Pitching Staff Bounces Back In 6-1 PaddleHeads Win

FLATHEAD VALLEY, MT - After seeing things get away from them in the late innings Friday, the Missoula PaddleHeads would be in search of a bounce back game Saturday opposite the Glacier Range Riders. Dawson Day would prove to get Missoula off on the right foot retiring the side in order in the 1st 3 innings of play. The offense would then turn things on in a big way in a scoreless contest to jump on the board. This offensive spark combined with more great pitching would prove to be a good combination.

Day would allow only 1 base runner in 4 innings on the mound. The PaddleHeads attack would back this effort with a big rally in the top of the 4th that saw 10 batters come to the plate. This 6 run effort would be plenty of real estate for the bullpen coming down the stretch as well as Missoula would cruise to a 6-1 victory. 

Day would retire the first 10 batters he faced in 4 innings while not allowing an earned run on the mound. The southpaw would strike out 6 batters in those innings with no walks. The only run to score for Glacier on this night would come in on an error. The PaddleHeads attack would do all the heavy lifting necessary in the top of the 4th. 

Adam Fogel would kickstart a 6-run rally in the top of the 4th hitting his 30th home run of the season to get Missoula on the board. This would be the first of 2 big swings in the rally that saw Missoula snag a 6 run advantage. It also got Fogel all that much closer to history as the left fielder is now 2 home runs shy of tying a league record. The high mark is held currently by Jayson Newman from his success with Missoula during the 2022 season.  

Kamron Willman would provide the next big swing in the 4th bringing home a pair on a double down the left field line that made the score 3-0. Patrick Chung would then put a bow on the inning, a batter later launching another ball over the wall to give Missoula a 6-0 lead. Chung would have a solid night at the dish throughout finishing 3-for-5. This effort would be plenty for the pen. 

Jestin Jones would enter the fray in the 5th in a bases loaded situation with 2-outs and would escape the inning without harm. That would prove to be the only drama the right hander would face in 2 ⅓ innings. Jones would only allow 1 hit in his stint out of the pen striking out 4. The Florida native has been at his best in this series with Glacier striking out 7 in 3 ⅓ innings of work. Jones would earn the win for his efforts Saturday. 

Noah McBride, and Andrew Garcia would keep things under control in the final 2 innings allowing only 1 hit combined in the final 2 frames. McBride would not allow a man to reach in his first appearance since July 27 returning from injury. The scoreless inning for Garcia in the 9th also notched his 4th consecutive outing in which he has not allowed a run. The collective effort from Missoula also clinched a series win over Glacier in this 6 game slate. 

The PaddleHeads (54-17) will look for its 5th win in 6 games this week opposite the Range Riders (35-36) in the series finale on Sunday afternoon. A matinee affair at Glacier Bank Park is scheduled to get underway with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. Be a part of all the excitement by listening in on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M. and 1029espn.com