Sports stats



PL Missoula PaddleHeads

Sanchez Homers Twice in PaddleHeads Win Sunday

August 25, 2024 - Pioneer League (PL)
Missoula PaddleHeads News Release


FLATHEAD VALLEY, MT - The Missoula PaddleHeads and Glacier Range Riders played in their final regular season game against one another Sunday at Glacier Bank Park. After having a rough outing against Glacier Tuesday, Alfredo Villa would have another crack at it in the series finale. Things would go much better for the reigning league Pitcher of the Year in 5 solid innings.

In contrasting styles, Missoula's offense would do more than enough to support this effort.

The Missoula offense would be sparked in the early innings by a pair of home runs from Alec Sanchez to grab the lead. Then in the 7th, and 8th, Missoula would tally 9 combined hits scoring 7 runs combined to stretch their lead to 9 runs. Glacier would fight to the bitter end despite the sizable deficit cutting the lead to 4 in the bottom of the 9th. The last ditch effort would fall shy however as Missoula would strand the bases loaded in a 12-8 win.

Sanchez would get Missoula rolling right out of the shoot in the top of the 1st inning. With a pair of runners on, the rookie center fielder would launch a souring home run to right to make the score 3-0 on a 2 strike pitch. In the 3rd inning, lightning struck twice for Sanchez hitting a 2-run bomb to left on an 0-2 fastball to make the score 5-0. Sanchez would finish 3-for-5 in the win with 6 driven in. This would give Villa plenty to work with.

The 2nd year PaddleHead would have a solid bounce back outing in 5 innings of work earning his 8th win of the season. Villa would strike out 6 in those frames while walking 2. Glacier would manage to only tally 2 hits against him in the first 5 innings of play. The Range Riders would find success in the 6th however thanks to the long ball.

A pair of home runs from Christian Kirtley, and Kingston Liniak would awaken Glacier, cutting Missoula's lead to 5-3 in the 6th. Kirtley wrapped up the day 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. Liniak enjoyed a 3 hit day going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.

The former Tigers product was a monster in 6 games against the PaddleHeads this week finishing with a .500 batting average to go along with 5 doubles, 5 home runs, and 13 RBIs.

Missoula would mitigate the effort of Liniak, and Kirtley quickly however in the 7th.

A 6-run rally in the top of the 7th would see 7 singles do most of the damage. Kamron Willman, Roberto Pena, Adam Fogel, and Josh Elvir would all bring home runs in consecutive at-bats to fan the flames. At the end of it all, the score would be 11-3.

Pena would wrap up his afternoon 2-for-5 at the dish. Fogel reached base 4 times in the win in a 2-for-3 effort with 3 runs scored. After scoring another run in the 8th, Missoula's advantage would stand at 12-3. The Range Riders would ensure it would not be an easy roll to the finish line however in the late innings.

Entering the bottom of the 9th, Glacier would trail by 7 runs. It surely would not feel comfortable however by the end of the frame as the Range Riders would load the bases quickly. Glacier would also see the tying run come to the plate in a 2-out sequence.

After Jerry Huntzinger cut the lead to 6 with a sacrifice fly, a pair of runs would be brought home on bases loaded walks to cut the deficit to 4. Ryan McCarthy then stepped to the plate in a situation where a home run would tie the game. The 3rd year pro would hit the ball right on the button to right field in the sequence. The ball would travel directly to Elvir in right in a situation where the Texas native seemingly did not have to move a step to record the final out.

It was a fitting ending to the season series between the PaddleHeads (58-26), and Range Riders (41-43) as both teams would battle back and forth in an even split of a 6 game set throughout the week. Now Missoula will continue playing on the road wrapping up a season slate against another treasure state outfit.

The PaddleHeads will now play their next 6 games in the Electric City in action with the Great Falls Voyagers (32-51). This series gets underway Tuesday evening from Centene Stadium.

This will also be the final 6 games played between these 2 teams during the 2024 season. First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Catch all the action from just off Highway 87 on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. and 1029espn.com.

Check out the Missoula PaddleHeads Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Pioneer League message board...

Pioneer League Stories from August 25, 2024


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central