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An Insider's Preview To Game 12 vs. Glacier
June 1, 2025

An Insider's Preview To Game 12 vs. Glacier

PaddleHeads Look To Take Series Finale From Range Riders Sunday

 

An Insider's View to Game 12 at Allegiance Field

 

Game 12 

Glacier Range Riders @ Missoula PaddleHeads

June 1.2025

2:05 p.m. Allegiance Field at Ogren Park

Brenden Beard vs. Rayne Supple

 

Liniak Launching

 

Kingston Liniak was at his best Saturday evening with a 2-home run performance in Glacier's 7-6 victory Saturday night. The centerfielder would also knock in a run with a double in what was a 4-for-5 night when it was all said and done. Angel Mendoza also continued his success hitting his 2nd home run in as many games in a 2-for-4 evening at the dish. Mendoza has had a solid week at the plate in 4 games played against Missoula overall holding a .411 batting average in 17 at-bats. 

Adam Fogel homered for the 3rd time this week in the loss and has been solid in his return from injury. The reigning league MVP holds a .375 average with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs in 6 games played. Fogel also holds a .400 batting average in games this week against the Range Riders. 

 

Roster Transaction

 

The PaddleHeads made their 3rd tweak to the roster this week on Sunday afternoon. Outfielder Henry Strmecki was activated from the inactive list after suffering a lower body injury during Spring Training. In a corresponding transaction McGwire Holbrook was placed on wavers. 

The native of Connecticut will make his professional debut Sunday afternoon appearing in the starting lineup playing in centerfield. The University of Nevada product impressed the coaching staff during spring training showing his versatility to fill multiple roles in the outfield, and baserunning abilities. In Strmecki's final season in college with the Wolfpack, he batted .277 in 52 games played with 9 home runs and 11 doubles with 33 runs driven in. Strmecki also appeared at the University of Dayton in 2022 batting .313 with 9 home runs 12 doubles, and 5 triples in action with the Flyers. 

 

Sunday's Pitching Matchup

 

RHP #30 Brenden Beard (0-0) (6.57 ERA) vs. RHP #17 Rayne Supple (0-0) 0.00 ERA 

 

Beard's Last Time Out

  • Beard made his professional debut last Sunday against the Mustangs at Dehler Park

  • The Texas native would allow 3 runs in 4 innings of work while striking out 9 in the outing.

  • Beard settled in nicely after allowing 3 runs in the 1st inning to keep Billings off the board in his next 3 innings of work. 

  • The Texas Lutheran product would induce a lot of groundballs, and strikeouts at his best by attacking the bottom of the strike zone. 

 

Rayne Supple's Scouting Report

  • Supple has been around the block in the Pioneer League with ties to the league dating back to 2018 appearing with the Grand Junction Rockies. 

  • Prior to signing with Glacier last season, Supple also appeared with the Boise Hawks in 2019.

  • Supple made 15 appearances out of the bullpen a season ago with the Range Riders holding a 6.06 ERA in 16 ⅓ innings of work. 

  • Supple did not allow a run in 4 innings of work in his 1st start this season in action against the Great Falls Voyagers last week. 

  • Supple has pitched in 61 games in his professional career dating back to 2018. 

  • Supple will look to attack with a 4 pitch arsenal which includes a fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball. 

 

Game 11 Starting Lineups

 

Missoula PaddleHeads (6-5)

  1. #8 Colin Gordon 3B

  2. #7 Roberto Pena 1B

  3. #21 Mike Rosario RF

  4. #55 Adam Fogel LF

  5. #6 Alec Sanchez DH

  6. #2 Kamron Willman 2B

  7. #18 Carlos Perez C

  8. #5 Henry Strmecki CF

  9. #3 Colby Wilkerson SS

RHP #30 Brenden Beard

 

Glacier Range Riders (7-4)

  1. #7 JD McLaughlin LF

  2. #21 Xavier Casserilla 1B

  3. #13 TJ Clarkson RF

  4. #20 Kingston Liniak CF

  5. #1 Kenny Levari SS

  6. #3 Efrain Manzo 3B

  7. #29 Logan Beard 2B

  8. #28 Gavin Tonkel DH

  9. #8 Angel Mendoza C 

RHP #17 Rayne Supple

 

3 Big Questions Entering Game 9 Thursday

 

  1. Will the PaddleHeads keep the Range Riders in the ballpark? 

Home runs have been the biggest part of the Glacier offense in recent days. 4 home runs would be a part of the equation a night ago. 12 of the last 16 runs scored by the Range Riders in recent games have also been driven in by home runs. So what will the PaddleHeads do to keep these big bats at bay? 

One bat they surely will look to keep quiet will be Mendoza at the bottom of the order. He really has been the biggest surprise in this series offensively for the Range Riders. After finishing with a batting average below .200 in over 60 games in the Pioneer League last season, the former Highweeler has homered 3 times in this series holding a .400 batting average. Missoula will also look to cool off Liniak in the middle of the order after his 4-hit performance last night. The key for Beard will be working ahead of the count while not making mistakes to location to stay in control. 

 

  1. How will Strmecki fare in his PaddleHeads debut? 

The PaddleHeads front office, and coaches really got a strong impression from Strmecki in his time in spring training before being knocked out due to injury. Having a 4th outfielder also gives Missoula a lot more versatility. Furthermore, it allows the team to keep the outfield group collectively fresher throughout the course of the grind of a regular season.

You are seeing exhibit A of that concept on display today. The Nevada product will be out in centerfield today with Alec Sanchez getting some rest. Sanchez will still be able to contribute offensively however as the DH. I would imagine their is a good chance this will begin to become a trend for the outfield. Strmecki can play anywhere as a player with good speed in the outfield. So look for him to fill any of the 3 outfield positions at different points allowing the starting trio of Sanchez, Mike Rosario, and Adam Fogel to get some rest from the grind. 

 

  1. Will Missoula deliver the bounce back effort he is looking for? 

Schlact mentioned this idea multiple times in postgame comments a night ago. This PaddleHeads team has bounced back from a few games they were not happy with before in this series. Will they deliver a strong performance to turn things around in the finale on Sunday afternoon? Doing so would salvage a series split. That does not exactly make you want to leap out of your seat in the grand scheme of things. But a win Sunday would surely give Missoula some more momentum, and it would mentally leave them in a confident position. 

A win before heading on a road trip is also something that can be a nice shot in the arm. The PaddleHeads will spend all of next week in the Electric City of Great Falls. That is a road venue that has given Missoula issues over the last 4 seasons. So having a win to build off of going into that trip would be a great launching point. On the flipside, Glacier can win this 6-game series Sunday with another solid performance. Thinking of their lack of success in years past playing in Missoula, this would also be a great way for them to roll back to the Flathead Valley. They also have a tough series on the horizon against a team that was part of the Pioneer League playoffs a season ago in action with the Oakland Ballers.