2-Out Success Leads Raptors Past PaddleHeads Wednesday

OGDEN, UT -  The Missoula PaddleHeads jumped in front quickly in game 2 of this series with the Ogden Raptors on Wednesday night. 2 batters into the contest, Missoula would grab the lead in the top of the 1st inning. After a gut wrenching loss the night prior, this was seemingly a fitting start to the night in hopes of turning things in the right direction. The Raptors would have other ideas as things would turn in the other direction quickly in the innings that followed.

Things would not begin well for Missoula in the first 2 innings as 5 walks, and an error in the field defensively would be a part of the first 2 innings. Behind a rally in the 2nd inning, Ogden would jump to a 4-run lead as a result. As the game progressed, 2-out success would also play a big role for the Raptors scoring 6 runs with 2-outs recorded in an inning. The PaddleHeads would fight down the stretch outscoring the Raptors 6-2. However, this effort would not do much to affect the final result as Ogden would win its 2nd consecutive game against Missoula by a tally of 12-7. 

With the loss, Missoula's advantage in a race for a Pioneer League playoff spot was cut into Wednesday night with this result favoring the PaddleHead's closest competitor. The Yuba Sutter Highwheelers would pick up a win at home by a tally of 2-1 to inch closer to Missoula. The PaddleHeads now hold a 1 game advantage over the Highwheelers in the race for the playoffs with 4 games remaining in the 1st half. 

After Roberto Pena gave the PaddleHeads a brief advantage with a base hit in the top of the 1st, Ogden punched right back, scoring 5 unanswered in the next 2 innings. The bulk of this damage would be done in the 2nd in a 4-run rally. After a run scored on an error, Chris Sargent would knock home a run with a sacrifice fly providing a punch offensively for the 2nd time in as many nights. A single from Connor Bagnieski would knock in a pair more in the frame as Ogden would jump out to a 5-1 lead. The Raptors would seemingly never look back from this point forward. 

Sargent would flex his muscles once more in the 4th inning hitting a solo home run to give the Raptors a 6-1 advantage. Sargent would turn in another fabulous offensive effort finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. The Raptors first baseman is 6-for-8 so far in this 6-game slate. A rally with 2-outs in the 5th inning would then see the game start to get out of hand. 

The Raptors recorded 5 consecutive singles in the bottom of the 5th with 2-outs recorded. This would result in 4 more runs crossing the plate as Ogden jumped out to a 9-2 advantage. Elliot Good, Kyler Stancato, True Fontenot, and Connor Bagnieski all did damage in the frame as the Raptors would jump to a comfortable lead. Bagnieski, and Good would both finish 2-for-4 in the win for Ogden. 

Kamron Willman, and Colin Gordon would try to give some life to the PaddleHeads in the 6th and 7th innings with hits to plate runs. Willman would single to right to bring home Gordon in the 6th to make the score 9-3. Gordon would then lace a double off the left center field wall to plate Missoula's 4th run to cut the deficit to 5. Ogden would bring home a few more runs however in short order to seal the PaddleHeads fate. 

Good would bring home another run for the Raptors with 2-outs in the bottom of the 8th as Ogden laid claim to an 11-4 advantage. A 2nd run would also score in the inning with a throwing error playing a role. Despite the large deficit, Missoula would not go down quietly in the 9th. 

The PaddleHeads would push 3 runs across the plate in the top of the 9th to put a dent into the deficit. Adam Fogel would do the first bit of damage, clobbering a double to the batter's eye in center field to knock home a run. Gordon would then hit a 2-run tape measure shot to right field in the inning to bring home Missoula's 7th run. This would prove to be just minute details on this night however as Ogden would claim the comfortable win. Gordon knocked in 3 runs on the night finishing 2-for-4. Fogel would reach 3 times in his at bats in a 1-for-3 effort. 

The PaddleHeads (30-14) will look to get things turned around quickly in this 6-game series with the Raptors on Wednesday night (25-18). Despite being on the losing end in these first 2 games of this series, the PaddleHeads control their own destiny in the race for the Pioneer League playoffs holding an advantage in the race for 2nd place over the Yuba Sutter Highwheelers. 

Game 3 of this slate from Lindquist Field is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday night. Be a part of this series in the Beehive State by listening live on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.