20 Hit Barrage Leads Missoula Past Great Falls

MISSOULA, MT- The Great Falls Voyagers would land a big punch in the top of the 3rd inning in the series finale opposite the Missoula PaddleHeads. A sizable rally in the frame would put Great Falls out in front in an attempt to salvage a game in the 3-game set. Despite this big spark early for the Voyagers, Missoula would ensure they would never enjoy success similar to that the rest of the way. The offense would also play a big role for the 2nd night in a row. 

Missoula would tally runs in 4 consecutive innings from the 2nd to the 5th after a quiet first inning. The PaddleHeads would tally 14 runs in this stretch to bring their run total to double digits highlighted by a 6-run 5th inning. After the large rally from Great Falls in the top of the 3rd, Missoula would outscore Great Falls 12-0 over the next 3 innings. This allowed the PaddleHeads to cruise to their 2nd home sweep of the Voyagers this season in a 16-8 win. 

The PaddleHeads would take an early lead in the 2nd thanks to a 2-run push.Austin Bernard would get Missoula on the board with a sacrifice fly. Thomas DeBonville would also strike in the inning with his 1st of 3 singles to make the score 2-1. The former Chukar would finish the night 3-for-5 with an RBI. Bernard would wrap up his night finishing 1-for-3. The lead early would be short lived however as Great Falls would find success one inning later. 

The Voyagers offense took off in the top of the 3rd sending their entire order to the plate in a 5-run rally. Great Falls would record 7 base hits in a row to fan the flames of the rally . This allowed Great Falls to jump out to the lead by a score of 6-2. 

RBI singles from Collin Runge, and Riley Jepson would both do damage in the inning. Xane Washington also launched a solo home run as part of the rally. Jepson knocked in a pair on the night, finishing 2-for-4. Runge would reach base 4 times in the loss finishing 3-for-3. Despite this jolt, Great Falls would not be able to build momentum after this point scoring only 2 runs the rest of the way. 

Missoula would score 9 runs in the 2 innings that followed the rally from Great Falls to take control of the contest. This push would be highlighted by a 6-run rally in the bottom of the 5th. Patrick Chung would single home a pair to start the rally. 2 batters later, Jake Guenther would deliver the big blow launching a 3-run bomb down the right field line to bring Missoula's lead to 13-6. Cameron Thompson would round out the scoring by knocking in Luis Navarro on a double. Chung, and Thompson both notched 3 hits in the win finishing 3-for-5. Navarro would finish the night 3-for-4. Guenther would tally a team high 4 RBIs in the win finishing 2-for-6. 

Austin Dill did a fabulous job pitching in relief for Missoula to earn the win on the mound. The Rookie entered the action at the end of the 3rd inning and would shut down the Voyagers attack from that point 4 innings of work. The Missouri native allowed just 1 run over those innings while striking out 4 batters. Karl Blum, and Lui Fuenmayor would also pitch scoreless frames out of the PaddleHeads pen. 

The Missoula attack would end their offensive night with a bang in the bottom of the 8th thanks to Ryan Cash. The former Range Rider would launch his 2nd home run of the season down the left field line to give the PaddleHeads a 9 run advantage. Fittingly, it also recorded Missoula's 20th hit as a team in the game. 7 batters in the Missoula order would finish with at least 2 hits in the win. Cash would conclude his night 2-for-5. 

The PaddleHeads (47-16) will look to keep their run of success alive at home opening a series over the weekend opposite the Billings Mustangs (26-37). This will be Missoula's first look at the Mustangs in the 2nd half of this season having last seen Billings on July 5. Action on a Friday night in the Garden City gets kicked off at 7:05 p.m. If you cannot make it to the park, listen to the Action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.