us a little bit and they played defense well for the most part and then they executed some bunts and kind of got things moving on the base path a bit.
” The contest was a far cry from the first matchup on April 21, which CMR took 17-1, as the Bison led 4-2 through three innings. Sophomore Kolten Kolve knocked in a pair in the second, with Jace Komac and Andrew Boutilier each adding an RBI. Kayden Neil sparked a five-run Rustler fourth on an RBI double, with Madden Jensen, Carson Hollern and Roehrich Soldano all bringing a run home as well.