Voyagers Drop Third Straight to Osprey
July 31, 2014 - Pioneer League (PL)
Great Falls Voyagers News Release
MISSOULA, Mont. - For the second time in 2014, the Great Falls Voyagers have lost three straight road contests after falling 7-6 to the Missoula Osprey Thursday night at Ogren Park Allegiance Field.
Trailing 7-5 entering the ninth, the Voyagers (2-4, 25-19) loaded the bases with one out against Osprey reliever Brody Greer. Jake Peter drove in a run with a ground out, which also moved the tying run to third and the potential go-ahead run to second. Greer buckled down though, and collected a strikeout to end the game and earn his league-leading seventh save.
Missoula (3-3, 20-24) plated the first runs of the night, getting three against Great Falls starter Dane Stone (4-1) in the second. After the Osprey got a double and a walk to start the frame, Stewart Ijames hit a three-run homer, his third long ball in the last two games.
The lead did not last long however, as Great Falls answered with three of their own in the very next half inning. Chevy Clarke got the Voyagers on the board, drilling a two-run double to center off Carlos Hernandez (3-3) to cut the lead to one. One batter later, Peter hit a sacrifice fly to tie things up at three apiece.
In the fourth, Missoula regained the lead, and this time chased Stone in the process. The first four Osprey in the frame all singled, bringing in one run and loading the bases. After a runner was thrown out at the plate on a fielder's choice, Justin Williams singled to extend his hitting streak to 26 in a row and make it 5-3. The final run of the frame came in a batter later when Grant Monroe uncorked a wild pitch.
The Voyagers got two runs closer in the sixth, as John Ziznewski and Ethan Gross came up with back-to-back two-out singles to close the gap to one.
The Osprey then collected an important insurance run in the seventh, as a Voyager error allowed them to score an unearned run to push the advantage back to a pair.
The loss is the third straight for Great Falls and is only the second time that has happened on the road this season. It also gives the Voyagers two series losses on the trip, in which they went 2-5.
The Voyagers now return home where they will have nine straight games at Centene Stadium, starting Friday night with the first of a two-game series with the Billings Mustangs. In the series opener, Great Falls will send lefty Brian Clark (2-2 2.35) to the hill, while Billings will counter with right-hander Tejay Antone (0-2, 7.24). First pitch is set for 7:00 and coverage will begin at 6:45 on 1400 AM KXGF and gfvoyagers.com.
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