An Insider's View To Game 31 & 32 vs. Billings

An Insider's View to Game 31 & 32 at Dehler Park

Game 31 & Game 32

 Missoula PaddleHeads @ Billings Mustangs

June 25.2025

Game 1 Resumption: 5:00 p.m. Dehler Park

Game 1 Starters: Mike Peterson vs. Sean Spencer

Game 2 Starters: Dawson Day vs. Arturo Alvarez 

Twin Bill

The PaddleHeads will play in their first double header of the season on Wednesday at Dehler Park. Action will begin in game 1 from where things left off Tuesday before play was suspended. The PaddleHeads will begin things offensively with play resuming in the top of the 2nd inning. Missoula had one runner on the bases at the time of the stoppage and 2 outs had been recorded. The game will then be completed through 9 innings of regulation. Game 2 will be a 7-inning affair. 

Mike Peterson will continue his outing on the mound for the PaddleHeads after tossing a scoreless 1st inning a night ago. Sean Spencer will not resume things on the mound for the Mustangs however. Hollis Fanning is scheduled to take the ball for Billings when play resumes on Wednesday evening. Fanning pitched in relief last week in action against the PaddleHeads allowing 6 hits and 3 earned runs over 2 ⅔ innings on June 19. Fanning would take the loss for this effort in a 16-11 win for the PaddleHeads.

Playoff Positioning

The PaddleHeads got a little help Tuesday to move into the top position in the league standings alone despite having play suspended in Billings. That was because the Oakland Ballers fell to the Boise Hawks Tuesday night allowing Missoula to hold a ½ game lead over Oakland for the top spot in the standings. A 3-run walk off home runs from Max Jung-Goldberg of the Hawks proved to be the difference in a 14-13 win for Boise. 

Idaho Falls, and Rocky Mountain were also victorious on Tuesday in wins over Yuba Sutter, and Grand Junction. The Chukars and Vibes enter play Wednesday night a full game back of Missoula at 20-10 overall. The Highwheelers, and Hawks are both sitting at 20-11 1 ½ games off the pace. 

Roster Transaction

The PaddleHeads announced the acquisition of outfielder Layton Berry on Tuesday in a deal with the Yuba Sutter Highwheelers. This trade was completed for a player to be named later. The Highwheelers also acquired Nate Madej from the Great Falls Voyagers Tuesday in a corresponding roster move. In Missoula's corresponding transaction, the PaddleHeads placed Henry Strmecki on waivers for his immediate release. 

This will be an interesting player to see work into the fold for the PaddleHeads. One element that should allow Berry to acclimate quickly to the clubhouse will be the presence of Taylor Smith. This duo played in over 50 games together in 2023 while both were playing at the University of Texas-San Antonio. This will allow the rookie an opportunity to acclimate to his new environment easier. Another interesting detail to follow will be what types of roles he plays. 

The Highwheelers utilized Berry in action off the bench on 8 separate occasions in league action this season. Will Michael Schlact utilize the rookie in a similar way? The Texas native also has experience playing multiple positions having appeared on the infield while in college. Schlact is a manager that enjoys having players that can fit multiple roles. It also allowed Barry the chance to fill different positions to take some of the heavy lifting off every day starters. It will be interesting to see what type of opportunities are available for Berry. 

Game 2's Pitching Matchup

LHP #15 Dawson Day (3-0) (4.94 ERA) vs. RHP #50 Arturo Alvarez (0-0) 5.27 ERA 

Day's Last Time Out

• Day would see his outing get off to a rough start last week against Billings allowing 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning.

• Day would settle down after this sequence however, allowing just 1 run through the next 5 innings of play. 

• The southpaw would receive a no-decision as a result in his 6 inning start. 

• Missoula would manage to tie the game at 7 in regulation before ultimately falling in a 'Knockout Round.' 

• Day has allowed 6 earned runs over 11 innings in a pair of starts against Billings this season with 12 strikeouts.

Arturo Alvarez's Scouting Report

• Alvarez made his first appearance against Missoula last week in his 3rd start as a professional. 

