Miscues Doom PaddleHeads in 21-13 Defeat to Chukars

IDAHO FALLS, ID - Things were seemingly off to a great start on Saturday night for the Missoula PaddleHeads in action opposite the Idaho Falls Chukars. Missoula would open a 6 run lead in the early going at Melaluca Field. Missoula would also tally runs over the course of the first 5 innings. In what would be a disastrous turn of events however, Missoula would see things implode in the 6th inning. 

With a costly error playing a role, Missoula would see Idaho Falls score 9 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning allowing the Chukars to take their first lead of the night. Idaho Falls would outscore the PaddleHeads 13-2 over the course of the final 3 inning to put the early deficit far into the rearview mirror in a 21-13 win over Missoula. 

A 5-run PaddleHeads rally would get Missoula out of the gates quickly in the top of the 1st inning. Alec Sanchez would lace a double into the right center field gap to bring home 2 as part of the rally. Tyler Johnson would then hit a monster home run to left field that gave Missoula a 5-run advantage. The Chukars made it clear they would be in for a fight however in the 2nd inning. Sanchez and Johnson both finished the night 2-for-4.

After a quiet first, Idaho Falls would come alive in the 2nd inning  to cut Missoula's lead to 1 with a 5 run rally of their own. Second Baseman Jacob Jablonski would kick off what would be a huge night at the plate in the rally with an RBI double to get the scoring started. Outfielders Kevin Johnson and Kyle Jenkins also had RBI singles in the push as the Chukars would trim the deficit to 6-5. The PaddleHeads would try to regain control in the 3rd, and 4th innings offensively. 

Catcher Reece Yeargain would drive home a run with a double in the 3rd as the PaddleHeads would see their lead jump back to 7-5. Johnson would then hit another home run to left field in the 4th as Missoula's lead would grow to 10-5. Johnson has homered 3 times this week for Missoula in his 1st games as a PaddleHead. Yeargain would also double twice in the loss finishing 2-for-5. The offense for Idaho Falls would find a charge soon after to take control. 

Jabronski would get the Chukars back on the comeback trail in the 5th hitting a 2-run blast to cut Missoula's lead to 11-8. The Mission Hills native would be a menace throughout finishing 4-for-5 with 4 driven in. The Chukars would then take the lead for the first time in the next half inning in a disastrous bottom of the 6th. Walks, and errors would play a major part in the 9-run push as Idaho Falls would manage to score that total with only 2 hits to their credit. Production offensively in the next 2 innings would ensure that the lead would also hold for the Chukars. 

Brandon Bohning would bring home a run for Idaho Falls with a single in the 7th inning as the lead would grow to 18-12. Brett Bareera would knock in 2 more in the 8th with a single of his own to bring the Chukar run total to 20. Bohning would score a pair of runs finishing 1-for-3 and Barerra would wrap up his night finishing 3-for-4. 

The PaddleHeads (3-2) will surely look for a different result in the series finale opposite the Chukars (2-3) Sunday in the final game of this 6-game set. A reverse in fortune for Missoula would also clinch a series win over Idaho Falls in the series on the road. First pitch of this matinee affair is set for 2:05 p.m. Hear the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. and 1029espn.com