Sox Stymies Voyagers Offense In PaddleHeads Victory
Pena Homers Twice In Missoula’s Win Over Great Falls
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
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5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 13 | 0 |
MISSOULA, MT - The Missoula PaddleHead would never hold the lead at any point Friday night in action with the Great Falls Voyagers. The Voyagers would come quickly out the gate in game 1 immediately jumping to a sizable lead in the early innings. After a frustrating beginning to the series, Missoula would look to turn things around in game 2 Saturday at Allegiance Field. Missoula would surely do that on this night with a rally in the 1st inning to immediately set the tone offensively. Matthew Sox would then take care of the rest in a sensational outing on the mound.
The PaddleHeads would strike with the long ball in the early innings launching 4 home runs in the first 2 innings to jump ahead 7-0. Sox would then be spectacular for the 2nd outing in a row against Great Falls, pitching through the 7th inning to earn his 3rd win of the season. Doing so, Sox became the first PaddleHeads starter this season to toss 7 innings. Great Falls would never find a formula offensively throughout the contest. This combination would lead to a convincing 10-1 victory for Missoula setting up a rubber match of this 3-game series on Sunday afternoon.
A 5-run rally in the bottom of the 1st inning got the PaddleHeads out of the gates quickly to ensure Saturday's game had a much different feel from the jump as to where things were a night ago. Home runs would be the weapon of choice.
Roberto Pena would get things rolling on that front hitting a 2-run blast to right field to make the score 2-0 in the 1st inning. A few batters later, Carlos Perez would then get in on the act hitting a home run down the right field line to bring 3 runs home to make the score 5-0. Perez would finish the night 1-for-4. The PaddleHeads were also not done hitting balls out of the park.
Pena went deep for the second time in as many at-bats in the 2nd inning to give Missoula a 6-run lead. Pena has now tallied 15 home runs on the season which leads the Pioneer League. Adam Fogel would step into the box following Pena and would make his presence felt with a home run to right to give Missoula a 7-0 advantage. Fogel is also amongst the league leaders in home runs this season having hit 10 to this point in 2025.
Pena would finish 2-for-5 in his at bats Saturday with a pair of runs scored and 3 driven in. Fogel would score a pair of runs in the win while finishing 1-for-3. This early inning push would do more than enough damage as Sox would have his best stuff working against the Voyagers.
Sox would only allow one run through 7 innings of work in a sensational effort on the mound for the PaddleHeads. The Utah product has now only allowed 1 run over his last 13 innings of work overall. The only run for the Voyagers would come on a solo home run to right field off the bat of Luis Moreno in the 3rd inning. Not only did that not trip up Sox, it also would start an impressive run on the mound.
After the home run in the 3rd, Sox would then go on to retire the next 15 batters he faced on the mound consecutively. This would include 4 straight clean innings from the 4th through the 7th. When it was all said and done, Sox only allowed 1 hit in the outing while striking out 7 batters. Offensive success in the 5th, and 6th would ensure Missoula would cruise to a win Saturday.
Alec Sanchez knocked in a run in the bottom of the 5th with a double into right center field to give Missoula a 7 run advantage. The PaddleHeads would then strike quickly in the bottom of the 6th with 3 consecutive hits to knock home a pair of runs. Sanchez would finish 1-for-4.
After a leadoff single from Kamron Willman, Colby Wilkerson would immediately knock him home with a double in the bottom of the 6th. Mike Rosario would keep the train moving in the next at-bat with a single to bring Missoula's 10th run to the plate. Willman enjoyed a solid night in the win finishing 2-for-3. Rosario would also consistently find the basepaths in a 3-for-5 effort. The PaddleHeads will now look to finish the week with a 4-2 record in a rubber match of this series Sunday.
Missoula (16-7) will look to finish the week with a 4-2 mark in Sunday's series finale opposite the Great Falls Voyagers. It will be a special day at the ballpark with Father's Day festivities on the docket for a Sunday afternoon at Allegiance Field. First pitch of this matinee affair is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Hear the call on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. if you cannot make it to the ballpark in person.
