Dick Schofield's plan on managing the Mustangs was simple.

"There's really no magic to it: the kids have a daily routine, it's baseball. You're not trying to re-create anything," he said. "I just let them play because it's about them. The game is about the players."

Those players got to celebrate the Pioneer League North Division second-half title Tuesday as Rookie-level Billings shut down Great Falls, 6-1, at Dehler Park.

"I think it's great for the kids to be able to experience the winning part, where they understand the process of the daily grind. They get rewarded for that and they're getting rewarded right now," Schofield said. "I think we were just playing good. We ended the first half really well and based off the finish line and the opportunity to go that next step, they just jelled together and played very well."

The Mustangs got off to a slow start, finishing six games off the pace in the first half, before turning things around.

"Not a whole lot [went right] early on," the skipper said with a laugh. "That's why in my opinion -- and I've said it often -- if you stay the course, you do what you're supposed to do and if you do it the right way and you're good enough, in the end, things work out."

Through the ups and downs, pitching remained a strength for Billings, which led the league with a 4.05 ERA.

"At this level, ERA's can be fairly high because they just are. I think pretty much the entire season they led the league and they just battled. The last two weeks, they pitched outstanding," Schofield said. "They just go down there, they do their work, they run and here we are. It's a combination of [pitching coach] Derrin Ebert working with them and their abilities."

The Mustangs stuck with the theme in the clincher as starter Tanner Rainey allowing an unearned run on three hits and three walks with three strikeout over 4 2/3 innings. Junior Joselin Arias (3-2) fanned four over 2 2/3 hitless frames for the win before Carlos Machorro and Austin Orewiler finished up. Before long, Schofield was watching his players douse each other with sparkling cider.

"It's fun" the former Major Leaguer said. "Kids just poured it on each other and had fun, screamed and it was well-deserved. It's good to see them being rewarded for doing their job."

Billings' win relegated Missoula to the Wild Card spot. The Mustangs host the first-half division champions in Game 1 of the semifinals at 10:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Other clinchings:

Pioneer League

Orem 4, Idaho Falls 3

Holding the tiebreaker over Ogden, the Chukars grabbed the South Division second-half crown. Idaho Falls led the league with 489 runs scored en route to its second division title in three years. The Chukars and Owlz will meet again in the first round of the playoffs, beginning at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Box score »