PaddleHeads Once Again Find Success In ‘Knockout Round’
Bullpen Success Highlights Tightly Contested Affair Thursday
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 2 |
FLATHEAD VALLEY, MT - Both offenses for the Glacier Range Riders and Missoula PaddleHeads would remain quiet through the early innings in Thursday's game 3. Neither team would manage to push a run across in the first 3 innings of the ballgame at Glacier Bank Park. This continued a trend from the night prior as both clubs would score only 3 innings in regulation. Both teams would find their footing at the plate however in the middle frames in a quick flurry of offense on both sides. After this stretch, neither team would find the scoreboard again in regulation. This meant action would be decided for the 2nd night in a row in a 'Knockout Round.'
Both clubs would exchange blows offensively, scoring 12 combined runs in the 4th and 5 innings. Adam Fogel would provide a big swing to highlight this stretch to strike with the long ball for the 2nd consecutive game. Jack Lynch would counter however with a clutch 2-run single to keep Glacier right in the thick of things in the 5th. After the dust settled the game would enter the stretch run tied at 6-runs apiece.
Both bullpens would then slam the door shut in regulation pitching 8 ⅔ innings of shutout baseball combined in the game. This meant the victor was decided in a 'Knockout Round' for the 2nd consecutive night with the game tied at 6 after 9 innings of regulation. Roberto Pena would find enough power in this situation Thursday to once again give Missoula a win for the 2nd time in as many nights.
Missoula would get on the board first in the top of the 4th to break the ice offensively. Roberto Pena would provide the first productive swing knocking in Mike Rosario with a double to kick things in gear. 2 Batters later, Colin Gordon would bring home Pena with a single to give the PaddleHeads a 2 run advantage. Gordon would finish 2-for-4 and Pena would tally a 2-for-5 effort.
Glacier answered back immediately in the bottom of the inning scoring 3 runs to take the lead for the first time. Lynch would knock in a run with a double ahead of an RBI single from Kingston Liniak. The Range Riders would then see the lead run come home in the frame on a double play ball to make the score 3-2. Lynch would knock in 3 runs in the ballgame in a 2-for-4 effort. Liniak finished the contest 1-for-4.
The long ball would be the key element of a 4-run rally for the PaddleHeads in the top of the 5th. Colby Wilkerson would go deep to right field to tie things up at 3. Rosario would then get in on the act hitting a solo blast to bring Missoula back in front by a score of 4-3. Fogel would then bring home 2 more on a home run to left field to give the PaddleHeads a 3 run advantage.
The left fielder has homered 3 times in the last 2 games and has tallied 21 home runs to this point on the season. Fogel would finish the contest 1-for-5. Rosario would also score a pair of runs in the ballgame in a 2-for-5 night at the plate.
Glacier ensured the lead would be short-lived in the bottom of the 5th inning scoring 3 runs of their own to knot things up at 6 runs apiece. Eli Payton would bring Glacier closer initially with a single to cut the deficit to 2. Lynch then provided a crutial swing with 2-outs knocking in a pair with a single up the middle to tie the game at 6. Both bullpens would then settle in from this point forward bringing this stretch of success to an abrupt stop.
The quartet of Noah Owen, Pablo Garabitos, Nick Bautista, and Zac Lampton would only allow 1 hit in the final 4 ⅔ innings of the ballgame keeping Glacier off the board. This group would strike out 8 batters combined in this stretch. Bautista, and Owen would both strike out 3 batters in their outings while Garabitos would only allow 1 man to reach base. Lampton would then toss a clean 9th inning punching out 2 batters to send the game to a 'Knockout'.
Davis Pratt, Luke Cooper, Jason Franks, and Rayne Supple would be equally tough, allowing just 2 hits in the final 4 innings of play. Franks would be the only man to face a strenuous situation stranding a pair of runners on the bases to keep the game tied in the top of the 8th.
Over the final 8 ⅔ innings combined both bullpens would only allow 3 hits while striking out 11 batters. The Range Riders bullpen has only allowed 1 run over 10 innings pitched to this point in the first 3 games of this series. With good pitching down the stretch once again being a theme on both sides, the 'Knockout Round' would be the deciding factor once more.
For the 2nd night in a row, Xavier Casterilla of the Range Riders would go up against Pena of the PaddleHeads in round 1. The 1st baseman would tally 2 home runs in the round to get things rolling for Missoula. Casterilla would hit a home run in his very first swing to get off to a good start for Glacier. The infielder would never find that power swing however in the round allowing Missoula to sneak out with a win in Round 1 of the 'Knockout'.
Missoula (39-18) will now look to build off the momentum of the last 2 nights approaching the weekend slate with the Range Riders (20-37) on Friday night. The margin of separation between these teams has been razor thin in the season series. Missoula is currently 6-6 in games played with Glacier this season. Furthermore 3 of the last 4 meetings overall have been decided in a 'Knockout Round' dating back to the 1st half. First pitch from Glacier Bank Park is slated for 7:05 p.m.
