Brewers Need 12 Innings To Win Fourth Straight

GREAT FALLS, MT - The Helena Brewers (5-6) defeated the Great Falls Voyagers 7-4 in 12 innings on Thursday night at Centene Stadium for their fourth straight victory. It's the longest winning streak for the Brewers since they won five in a row from August 26-30 in 2015.
Following three scoreless frames, Helena took advantage of a pair of errors by Great Falls in the twelfth. Jay Feliciano and Zach Clark both singled with one out and Franly Mallen followed with a ground ball deep in the hole at short, reaching on a fielder's choice. Attempting to get the out at second, Voyagers shortstop Max Dutto threw the ball out of the reach of second baseman Tate Blackman, allowing the go-ahead run to come in and give the Brewers a 5-4 lead. Helena added a pair of insurance runs when Voyagers first baseman Justin Yurchak committed a fielding error on a ground ball by Jose Gomez, brining in two runs to make it 7-4.
Reliever Rodrigo Benoit (1-2) allowed just one hit in the bottom of the inning while striking out the other three batters he faced in the frame to seal the win for the Brewers. Benoit tossed 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one base runner and striking out four. In total, Brewers pitching struck out 15 batters.
After not allowing a run through the first three innings, Helena fell behind in the fourth. Voyagers centerfielder Tyler Frost led off the inning with his league-leading fourth triple and came in to score on an RBI single by Anthony Villa.
In the sixth, the Brewers used a two-out rally to take the lead. With a runner on first and second, Great Falls starter Chris Comito delivered a wild pitch that moved the runners into scoring position. Zach Clark followed with a single to left field, plating both runners to give Helena a 2-1 lead. Clark came in to score on a three base error by Comito when the right-hander attempted to pick Clark off at first, pushing the Brewers lead to 3-1. Clark finished the night 4-for-6 six with two RBI and two runs scored, the first four hit performance for a Brewers batter this season.
Great Falls (6-5) tied the game in the seventh with a solo home run by Felix Mercedes, his first of the season. Helena responded when Feliciano hit a solo home run in the eighth, his second of the season, to retake the lead 4-3. The Voyagers sent the game to extra innings with another solo home run in the bottom of the eighth, as Justin Yurchak hit his second dinger of the season to knot the game at 4-4.
The Brewers wrap up their series with the Voyagers Friday night at Centene Stadium at 7:00 PM. Helena sends RHP Harold Chirino (0-1, 7.27) to the mound against Great Falls RHP Fernando Gallegos (0-0, 4.76). The game can be heard locally on KCAP 95.9 FM/AM 950, TuneIn Radio or the MiLB First Pitch App.
The Brewers continue a seven-game road trip before returning to Kindrick Legion Field on Thursday, July 6. Tickets to all Helena Brewers games can be purchased at the box office, over the phone at (406)-495-0500 or online at helenabrewers.net.