The Helena Brewers were certainly hoping for a better homecoming than they received Thursday night.

After a day off from their seven-day stint in the Pioneer League's Southern Division, where the Brewers were able to sneak into the North's second-place spot, the home team were decimated by Billings 17-2 at Kindrick Legion Field.

The loss drops Helena to 18-17 on the season, but more importantly, allows the Mustangs (22-13) to clinch the first half of the season championship. That means they will have an automatic berth in the playoffs at the end of the summer.

"We have been playing pretty good as of late and we got some timely hits early and were able to put the game away early," said Billings manager Julio Garcia. "It's a combination. We've been able to pitch well and at times we've been able to hit as well.

"Tonight we put it all together."

There's no doubt about that. Starting pitcher Jamie Arneson allowed just two runs on five hits over the first six innings, then shut the Brewers down. The southpaw also picked up five strike outs without giving up a walk.

By the time he was finished with the Brewers, only two more would get hits -- both on reliever Junior Martinez -- before Justin Freeman closed out the bottom of the ninth with three straight strike outs.

Billings' batters, meanwhile, put up a season-high 20 hits and lead-off batter Andrew Means had two home runs, including a grand slam, to lead the Mustangs with seven RBI. That nearly emptied the park of the 1,216 in attendance.

Means' second blast, which brought in all four runs in the eighth inning, only proved how rough the Brewers had it going. For starters, he shouldn't have even been up to bat.

After walking the first two batters, Helena pitcher Rolando Pascual struck out Byron Wiley and forced Jose Gualdron to fly out to first base. Pascual then struck out Miguel Rojas swinging, however, the ball went into the dirt and away from catcher Mike Roberts.

Roberts hustled toward the backstop, but couldn't turn in time to get a good throw to first and Rojas advanced on the wild pitch.

That allowed Means back up to bat and, after drawing a full count, he parked it high off the left field safety net.

"He's a football player so he's really just learning how to play. He got a couple pretty good pitches to hit tonight and he did something with it," Garcia said.

While it certainly put the Brewers out of contention, Helena manager Rene Gonzales didn't quite see it that way.

"Quite honest, we were never in it," he said. "I'm kind of disappointed, I thought we came out ready to play."

The Brewers looked like they would be able to stay with Billings after collecting two runs on three hits in the bottom of the second.

Michael Vass and Mike Roberts hit back-to-back singles before advancing to third and second, respectively, on a passed ball. Derrick Alfonso followed it up with a two-out single to left field to bring in both runners and the score to 4-2.

"That was it, those two runs and then there was nothing near coming close," Gonzales said.

Helena did manage to load the bases in the bottom of the eighth when Vass walked on with two out, but Roberts went down swinging to record the third.

Seven different Brewers recorded each of their hits while David Sappelt led the Mustangs with a 4-for-6 performance that included a double and two RBI. Teammate Byron Wiley went 3-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and three RBI.

The Brewers have three more games before the completion of the first half of the season including another against Billings today at 7:05 p.m.

"We're not going to concede this half, we're still going to have to play good ball. We have been to a point and the effort's been great," Gonzales said. "We've just got to continue to get ready for the division in the second half. We've got to continue to win."

Diamond notes:

n Steve Braun, little brother of Milwaukee's National League Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun, made his pro debut Thursday subbing for Michael Marseco at the shortstop position in the top of the seventh. He was welcomed with a grounder from Rojas that went off his glove and into the left field on the first at-bat.

n Billings' Tony Brown was the only Mustang not to get a hit in the game. He went 0-for-6 and scored a run, reaching on an error and a fielder's choice.

Interim sports editor

Jeff Windmueller: 447-4065 or irsports@helenair.com