PL Missoula PaddleHeads

Voyagers Bats Silenced over Final 4 Innings in Victory

Published on August 22, 2021 under Pioneer League (PL)
Missoula PaddleHeads News Release


Missoula, MT.- The Great Falls Voyagers had good memories to draw on after completing a sweep of the Missoula PaddleHeads on their home field on Monday. The PaddleHeads came into game 1 of the series looking to bounce back after suffering a late inning defeat the night before. Missoula proved to be resilient on this night using a balanced offensive effort combined with solid pitching down the stretch to highlight a 7-3 victory.

The PaddleHeads offense would set the tone in the early innings jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. A solo home run for Zach Almond would get the offense in gear prior to a two-run blast from Jared Akins to extend the advantage. The home run for Almond gave him 22 on the season which brought him into a tie for the Pioneer League lead with Jakob Goldfarb of the Ogden Raptors.

The Voyagers would answer back in the blink of an eye in the next half inning thanks to a pair of home runs in consecutive at-bats. Breydon Daniel got the Voyagers on the board first with a line-drive shot to right center field prior to a long ball from second baseman Jackson Raper to make the score 3-2.

Great Falls would once again cut the deficit to 1 in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI single from Jacob Olson to make the score 4-3. However, Akins would come up big on the same play gunning down Riley Jepson at the plate to record the final out of the inning to end the Voyager threat. It would prove to be a noteworthy play as Great Falls would not get on the board from that point on.

A trio of doubles from Clay Fisher, Nick Gatewood, and Zach Almond immediately extend the lead back to three in the bottom of the fifth making the score 6-3. That trio of batters would all be productive in the middle of the order as Gatewood, Fisher, and Almond would each finish 2-for-4.

The bullpen kept Great Falls in check the rest of the way in the final four innings of the contest as the combination of Rabon Martin, Matt Mogollon, and Jayson Newman would get the job done. Martin was the first man out of the pen and would strike out 3 in 1 2/3 innings to hold Great Falls at bay.

Mogollon would then continue his recent success in his late inning role with 2 more scoreless frames Saturday.

The Southern California native has not allowed a single run over his last 7 2/3 innings of action out of the pen.

In the ninth, Newman would put the finishing touches on a win in his second relief stint throwing a scoreless frame in the ninth to send the fans home happy.

The PaddleHeads (52-27) (17-13) will look to string wins together in game 2 of the series opposite the Voyagers (32-47) (13-17) on Sunday evening. Catch the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. with first pitch slated for 5:05 p.m.

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Pioneer League Stories from August 22, 2021


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