PaddleHeads Unable To Erase Early Deficit In Loss To Hawks
5-Run Rally Leads Boise Past Missoula In 8-6 Defeat Friday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 2 |
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0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 12 | 1 |
BOISE, ID- A Late Rally from the Boise Hawks was a key sequence Friday night to open the series with the Missoula PaddleHeads. In Saturday's game 2 a rally also played a big part in the end result. This time it occurred in the early innings. Unfortunately for the PaddleHeads, Missoula proved to be on the wrong end once again. The visitors fought back in the middle innings trimming the deficit to get within striking distance coming down the stretch. For the 2nd consecutive night, the Boise bullpen held on to a lead late to find the win column.
A 5-run rally for the Hawks in the 2nd inning put the PaddleHeads in a hole of that margin. Extra base hits in the 5th and 6th innings from Missoula helped trim the deficit to get back within striking distance. The PaddleHeads failed to tally a hit in the final innings however as the Hawks relief group held up for the 2nd consecutive night to preserve a 8-6 win.
After a quiet first inning on both sides, the Hawks jumped to the lead in the bottom of the 2nd with a 5-run push. Despite only recording 3 hits in the frame, Boise managed to jump to a 5-0 advantage. The Hawks would go on to lead the contest the rest of the way en route to its 2nd straight win in the series
RBI singles from Jake Hjelle, and Paul Myro were key in the inning. Noah Marcelo put on the finishing touches in the 2nd inning rally hitting an RBI double to give the Hawks a five run cushion. Myro reached base 3 times in the win finishing 1-for-3 while Hjelle finished 2-for-5. One swing of the bat got Missoula right back in the game a few innings later.
The PaddleHeads mounted a threat in the top of the 5th inning trailing 6-1 by loading the bases. Kishon Frett took advantage by clearing the bases with a double in his at-bat to cut the Boise advantage to 6-4. The left fielder consistently found the bases in the game walking twice in a 1-for-3 night at the plate.
A double to right field from Mike Rosario in the 6th brought home Colby Wilkerson as Missoula continued to fight after putting itself in an early hole. Rosario and Wilkerson both finished 2-for-5 in their plate appearances.
Boise had answers to both of these pushes from Missoula offensively, scoring runs in both the 5th, and 6th innings. After an RBI single from Hjelle in the 5th, Taylor Darden knocked in a run of his own in the 6th on an infield single to give the Hawks an 8-5 advantage. Darden once again had a solid night at the plate after a solid game 1 performance finishing 3-for-5 Saturday. The Boise bullpen then slammed the door down the stretch to keep the home team in the lead.
After scoring runs in 3 consecutive innings from the 5th through the 7th, the PaddleHeads offense was held in check in the final 2 innings. Missoula only managed to get a runner aboard on a walk in those frames as the Hawks salted the game away. After a scoreless inning from Mason Dillow in the 8th, Trey Jones pitched a clean top of the 9th inning to earn the save for the 2nd consecutive night. Now Missoula will look for a win in the series finale Sunday in an attempt to avoid a sweep in this 3-game series.
For the first time this season, the PaddleHeads (60-29) will play in a game under the lights on a Sunday in the series finale with the Hawks (46-43). Missoula will look to avoid the sweep in the contest in hopes of bringing a 4-game losing skid to a halt. First pitch on Sunday evening is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Memorial Stadium.
