Gordon Leads Offensive Charge In 11-3 Win Tuesday

BILLINGS, MT - The Missoula PaddleHeads opened a 6-game set on the road Tuesday night making its first appearance this season at Dehler Park in action with the Billings Mustangs. This was the first time these rivals have done battle since the 1st round of the Pioneer League postseason in 2023. After falling in a best of 3 series last September, the PaddleHeads came in with a chip on its shoulder. Behind an offense that has been routinely putting up huge numbers throughout this portion of the season, the PaddleHeads would land the first punch in this six game set. 

7 PaddleHeads batters would finish the game with 2 hits or more in the contest resulting in a 21 hit total on the night. Colin Gordon would lead the charge from the start thanks to a 5-hit performance. Elijah Gill also had a successful trip back to his former home ballpark in 5 solid innings on the mound as the starter. The end result would be a convincing 11-3 win over the Mustangs to open the 6-game set. 

The PaddleHeads immediately claimed the lead in the top of the 1st thanks to an RBI single from Alec Sanchez scoring Patrick Chung. Gordon would then begin a monster night at the plate in the next half inning. Sanchez knocked in 4 runs as part of a 2-for-6 performance while Chung finished 3-for-5. 

Gordon hit his 4th home run of the season to give the PaddleHeads a 2-0 advantage in the 2nd inning. This would prove to be only the beginning for the former Range Rider who would go on to knock in 5 runs on the night finishing a perfect 5-for-5 with RBI singles also doing damage in the 4th, and 8th. 

Gill seemed very comfortable pitching back on the mound at Dehler Park as the former Mustang would earn his 5th win of the season in 5 innings of work. The southpaw would allow just 2 runs on 3 hits in those innings while striking out 5. The bullpen did not waver down the stretch either as Mark Timmins, Noah McBride, and Jestin Jones did not allow a single earned run in 4-frames out of the pen. The PaddleHeads offense on the flipside would put the game on ice behind a rally in the 4th. 

A 4-run push in the 8th would see Missoula's advantage grow to 11-2. Sanchez would get the party started in the frame with a solo home run down the right field line. Josh Elvir would then get in on the act with an RBI single to left before scoring on another single from Gordon. Chung would also knock in a run with a base hit to round out the scoring. Elvir scored 3 runs in the win for Missoula as part of a 2-for-4 performance. 

The PaddleHeads (20-5) saw more results around Pioneer League work out in their favor Tuesday allowing Missoula to extend its lead in the standings. The win combined with a loss from the Boise Hawks (16-9) saw the PaddleHeads lead grow to 4 games.  Missoula will now look to keep the momentum rolling in game 2 of the series from Dehler Park opposite the Mustangs (13-12). First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. Hear all the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. and 1029espn.com.