Day Fans 9 In 7-5 PaddleHeads Victory Wednesday

GREAT FALLS, MT - 2-out success in the top of the 1st got the Missoula PaddleHeads off and rolling in action against the Great Falls Voyagers in game 1 of this 6 game series Tuesday night. In game 2 Wednesday, the home team would flip the script in the 1st inning jumping to the lead in the frame. Dawson Day had an outing to remember in his last outing at Voyagers Stadium in 2024 striking out 14 batters in a PaddleHeads win. The 3rd year PaddleHead would not let the 1st inning trip him up. 

Day would not budge after the 1st inning, keeping the Voyagers off the board for the remainder of his outing. The PaddleHeads offense would also battle back scoring 6 unanswered runs after trailing by 2 in the early going. Great Falls would get some offense rolling after the departure of Day in the final 3 innings setting up a close finish coming down the stretch. After both teams exchanged runs in the last 2 innings, Arman Sabouri would hold the line for the PaddleHeads in the bottom of the 9th to preserve a 7-5 game 2 win. 

A 2-run single up the middle from Voyagers 2nd baseman Kody Putnam would get Great Falls to the lead with 2-outs in the bottom of the first inning. This would be a stark contrast to how things began a night ago with Missoula racing to a big lead. Things would begin to heat up for Missoula however in the middle innings. 

The PaddleHeads would vault to the lead in the top of the 4th with 2 consecutive big swings. 3rd baseman Carlos Perez would strike first, hitting his 2nd home run in as many nights. The 2-run blast would give the PaddleHeads the advantage at 3-2. Taylor Smith would step into the box next and would follow suit launching a solo bomb of his own to give Missoula a 2 run advantage. Perez would finish the night 1-for-3 and Smith was 1-for-5. Day would ensure Missoula would stay in front for the rest of his outing. 

The Lewis & Clark State product would toss 6 solid innings allowing just 2 runs. Day would walk only 2 batters in the outing while striking out 9 Voyager hitters. In the southpaw's last 2 outings at Voyagers Stadium dating back to last season, Day fanned 23 batters combined. His efforts would be rewarded as Day earned his 2nd win of the season, The Oregon native would also receive a little more support in the 5th. 

A pair of doubles off the bats of Colin Gordon, and Alec Sanchez would add to Missoula's advantage in the top of the 5th making the score 6-2. Sanchez would bring home Adam Fogel and would later score on the double from Gordon. Fogel would enjoy a 2-for-3 night at the plate. Gordon and Sanchez both finished 1-for-4. Missoula's offense would go quiet for the next 3 innings however as Great Falls would battle back in the late innings. 

A triple from AJ Fritz would get the Voyagers back on the comeback trail in the bottom of the 7th inning as part of a 2-run rally. Fritz would later score on a single from Tommy Specht as Great Falls cut the lead in half at 6-4. This would set up a tight finish down the stretch of the final 2 innings. 

Both teams would exchange runs in the bottom of the 8th and top of the 9th innings with errors playing a role on both sides of the equation. Thanks to the man that has been slotted into the closer role in 2025, the PaddleHeads would hold on for the victory. 

Sabouri would allow a baserunner to reach with a 1-out single in the bottom of the 9th but would not allow anything further in a scoreless inning to preserve the 7-5 win. The former Healdsburg Prune Packer earned his 3rd save of the season in the process in as many opportunities. The California native has only allowed 1 run in 6 appearances to this point this season. 

The PaddleHeads (9-5) earned their 3rd consecutive victory overall in this road tilt with the Voyagers (2-12). Despite fighting back in the late innings, the end result for Great Falls would be their ninth straight defeat Wednesday. One team will be looking to keep one run alive while the other will look to bring it to a halt in game 3 of this series between these Treasure State foes. First Pitch of game 3 from Voyagers Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m. Thursday.