PaddleHeads Tally Runs In 8 Consecutive Innings In Win
Missoula Tallies 22 Hits In Win Over Great Falls Thursday
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 2 |
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0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 4 |
GREAT FALLS, MT - Things would look promising for the Missoula PaddleHeads in the early going in game 3 of a 6 game set opposite the Great Falls Voyagers Thursday night. Missoula would have their bats rolling once again as 6 players in the order would finish with 2 hits or more. The Zoo Town attack would also score over 20 runs, for the 2nd time in this series. Furthermore Missoula eclipsed the 20 hit mark for the second time this week. At one point, the PaddleHeads would have an 8 run advantage in the top of the 3rd. Normally this would all add up to a lopsided win in a baseball game. Nothing would prove to be normal about what would take place at Voyagers Stadium on this night however.
Great Falls would storm back in innings 4 through 6 in an improbable comeback. The Voyagers would even grab the lead behind a big rally in the bottom of the 5th after trailing 9-1 early. A race to the lead like that typically would give a team a good chance to win a contest as well. The PaddleHeads offense made sure that would not be the case however tallying runs in 8 straight innings. Missoula would pull away for good in the 7th and 8th innings plating 9 combined runs to finally put things away. After the dust settled, the PaddleHeads would come out on top in a 22-15 marathon that took over 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete.
Carlos Perez would get a big offensive night going in the 2nd inning knocking home a run with a double to make the score 2-0. Perez would knock home runs in his first 3 plate appearances. Rallies in the 3rd, and 4th innings would then see Missoula take a big lead in the early going. Perez finished 3-for-3 with 4 driven in.
A 4-run rally for Missoula would keep the offense going. A walk with the bases loaded with Colin Gordon in the box, and a sacrifice fly from Perez would get the first 2 runs home in the frame. RBI singles from Colby Wilkerson, and Kamron Willman would then add to the early Missoula lead making the score 6-1. Willman had a team best 4 hits in a 4-for-6 performance with 5 RBIs.
Missoula would keep on coming in the top of the 4th plating 3 more runs. RBI singles from Perez, and Adam Fogel were the highlights as the PaddleHeads expanded their advantage. This push would bring the PaddleHeads advantage to 9-1 going into the bottom of the 4th. In a wild turn of events however, the wheels would fall off for the PaddleHeads in an ugly 3 inning stretch that they would want to wipe from their memory.
Great Falls would get on the comeback trail in the 4th with errors playing a role in a 3-run rally. Singles from Luis Carlos Mereno, and Freddy Rojas Jr. would do the damage as Great Falls trimmed the lead to 10-4. Things would go completely off the rails for Missoula an inning later.
Great Falls would come all the way back from an 8 run deficit in the bottom of the 5th in a 7 run rally. An added element of this improbable run was that every run in the frame would score with 2-outs recorded in the inning. After a walk with the bases loaded, Armando Albert drove home a pair on a base hit making the score 10-7. Kody Putnam would then give Great Falls their first lead of the series hitting a grand slam down the left field line to make the score 11-10. Despite seeing the momentum seemingly take a huge turn, Missoula would come right back to ensure that would not be the case.
The Voyagers advantage did not last long as the PaddleHeads would get the bats going in the 6th and 7th. A pair of doubles from Perez, and Willman did the damage for Missoula in the 6th in a frame that saw 3 runs come home. Things would definitely not stop there offensively.
Fogel would launch a long home run in the top of the 7th to kick off another 4-run rally for the PaddleHeads as Missoula regained the lead by a score of 17-13. Singles from Nich Klemp, and Willman also did damage. Fogel would finish 3-for-6 Thursday bringing his home run total on the season to 5 .Missoula would then finally put this wacky contest to bed in the 8th inning.
Missoula's largest rally of the game would be the knockout punch in this slugfest as the PaddleHeads tallied 5 more runs to bring their lead back to 9. A pair of doubles in the inning from Willman, and Roberto Pena would bring home 4 combined runs. Wilkerson would also draw a walk with the bases loaded to bring home a run as Missoula took a 22-13 lead. Great Falls would tally a pair in the bottom of the 9th but would ultimately fall short.
Missoula (10-5) will look to claim a series win in game 4 Friday evening opposite the Voyagers (2-13). Great Falls will be desperately searching for a win having lost 10 consecutive games going into this contest at Voyagers Stadium. On the flipside, the PaddleHeads have won 6 of their last 7 games overall. Action gets rolling in the Electric City with a 7:00 p.m. first pitch.
