PL Missoula PaddleHeads

Villa Named Pioneer League Pitcher of the Month

Published on September 5, 2023 under Pioneer League (PL)
Missoula PaddleHeads News Release


MISSOULA, MT - Despite the Pioneer League season nearing its end, the Missoula PaddleHeads are currently locked into its postseason push as the league playoffs approach.

After appearing in the league championship series over the course of the last 2 seasons, surely the expectations of this club remain high as well. Boasted by a current winning percentage of .700, this iteration of the PaddleHeads also looks primed to make a run at the league title. The offense has surely played a big role as the team currently holds a .324 team batting average.

But the mound has been where some of the most dormant efforts of this club have come with one man leading the charge.

Zach Penrod made waves for large portions of the season as a starting pitcher for Missoula and has continued to do so after his recent signing by the Boston Red Sox organization. The Idaho native has yet to allow a run in 3 starts with the Greenville Drive after making 10 starts this season with the PaddleHeads. In his first full season of professional baseball, Connor Schultz has also blossomed into one of the league's best pitchers. Schultz ranks 2nd in the league in ERA (3.69) while also holding a 84/26 strikeout to walk ratio in 92 2/3 innings. It has been a group effort for this staff, but the clear leader at the top of the rotation has proven to be Alfredo Villa.

It would not take long for Villa to make an impact on the PaddleHeads staff as the Arizona native would pitch a 7 inning complete game in his first outing of the season back in May in a game against the Billings Mustangs. That success proved to not be a fluke for the 2nd year pro who has gone on to pitch into the 6 inning or later in 11 starts this season. Not only that, but Villa did so while compiling the lowest ERA of any starter in the league (2.89). In the month of August, Villa would put together his best run of outings. Villa would pitch into the 6th in 5 consecutive outings while never allowing more than 1 earned run. For those efforts, Villa has been named the Pioneer League Pitcher of the Month.

In August, Villa would finish 5-0 in 6 starts with a 1.59 ERA. The Former Grand Junction Rocky would pitch into the 6 inning in each of those outings while allowing no more than 1 earned run in any of those starts. Villa would also compile 39 strikeouts in this stretch in 37 '..." innings pitched while walking only 11 batters. Villa currently leads the league in strikeouts (121).

The 2nd half has seen Villa go on an incredible run on the mound. The PaddleHeads are 7-0 in Villa's last 7 starts. In that time, the Adams State product holds a 1.53 ERA. Villa leads all pitchers in the league in wins (12) compiling a 12-1 record in 17 starts with the team.

It is hard to put into perspective the level of dominance Villa has had on this run. He is the only pitcher in the league that has currently won more than 10 games, and compiled more than 100 strikeouts to this point in the season. The former Adams State Grizzly also has an ERA that is 0.80 lower than any other starter in the league. Clearly Villa has set the standard for a starting pitcher in the regular season. Now it's time to see what he can do in Missoula's push to the league title.

Catch Villa on the mound in his final start of the regular season along with the rest of the PaddleHeads (63-27) on Tuesday night in game 2 of a 3 game set against the Boise Hawks (45-46). Action from Memorial Stadium in Idaho's Capital City is set to begin at 7:05 p.m. Hear the call on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.

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Pioneer League Stories from September 5, 2023


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