Clubhouse Reactions Following Game 18 vs. Great Falls
PaddleHeads Hang On In Wild Finish Sunday In Win Over Voyagers
A Conversation With Manager Michael Schlact
Q: That was one of the wackiest 9th inning sequences you will ever see. What was going through your mind watching that inning play out? What was your reaction to double play at the plate?
Schlact: "Baseball is insane sometimes. That's why you play all 27 outs. You truly just never know. That was a first for me. Glad we came out on the right side of that."
Q: Obviously the Voyagers are going through it right now, but they battled throughout the contest today making things more than interesting throughout. Really they were in a number of these games this week. But your team kept finding ways to win ball games. What does that say about this group?
Schlact: "I'm proud of the way we fought all week. That's a talented Voyager lineup over there that will keep them in a lot of games so our pitchers really had to be on our game. The grit and fight we have is always impressive."
Q: You've touched on this being a close group in the clubhouse. How does that help a team win on the road like this group has to this point?
Schlact: " Who they are off the field and in the clubhouse means everything to the success on the field. Proud of who they are as people."
Q: Seemingly Roberto Pena, and Adam Fogel had their Wheaties this morning hitting long home runs. Was it fun to watch the ball sail out of the yard today toward the Missouri River?
Schlact: "Any time 'Chamo' and Fogel get a hold of a ball it's fun to watch. They're outstanding baseball players."
Q: Now you head home for a long stretch of 12 in a row. What are you most looking forward to about this stretch?
Schlact: "We love playing in front of the home crowd. We're excited to put on a good show and enjoy being back in front of the Missoula faithful."
Q: The Oakland Ballers will be first on the docket in your first ever meeting with the club in franchise history to start the homestand. This was a Pioneer League playoff team last season and they have been playing good baseball in 2025. Pitching seems to be their strength as they have the lowest team ERA in the league to this point. What are the keys to this series?
Schlact: "We are looking forward to this test. They are a good squad. We have to make sure we stay true to who we are and put together some really good at bats."
Safford's Stars From Sunday
Saturday night must have left a bad taste in Fogel's mouth finishing 0-for-4. Seemingly he also took his frustrations out on baseballs Sunday with a multi home run effort to pace the PaddleHeads attack. Fogel would finish the week with a .467 batting average while driving in 10 runs in his at-bats. This marked the 2nd consecutive time in a 6-game series that Fogel has knocked in 10 runs or more having done so as well against Glacier last week.
Through 13 games, Fogel holds a .421 batting average to go along with 8 home runs, and 21 driven in. Fogel is tied for 2nd in the league in home runs despite missing 5 games this season due to injury. The mammoth numbers for Fogel just continue to be a trend thinking about what he put together a season ago in an unprecedented season in the Pioneer League. This type of production is just remarkable. Folks in Missoula will now get another chance to watch him in action in person.
Pena would bring his league leading home run total to 12 on Sunday afternoon, launching a monster home run that was seemingly headed for Black Eagle on Highway 87. Pena would also bring his RBI total to 33 in 18 games played this season which ranks second in the league while batting .367. Having Pena, and Fogel in the lineup producing like this together is remarkable. It also has been fun to watch the growth of Pena compared to where he was in 2024.
This 2-man wrecking crew really should be referred to as 1 A and 1 B on this list. Fogel, and Pena have just been lethal this season in ways that no other offense can match collectively. What is even more impressive is that this lineup has a lot more to it than this 2-man duo. The PaddleHeads hold a .326 team batting average and have 6 players on the roster that have a .300 batting average or higher. Mike Rosario, Colby Wilkerson, Colin Gordon, and Alec Sanchez also hold batting averages over .300 to this point for Missoula.