PIONEER LEAGUE

Great Falls defeated Orem in the best-of-3 series, 2-1

Great Falls (White Sox) proved the old baseball adage, “Good pitching beats good hitting.” The Orem Owlz (Angles) led the Pioneer League with 521 runs scored, averaging nearly seven per game. But Great Falls righthander Dan Hudson shut them down, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out 12 in six innings—matching a career high. Meanwhile, Orem lefthander Buddy Boshers didn’t make it out of the second inning after giving up six runs. Great Falls right fielder Doug Thennis went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs in the championship game. The championship is the first for Great Falls since 2002, when they were the Great Falls Dodgers.