PaddleHeads Hold Off Late Change In 14-9 Victory
Gordon Records 3 Doubles In Win Over Great Falls
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 18 | 0 |
|
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2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 3 |
GREAT FALLS, MT - The Missoula PaddleHeads bats got off to seemingly a slow start Friday night in game 4 of a 6 game set with the Great Falls Voyagers. Missoula would be limited to 3 runs over the course of the first 4 innings. As a result, the Voyagers would have a slight advantage. The offense of the PaddleHeads would make adjustments to their approach however and success would start to come Missoula's way going into the middle innings to grab a sizable advantage. Great Falls would find success themselves in the late innings as well to tighten things up coming down the stretch.
The PaddleHeads would put 8 runs on the board in innings 5 through 7 to get their run total to double digits for the third time in this series. Missoula would also see its lead grow to 7 after a rally in the top of the 7th. The Voyagers would strike with a 5-run push in the home half of the inning to set up a tight battle over the final 2 frames. One more Missoula push in the top 9th would turn the tide in the direction of the PaddleHeads for good to claim a 14-9 win. In the process Missoula claimed its 4th win in as many games at Voyagers Stadium.
After a Mike Rosario double jumped Missoula to a lead in the top of the 1st, Great Falls would have an immediate response to snag the lead early. 1st baseman Roman Kuntz would kick off a productive night at the plate in the home half of the frame with a 2-run home run. Great Falls would grab the lead 2-1.Kuntz finished the night 3-for-5 with a run scored. Missoula would answer back with a big swing in the 3rd inning.
Adam Fogel would continue his productive series at Voyagers Stadium with his 4th consecutive multihit game. The left fielder would give Missoula a 3-2 lead to highlight his efforts in the 3rd with a tape measure 2-run blast to left center field. The ball would travel over 470 feet after being sent into orbit. The rest of the offense would start to collectively get going in the middle innings.
A 4-run rally would expand the PaddleHeads advantage to 4 in the top of the 5th inning. Roberto Pena would put pressure on the Voyagers on the base paths to get things started, scoring on an error after stealing a pair of bases. Taylor Smith would later strike with a 2-run single in the frame as Missoula jumped in front 7-3. Smith would enjoy a solid night in the bottom third of the order finishing 3-for-5. Colin Gordon made sure that would be a trend at the bottom of the order.
The PaddleHeads 2nd baseman would bring in a pair with one of his 3 doubles Friday to highlight a 3-run rally in the 7th. Gordon would later score on an RBI groundout as Missoula jumped out to a 11-4 lead. Gordon would wrap up his evening 4-for-5 with a run scored and 3 RBIs. Despite the deficit, a rally from the Voyagers in the bottom of the 7th would quickly get them right back in the game for the stretch run.
Great Falls would bring 5 runs to the plate in the bottom of the 7th to make things interesting coming down the stretch. Freddy Rojas Jr. got things kicked into gear with a 2-run single to cut the deficit to 5. Jeff Nicol would then make it an 11-9 game one batter later hitting a 3-run home run to right center field to get Great Falls right back in it. An important stretch from a PaddleHeads reliever would be vital to ensure Missoula kept the lead.
Zach Lampton would walk to the mound for the 3rd consecutive game in the midst of the 7th inning. Lampton would be able to get Missoula out of the frame leaving the bases loaded to keep the lead at 2. Lampton would then breeze through the 8th inning. The PaddleHeads would then give themselves some insurance in the top of the 9th to put the game away.
Pena would bring home a pair of runs with a double in the final frame in an impressive at-bat. After falling into a 2-strike hole, the 1st baseman would work the count full before getting a pitch he could handle to make the score 13-9. Fogel would knock him in with a single of his own moments later as Missoula would lead the contest 14-9. Pena scored 3 runs and also knocked in 3 in a 2-for-3 night. Fogel also tallied 3 RBIs in a 3-for-6 performance.
The PaddleHeads (11-5) will look to keep the good vibrations rolling in the final night game of the series with the Voyagers (2-14) Saturday night. Great Falls will look to pull itself off the canvas having lost 11 consecutive games going into the contest. First pitch from Voyagers Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m.
