Tied with three innings left, Game 1 of the 2026 Pioneer Baseball League (PBL) Championship Series had the makings of a wire-to-wire showdown in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,154 fans between the Billings Mustangs and Long Beach Coast.
Then, Mustangs’ right fielder Adam Cootway took over. Leading off the seventh inning, Cootway swung at the first pitch and connected for a solo home run to left field, breaking the 1-1 deadlock.
That ignited a Mustang rally long enough to cycle through the batting order, giving Cootway another at-bat in the same inning — this time with the bases loaded and a 5-1 lead. Cootway outdid himself, hitting a grand slam for his second homer in a row.
The Mustangs showed their league-best regular-season record was no fluke, hammering the Coast for a 12-2 series-opening victory at Blair Field.
Since the Yuba-Sutter Freebirds became the first California-based team to join the Pioneer League in 2024, the Mustangs had not played in the West Coast before Tuesday.
The Mustangs answered any questions about whether their high-powered offense could produce against a top-tier pitching staff in the Southern California climate.
Coast manager Troy Percival gave the ball to lefty Matthew O’Brien to start. One of several former UC Riverside Highlanders on the roster, O’Brien went 4-3 in 10 starts this season. O’Brien didn’t receive a decision in this one, leaving the game tied after three frames. After missing the Big West tournament twice as a pitcher for UC Riverside, Game 1 of the PBL Championship Series may have drawn the biggest crowd for an O’Brien start.
“The family was great, everyone showed out, it was fun,” O’Brien said. “Obviously, the game didn’t go the way we wanted, but it was alright. We go back and come back for Game 2.”
O’Brien forced the first two batters he faced to whiff for strikeouts, then gave up a big swing to Cameron Bowen that may have flown past the left-field fence in Billings, Montana. But at Blair Field, the ball landed safely in left fielder Eddy Pelc’s glove at the warning track.
Despite a lower regular-season strikeout rate of 29 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched, O’Brien recorded three strikeouts and allowed just one hit in his outing.
“Pounding the zone, that’s always the first step,” he said. “I always try to keep my pitch count down … I’m not a big strikeout guy, but guys were swinging over my stuff. We had a good game plan coming in.”
Hitting in the cleanup spot, center fielder Emilio Corona opened up the scoring with a solo home run over the right field wall to lead off the second inning. That hit was the third home run Mustangs starter Cole Calnon allowed in his last nine batters faced, spanning back to his last outing, but Calnon quickly put all troubles behind him.
Calnon threw a 133-pitch complete game, allowing nine hits and just one earned run.
“We’ll come back,” O’Brien said. “I mean [Calnon] pitched the ball pretty well, so it is what it is, but we’ll come back.”
The Mustangs retaliated with a bomb of their own, courtesy of second baseman John McHenry’s solo homer to left field in the third. The Billings fans who made the trip knew it was gone as soon as the ball jumped off of McHenry’s bat, forming an island of cheers within the Long Beach crowd.
Relief pitcher Marco Digirolamo got the first call out of the bullpen. After a double play helped his scoreless fourth inning, he faced a bases-loaded situation in the fifth. Strong defense saved him again, as well as a friendly umpire, as shortstop Anthony Mata secured the third out by underhanding the throw to second base, recording the fielder’s choice by fractions of a second.
Cootway broke the 1-1 deadlock in the seventh inning with a first-pitch swinging home run off Ryan Faulks to left field. The Mustangs followed that up with a walk and double. That sequence ended Faulks’ night and brought in Steven Ordorica to put out the fire of runners in scoring position with zero outs. After issuing a walk on seven pitches, Ordorica allowed a line drive to right field that scored one run.
With the vaunted top of the order getting a shot with the bases loaded and no outs, the Mustangs stretched their lead after leadoff hitter Jacob Gutierrez connected on a full count for a two-run single to shallow left field.
The Mustangs kept the endless inning going to give Cootway another chance at the plate with the bases loaded, which he capitalized on for a 9-1 lead.
Normally reserved for pinch-hitting and defensive situations, Robert Pitts got the start in right field for the Coast and delivered an RBI single in the seventh to stop the onslaught.
The Mustangs kept their foot on the gas to end the game, tacking on three extra runs to solidify a double-digit margin of victory.
“I trust our offense, they’ll be able to get some good swings at the ball next time and our pitching will limit the big inning and that’ll be fine,” O’Brien said.
Game 2 will be played on Friday at 6:35 MDT at Dehler Park in Billings, Montana. Trademark Brewing will be hosting a watch party, starting at 5 p.m. at 233 E. Anaheim St.
