Early Inning Onslaught Leads Missoula to Win Friday

MISSOULA, MT- The Missoula PaddleHeads returned home  on Friday evening playing host to the Glacier Range Riders in the first game of a 3 game set. Missoula made a habit putting runs on the board opposite Glacier in their last 3 games, having scored over 10 runs in each of those contests. To the delight of a sold out crowd at Allegiance Field at Ogren Park, the offense for Missoula would have it rolling again from the very start. 

The PaddleHeads would have the hammer down offensively early taking the lead in the first inning. Furthermore,  Missoula would tally runs in each of the first 4 innings. After a lengthy rally in the 4th, Missoula would hold a 10 run advantage. Glacier would fight down the stretch highlighted by a rally in the 9th inning. That early inning hole would prove to be too much in the end however as Missoula would find the win column by a final tally of 14-12. 

After taking a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, Missoula would see the lead grow to 5 in the next half inning thanks to a 3-run rally. 2nd baseman Jacob Kline would bring home a run to start the inning with an RBI single. This would be just the beginning of a huge night for the former Billings Mustang. Third Baseman Patrick Chung would also knock in a run in the frame with a single as Missoula's lead grew to 5-0. 

Chung, and Kline would strike again in the next half inning as Missoula's advantage would grow to 9-4. Kline started the rally off with a single and would be driven in by a triple off the bat of Chung. The Washington native finished with 3 RBIs as part of a 3 hit night. The Missoula offense would then land the knockout blow in the 4th. 

Highlighted by a 3-run blast off the bat of Kline, the PaddleHeads would bring home 6 runs in the 4th to extend their advantage to 14-4. Cameron Thompson would also provide a big swing in the frame with a 2-run triple into right centerfield. Thompson would also score 2 runs himself as part of a 2-for-5 performance. Kline would finish the night 3-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 5 driven-in. 

Glacier would not go down without a fight on this night however despite the large deficit. Second baseman Jackson Raper would get Glacier back on the board in the 7th with a 3-run blast to cut Missoula's advantage to 14-7. The Range Riders would really make things interesting a few innings later however, cutting far into the PaddleHeads lead in the final inning of play. Raper would finish the evening 2-for-5 with 3 driven in.

RBI singles from Dean Miller, and Ben McConnell would start a 5-run rally in the top of the ninth. Kingston Liniak would then bring home 3 more with a 3-run blast into right center which cut Missoula's lead to 2. The PaddleHeads would then turn to late inning specialist Mark Simon to slam the door shut after this point. Simon would do just that, recording the final out on a strikeout to earn his 4th save of the season. 

The PaddleHeads (26-8) extended their advantage in the Northern Division standings to 6 games over the 2nd place Glacier Range Riders (19-13) with the win Friday night. Missoula will look to keep the momentum alive on their home field in game 2 of the series on Saturday night. First pitch from Allegiance Field is set for 7:05 p.m. Hear the call on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.