Fitzgerald Leads Glacier Past Missoula Sunday
Early Offense Keys Range Rider Win Over PaddleHeads
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
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0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 14 | 0 |
FLATHEAD VALLEY, MT - The Missoula PaddleHeads would square off with the Glacier Range Riders in the finale of a 6 game set on Sunday afternoon. A big reason Missoula had enjoyed a great deal of success in the first 5 games of this series had to do with how things had gone on the mound routinely keeping the Glacier offense in check. A big performance from a Range Rider infielder however would see the winds shift in a different direction on a Sunday afternoon.
After seeing Missoula tack on the first run of the contest, Glacier would see things turned in their favor thanks to second baseman Ben Fitzgerald. The 2nd year Range Rider would hit home runs in consecutive innings in the 3rd and 4th to give Glacier a 4-run advantage. Another 4-runs would be put on the board for the Range Riders as well in the 4th as Glacier jumped to a 9 run advantage. Missoula would fight down the stretch cutting the deficit with home run power. The mountain would prove to be too tall to climb on this day however as Glacier came away with a 10-7 win.
After falling into an early hole in the first, Fitzgerald would bring Glacier level in the 2nd with his first home run of the day. An inning later, 2 walks and a single would load the bases for Fitzgerald. The Iowa native would take advantage of the situation that was laid out for him, launching a grand slam to center field to give the Range Riders a 5-1 lead.
Fitzgerald would finish just a triple shy of the cycle on the day in a 4-for-5 day at the dish. The Louisiana-Monroe product would also knock in 5 runs in the win. More success with extra base hits would see the Range Riders lead grow even more.
A 2-run triple from Gabe Howell would highlight a 4-run rally for Glacier in the 4th inning. An RBI double from Ty Penner would also bring in a run in the frame along with an RBI single from Andy Atwood. Penner would reach base 3 times in the win finishing 2-for-3. Atwood would also have a solid day in a 2-for-4 performance. Another big swing would bring the Range Riders to double digits in the next frame.
Right fielder TJ Clarkson would hit his 1st professional home run in the bottom of the 5th to give Glacier a 10-1 advantage. This would also notch 10 consecutive runs in favor of Glacier. Missoula would fight from this point down the stretch however to make things much more interesting.
A pair of home runs would get the PaddleHeads on the comeback trial initially in the top of the 6th inning. Kamron Willman would get things started leading things off with a line drive shot over the left field wall. Colin Gordon would follow suit 2 batters later hitting a solo home run of his own to make it 10-3. Success with 2-outs would see the lead shrink more 2 innings later.
After Gordon kept the 8th alive with a single, pinch hitter Josh Elvir would bring him in with a single to bring home Missoula's 4th run. Collin Runge would follow this effort hitting a 2-run blast to left to make the score 10-6. Gordon would reach 3 times in the loss in a 2-for-3 effort. Runge would also reach 3 times finishing 2-for-4 in his at-bats with 3 RBIs. A home run in the next inning would see a PaddleHead come even closer to league history.
Adam Fogel would send a towering drive well over the left field wall to get things rolling in the top of the 9th. The 31st home run for the rookie left fielder would bring him within 1 of tying the single season Pioneer League record of 32 home runs set by Jayson Newman in 2022. It would be a big day collectively for Fogel as well finishing 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Glacier proved to have built up the lead to far in the early going however as Missoula would fall shy in action Sunday.
The PaddleHeads (54-18) will now prepare for a 6-game series at home after an off day on Monday. Their opponent in this slate of action at Allegiance Field Ogren Park will be the Great Falls Voyagers (24-48). This series will kick off with a 7:15 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday night in the Garden City. If you cannot make it to the park, be sure to catch all the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. and 1029espn.com.
