Clubhouse Reactions Following Game 17 vs Great Falls

A Conversation With Manager Michael Schlact

Q: Matthew Sox obviously was the big story tonight with his outstanding effort. He mixed his pitches well, and kept Great Falls on their heels. What were you most impressed with in how he attacked the Voyagers lineup?

Schlact: "Sox was dominant. He was able to locate all pitches for strikes and really kept them off balance all night. Huge performance."

Q: Sometimes when you face a pitcher you haven't seen before it can be an advantage for the man on the mound. But you jumped out right out of the gates offensively scoring runs. What were the keys to that? 

Schlact: "Our hitters communicate consistently. It doesn't matter what their result was, they are helping other guys in the lineup with what they saw. This is a really selfless group and when you combine that with a group of guys who know their strengths it's fun to watch."

Q: Your bullpen also did a nice job tonight. The 3 relievers you brought out only allowed 1 baserunner in the final 3 innings. How did you feel about this bounce back effort after seeing some big innings the last few nights? 

Schlact: "We needed that effort badly. We've been leaning heavily on the pen and some of the guys are really tired. It was awesome for those guys to be efficient."

Q: This may not draw in headlines, but I liked how your offense executed with some small ball in the middle innings to knock home runs. You got a run home in the 4th even though the ball did not leave the infield. But a steal from Alec Sanchez set up an opportunity and your hitters just kept moving him along on the bases from there.  How will that quality pay dividends when you get into higher leverage situations? 

Schlact: " I love small ball. People forget that small selfless acts like moving a runner over can win a ballgame. It just shows the character and the baseball IQ they have."

Q: Colby Wilkerson has done a fabulous job of getting himself on base in recent games. Whether it was knocking runs in or staying patient at the plate to draw a walk, he has been fabulous at the bottom of the order. What have been the things you've seen him do best hitting at the bottom of the order in his rookie season? 

Schlact: "He knows his role is to turn the lineup over and be patient and he's done those incredibly well. He's a smart ball player who knows what he does well and executes."

Q: This is a chance to bring a lot of momentum into a long home stand. What will be the keys to ending this series on a high? 

Schlact: "We just need to keep playing PaddleHead baseball. We're not looking to worry about anything else except what we can control."

Q: A unique start time of 11:30 a.m. will be in the equation tomorrow. I refer to Sunday matinee affairs in Great Falls as 'Brunch Battles'. Do you enjoy brunch? If so, what's on the menu? 

Schlact: "You know I love a good brunch. 11:30 is early for baseball, but if I was at a restaurant instead I would probably go with some sort of combo. Specifically speaking, I'd get a Waffle House All Star Special with a coffee."

Safford's Stars from Saturday

1. Matthew Sox

It would not have mattered if the PaddleHeads offense was a little slow out the gates on this night. Sox was simply sensational in this game. His ability to throw the book at hitters was a highlight with his wide arsenal of pitches. He seemingly was never forced to sweat as Great Falls only was able to record more than 1 hit in an inning on one occasion. Sox would also punch out 3 in that inning however and would only allow 1 base runner the rest of the way. 

For the most part, starting pitching has been solid this week for Missoula as well. Mike Peterson, and Dawson Day got things off on the right foot to start the week, and now Sox has delivered another fantastic outing. Now it will be interesting to see if Brenden Beard can bring it all together for this staff with a solid outing in the series finale Sunday 

2. Colby Wilkerson

Wilkerson put on a clinic in the 9 spot in the order for the PaddleHeads. He knocked in runs on extra base hits, he drew walks, scored runs, and contributed in every way imaginable. That was a fantastic effort for him. It really has been a trend for the majority of this series thinking especially about the last 3 games. 

Schlact alluded to it. A batter at the bottom of the order that can flip things back to the top is so important and can give that group a ton of momentum. That clearly was the case tonight as Wilkerson was either setting the table, or taking things into his own hands from an offensive standpoint. His ability to work the count, and be patient is also fun to watch. He is a very smart baseball player. He is the type of hitter you do not want to see in a high leverage situation. He is going to make a pitcher work to get an out. That is a quality that will be magnified in contests that are a lot closer. 

3. The PaddleHeads Pen

Missoula would breeze through the final 3 innings of this game thanks to Jonothan Largaespada, Matthew Taubensee, and Taylor Smith. They only would allow one man to get aboard in the final 3 frames with no hits being a part of the equation. This was massive in the long run for the PaddleHeads who are at the tail end of this 6-game road trip. Furthermore, Missoula had to lean on bullpen arms in high-scoring affairs in recent games. This performance sets the PaddleHeads up well for the finale Sunday. 

The performance to keep this game under control allowed Missoula to give some arms some much needed rest ahead of the final game of the series Sunday. Now Missoula will have more bullets in the chamber in the finale which will give them a better chance to finish things off with a win Sunday.