Late Offense Leads Mobiles To Win Thursday Over PaddleHeads
Red Pocket Tallies 13 Run In Final 4 Innings En Route To Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 1 |
|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 20 | 1 |
Missoula, MT - The Missoula PaddleHeads offense had a big night on Thursday in the series finale with the Red Pocket Mobiles. Behind a 20 hit effort, Missoula eclipsed double digits for the 2nd straight game. After a 6-run rally in the 6th, Missoula led by 4. The PaddleHeads also took a lead going into the 7th inning trying to close out a win late to take the series. Unfortunately for the PaddleHeads, things took a turn for the worse from there.
Red Pocket tallied 11 runs over the final 3 innings to erase a late deficit. A 5-run rally in the top of the 8th put them in front for good in the late innings with a bases clearing triple doing a lot of the damage. The PaddleHeads fought from behind in the bottom of the 9th cutting the deficit to 1 with a dramatic 2-out rally. This fell just shy however as the Mobiles escaped with a 17-16 win.
The Mobiles jumped to the lead in the early innings scoring 4 runs in the first 3 innings. Josiah Chavez, and Justin Johnson did the damage on a pair of hits in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Both knocks brought home a pair giving the Mobiles a 4-0 cushion out of the gates. Johnson would prove to just be getting started.
Catcher Sergio Gutierrez got Missoula's offense rolling in the 4th with a long home right to right center to put Missoula on the board. The switch hitter did more damage an inning later as well as part of a 4-run rally that put the PaddleHeads in front 6-4. The former Diamondbacks product had a huge night offensively finishing with 5 RBIs in a 4-for-6 performance.
Kishon Frett leveled things immediately for the Mobiles in the top of the 6th with a 2-run blast. Braylon Bishop later knocked in 2 more runs with a triple in the inning to put Red Pocket back in front by a tally of 8-6. The pendulum then swung back in Missoula's favor in the home half of the inning.
The PaddleHeads jumped out to their largest lead of the night behind a 6-run rally in the 6th inning. RBI singles from Gutierrez, Ty Yukumoto, and Mike Koszewski, and CJ Dean fanned the fire en route to a 12-8 advantage. Yukumoto recorded his 2nd straight 4-hit game Thursday finishing 4-for-5. Koszewski also finished 4-for-5 at the top of the order with 3 RBIs. Dean also chipped in finishing 2-for-5. Despite all this production, things worked against Missoula coming down the stretch.
The wheels fell off for the PaddleHeads coming down the stretch with a 5-run rally doing a lot of the damage in the top of the eighth. 4 walks, and a hit batsman played a big role in the inning. With the bases loaded, Johnson then took advantage with a bases clearing triple down the right field line as the biggest blow. This swing put the Mobiles in front by a score of 15-13. Red Pocket then added a pair of insurance runs in the 8th to stretch the advantage to 4. These proved to be runs they would need.
Yukumoto, and Koszewski brought home runs with a pair of singles with 2-outs recorded in the bottom of the 9th. Pinch hitter Tyler Stone then added a clutch swing of his own with a single up the middle to cut the lead to 1. Another dramatic moment proved to not be in the cards however as the Mobiles escaped with the win. The PaddleHeads will now look to turn things around with a new opponent heading to town for the weekend.
The PaddleHeads (17-21) will take on the Idaho Falls Chukars (12-27) for the first time this season in game 1 of a 3 game set on Friday night. This exciting night will feature a post game drone show after the game to add to the holiday weekend festivities. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Follow along with the action live on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.
