Glacier Range Riders Swing for the Fences

There’s always next year. For generations, that’s the prayer that has carried sports fans and teams through the off-season after getting a taste of playoff success and then falling short in that bittersweet final game. That has certainly been the mantra of the Glacier Range Riders — the Flathead Valley’s Pioneer Baseball League team now in its fourth season — ever since a heartbreaking loss in the league championship last fall in California.

Last September, the Range Riders made their post-season debut, defeating their long-time rival, the Missoula PaddleHeads, to face off against California’s Yolo High Wheelers, one of 12 teams in the Pioneer League. After splitting wins during back-to-back games in Kalispell, the series moved to Davis, Calif., where the Range Riders would lose two more, including a dramatic finale solidified by a three-run, walk-off home run hit by the High Wheelers’ Bobby Lada.

“It was a heartbreaker,” said Scot Gladstone, director for broadcasting, communications and community relations for the Range Riders.

The Glacier Range Riders arrived in the Flathead in 2022 as an expansion of the Pioneer League, one of four Major League Baseball Partner Leagues not affiliated with specific teams. Founded in 1939, the Pioneer League now features a dozen teams across California, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana (in addition to the Range Riders, the Montana teams include the Missoula PaddleHeads, Great Falls Voyagers, and the Billings Mustangs). The name Range Riders is inspired by the first rangers in Glacier National Park. To honor the park — part of which can be seen from nearly any of the 2,500 seats at Glacier Bank Park north of Kalispell — the team’s logo resembles the National Park Service’s iconic shield, and the team uses the NPS’s green and brown color scheme, making it the first professional sports team to do so. The Range Riders also boast two mascots: Huck, a Red Bus-driving Grizzly Bear, and Cliff, a Mountain Goat.

While the Range Riders played their first game at Flathead Field in Glacier Bank Park back in 2022, Gladstone said the team has been putting the finishing touches on the facility over the last few years. This year, he noted, is the first season they feel like they have everything dialed in, and they plan to double down on efforts to enhance the visitor experience with various promotional events.

“We really want to keep the experience fresh and exciting,” he said.

One of the most exciting nights of the season will be the team’s Independence Day celebration on July 3, which includes a fireworks show and a rematch against the champion High Wheelers. (The team will be on the road in Missoula on July 4.)

But the biggest show will be on the field, Gladstone said. One of the constraints of the Pioneer League is that most players are limited to just three seasons. That means there will always be some turnover and fresh faces on the team. However, one area where he expects a lot of success this year is the pitching roster. Returning to the pitching mound this year for the Glacier Range Riders will be Nick Zegna and Rayne Supple. A newcomer will be Jared Engman, who started last year for the University of Washington Huskies.

“Our arms will be really good this year,” Gladstone said.

Fan favorites, including infielder Gabe Howell and outfielder Kingston Liniak, will return this season for another summer with the Range Riders. Notably, Liniak is just seven runs away from breaking the team’s all-time record.

Even before the first pitch of the 2025 season is thrown, it is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Glacier Range Riders. On April 10, Logan VanWey became the first former Range Rider player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. VanWey had the distinction of throwing the first pitch in franchise history during the Range Riders’ inaugural game in May 2022 (a game they won 15-1). VanWey made a total of nine appearances, all as a starter, for the local team before being called up to an affiliate of the Houston Astros. He performed in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas before receiving the call-up to the Astros earlier this year. VanWey is one of only two Pioneer League players to be called up to the MLB since the independent league was restructured in 2020.

However, while team officials are excited for VanWey and proud of his connection to the Flathead Valley baseball team, their main focus is on winning games this season. Gladstone said the team is confident they can make it to the postseason again — and this time, hopefully, go all the way.

“Once you get a taste of the playoffs, it’ll feel like a disappointment of we don’t make it back,” he said.

The Range Riders’ first game of the year is on May 20 at home against the Great Falls Voyagers. For more information about the Glacier Range Riders, view a schedule of the 2025 season and buy game tickets, visit GoRangeRiders.com.