GREAT FALLS, Mont. — The Great Falls White Sox kept Jay Brossman in check for a long time, but the Orem slugger came through with a shot heard round the Pioneer League late Friday night.

Brossman broke a tie with a long home run in the 16th inning as the Owlz defeated the Great Falls White Sox 3-2 in one of the most dramatic and longest games in the long history of Centene Stadium and the entire Pioneer League.

"It was a great game," said Brossman, who was 0-for-6 before connecting. "Both teams didn't want to lose. Both teams were battling their (tails) off."

A wondrous game on a beautiful night ended in ugly fashion when home-plate umpire Kyle Byrne, who had already ejected two White Sox players, threw out Great Falls manager Chris Cron following a call in the bottom of the 16th.

Trailing by a run after Brossman's shot, the Sox got the potential tying runner aboard as Salvador Sanchez singled to lead off the 16th. Jimmy Gallagher struck out as Sanchez slid in safely with an apparent stolen base.

But Byrne called batter interference on the lefthanded-hitting Gallagher, whose follow-through on the swing took him somewhat to the left of home plate, and Sanchez was declared out in what amounted to a double play.

Cron argued in heated fashion and was tossed from the game as an angry and somewhat unruly Great Falls crowd roared in disbelief.

"I wish it wouldn't have ended that way, with not being able to control ourselves," said Cron. "But human emotion plays a big part in the game and we'd just seen enough."

Brossman, a 36th-round pick in the 2007 draft out of the University of Utah, blasted one over the scoreboard and deep into the darkness as the Owlz of manager Tom Kotchman outlasted the White Sox to claim the league title.

Kotchman, the veteran skipper with seven league championships and nearly 1,500 minor-league victories to his credit in a 28-year career on the line, doubtless hasn't seen many games more suspenseful than this one.

"I've done it for 28 years, and never a playoff game like this," said Kotchman. who was soaked in champagne in a happy Orem clubhouse. "Big guys come up in big games. (Jordan) Walden came up big and what can you say about Brossman?"

Brossman was named to the Pioneer All-Star team this summer after hitting .346 with seven homers and 44 RBIs.

Righthander Jordan Towns, who worked four shutout innings, gained the victory for the Owlz. Mason Tobin earned the save.

Adam Bowling, who yielded Brossman's blast, took the loss.

Several innings earlier, the White Sox had a big blast of their own.

C.J. Retherford's dramatic solo home run in the ninth inning tied the game, and the Great Falls White Sox and Orem Owlz played late into the night before an energized crowd that largely stuck around at Centene.