9th inning Home Run From Rosario Key In PaddleHeads Win

BOISE, ID - The Missoula PaddleHeads opened a 9-game road trip on Tuesday evening in the first game of a 6-game series with the Boise Hawks. The familiar foes from years past would be locked in a tight battle throughout the contest. Both teams would enjoy time in front throughout the course of action. However, neither team would lead by more than 2-runs at any point as the lead would pinball back and forth in the 5th and 7th innings. A pair of clutch home runs was the difference allowing the Hawks to lead by 1 run heading into the top of the 9th. Home run power in the frame would prove to be the final swing of the pengalum. 

Mike Rosario would launch a towering home run to right field in the top of the 9th inning to give the PaddleHeads a 2-run advantage to erase a deficit. The Hawks would make things interesting in the bottom of the 9th loading the bases with 2 outs. Ethan Swanson stood tall himself in a clutch situation in the bottom of the 9th recording the final out with a strikeout as the PaddleHeads came away with a gutsy 8-6 game 1 win over the Hawks. 

Offensive production from Roberto Pena would give the PaddleHeads the lead first in the early going. After 2 quiet innings on both sides, Pena would knock in the first run of the day on a base hit up the middle to make the score 1-0 in the 3rd. Later in the 5th, Pena would give Missoula a 2-0 advantage on a sacrifice fly. Boise would strike quickly in the bottom of the inning however, taking the lead for the 1st time. Pena had a great night collectively reaching base 4 times in a 2-for-2 performance.

After an RBI double from Micah Yonamine, the Hawks would vault to the lead behind a 2-out home run from Troy Viola. The former Purdue Boilermaker would bring home a pair on a blast  to left field making the score 3-2. Another big swing from Viola would lead the Hawks back in front in the innings that followed. 

Cameron Thompson would put Missoula in the lead in the top of the 7th hitting his 3rd home run of the season to right field to make the score 4-3.  Thompson would score 3 runs in the win finishing 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs and a pair of walks. Boise would see a familiar man bring them back once more in the bottom of the frame. 

Viola would hit his 2nd home run to left in the bottom of the 7th plating 3 runs to give the Hawks a 6-4 lead. Viola would knock in 5 runs when it was all said and done in a 2-for-4 night at the plate. Missoula made sure this effort would not be enough behind clutch success down the stretch. 

Luis Navarro would cut into the deficit in the 8th hitting a double to center field to cut the lead to 1. In the  top of the 9th, the PaddleHeads initially tied the game in the frame thanks to Pena. 

After reaching on a walk, Pena would end up at third base after a throwing error in the next at-bat. The former Kansas State Wildcat would then evade a tag at the plate, scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Collin Runge to knot things up at 6. Rosario would then do the rest to bring Missoula in front with a 2-run blast to make the score 8-6. Things would get tense in the bottom of the 9th with Swanson in search of a save, but the 2nd year PaddleHead found a way through the inning. 

The first 2 batters of the bottom of the 9th would get aboard, putting the tying runs on. After a pair of strikeouts, Swanson would walk a batter to load the bases. Fittingly enough the count would run full in the clutch scenario. Swanson would find his way through the situation with a perfect slider on the outside corner to put an end to an extremely entertaining ballgame at Memorial Stadium. It also gave Missoula a jolt of momentum in the first game of the road trip. 

A win for the PaddleHeads (28-9) combined with a loss by the Glacier Range Riders saw Missoula's advantage in the Pioneer League standings expand to 6 games. Boise (21-16) now needs to battle back quickly to stay right in the playoff hunt in game 2 of the series at home. Action on Wednesday night begins with a 7:05 first pitch at Memorial Stadium. Catch the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. and 1029espn.com.