• The Western Oregon product allowed a pair of runs on 9 hits over 5 innings of work in what would be a no decision for the rookie. 

• Alvarez would pitch mainly to contact to record outs striking out 3 batters in the outing allowing no PaddleHeads home runs. 

• The outing was the first time Alvarez had made it through 5 innings in a start. 

• Alvarez has not allowed more than 3 runs in a start to this point with Billings this season. 

• The Mustangs are 3-0 to this point in games started by Alvarez in 2025 

Game 31 Starting Lineups

Missoula PaddleHeads (21-9)

1. #3 Colby Wilkerson 2B

2. #21 Mike Rosario RF

3. #7 Roberto Pena 1B

4. #55 Adam Fogel LF

5. #8 Colin Gordon DH

6. #2 Kamron Willman SS

7. #13 Nich Klemp C

8. #6 Alec Sanchez CF

9. #18 Carlos Perez 3B

RHP #38 Mike Peterson

Billings Mustangs (13-17)

1. #23 Cameron Bowen SS

2. #37 Briley Knight RF

3. #39 Tyler Shelnut DH

4. #9 Jack O'Dowd C

5. #22 AJ Shaver CF

6. #17 Justin Williams LF

7. #49 Patrick Mills 1B

8. #11 Evan Berkey 2B

9. #8 Colby Seltzer 3B

RHP #47 Shane Spencer  

3 Big Questions Entering Game 31 & 32 Wednesday

1. Will Missoula take momentum into this series?

The PaddleHeads had the advantage in a 6-game slate last week against these same Mustangs last week winning the final 2 games of the series to do so. How will that translate into success on the road? Looking at where these 2 teams are in the standings, the PaddleHeads could gain a mental edge with success out the gate in this series. A few losses would see  Billings fall 10 games off the pace from where Missoula sits atop the standings. This surely would begin to plant a seed of doubt in the Mustangs. On the flipside, positive results to get things rolling may also give Billings confidence playing on their home field. 

Missoula will also attempt to avoid a flat performance in game 1 of this series. Things would not begin well for the PaddleHeads on Opening Night in game Missoula could only muster 3 runs. There is not much in terms of a margin for error at this point with teams clustered at the top of the standings. So it will be an important stretch on the road for Missoula in attempts to stay at that position. 

2. How will both teams juggle the challenge of managing pitchers Wednesday?

One luxury both teams have going into this twin bill on Wednesday is that both teams had an off day Monday prior to what was scheduled to be the first game of this series. So both teams should have bullpen groups that are well rested heading into the double header. One difference out the gates is that the PaddleHeads will return their original starter to the mound Wednesday and Billings will turn to the bullpen. If Mike Peterson can continue to be effective despite this challenge that would take a burden off the middle of this bullpen. On the other hand, Billings will hope for Fanning to come out of the bullpen effectively to preserve relief options following him. 

Game 2 options will obviously be dictated by game 1. If there ever was a time for a reliever to go deep into a ballgame this is always an instance to do so. Dawson Day has also come through in his PaddleHeads career in these instances previously. Day tossed a 7-inning complete game in a win over the Voyagers last season. Can the veteran do so again to help the PaddleHeads pen stay fresh? 

3. Will the postseason race remain tight this week?

Obviously the best thing the PaddleHeads can do for themselves is to win ballgames to remain atop the league standings. However, there are factors at play involving other teams in the league that could play into the race to the top positions in the first half. With a pair of series' involving squads in playoff contention, it will be interesting to see where these teams are when the dust settles. It allows all 4 of these teams to separate themselves from one another if one team has an advantage in a particular series. However, if there is not a ton separating these teams in these matchups, this may also play in Missoula's favor. 

If these teams battle each other closely, it would not allow a particular team to separate themselves or gain ground on the PaddleHeads. Moreover, if Missoula can put a group of wins together, it would allow them to do just that. While other playoff contending teams battle one another, Missoula has a more favorable schedule. Billings has proven to be a tough opponent this season. However, this may be an opportunity for Missoula to separate itself in the playoff race.