Mustangs Fall Short in Series Finale
June 23, 2024 - Pioneer League (PL)
Billings Mustangs News Release
Missoula smacks 11 runs over the last three innings to beat the Mustangs 18-8 Sunday.
It's the first time the Mustangs have lost a series this year, as they only manage to take two games out of six.
Gabe Wurtz gave the Mustangs an early lead in the first on a solo home run that left the stadium and hit the streets down the left field line 111 miles per hour off the bat. It's the second homer of the year for Wurtz after he homered in Saturday's game.
Missoula bounced back in the second inning with a Luis Navarro ground ball to score Colin Gordon, who reached on an error. While Jaylon Lee brought home Josh Elvir on a single.
Elvir knocked in a run in the third to take a 3-1 lead.
Jacob Kline hit a soft popup to shallow center and Lee couldn't make a diving catch to score two runs to tie the game at 3 in the bottom of the third.
In the fourth, two runs scored for Missoula on an RBI single by Roberto Pena, and a Mike Rosario RBI groundout to second base to take a 5-3 lead.
Another run scored for Missoula on a Cameron Thompson RBI single in the fifth to score Gordon and take a 6-3 lead.
Wurtz singled with one out in the fifth to start off a rally for the Mustangs. Pat Mills hit him home on an RBI double down the right-field line. Evan Blum worked a two-out walk, and scored along with Mills on a two-RBI double by Abe Valdez. Briley Knight gave the Mustangs their second lead with an RBI single to score Valdez to go up 7-6.
Yet, the Paddleheads kept kicking. In the sixth, Collin Runge hit a RBI single to tie it at 7.
In the seventh, six runs would score for Missoula on a two-RBI single by Alec Sanchez, a Rosario RBI single, a two-RBI single by Runge and a Taylor Smith RBI single to put a nail in the Mustangs coffin.
Mustangs did score another run on a RBI single by Mitch Moralez, who entered the game for Blake Evans, but that's all the Mustangs would get with three more Missoula runs scoring in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
Billings heads to Great Falls for a six-game road trip starting Tuesday. Coverage starts at 6:40 p.m. with first pitch at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN910/105.5 FM or espnbillings.com. You can also watch every pitch on FloBaseball.TV.
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