PaddleHeads Bounce Back In 12-1 Win Over Chukars

MISSOULA, MT - A rubber match of a 3 game series between the Missoula PaddleHeads, and Idaho Falls Chukars took center stage at Allegiance Field Thursday night. After leveling the series with a win Wednesday, Idaho Falls would get off to an ideal start thanks to a lead off home run in the top of the 1st. The Chukars would also see men reach in the frames that followed as well creating strenuous situations. The PaddleHeads staff would not budge the rest of the way however, stranding 13 runners on base. The offense of Missoula would also find plenty of success on the flipside throughout the night.  

The PaddleHeads attack would tally 9 extra base hits as a team throughout the contest tallying runs in each of the 1st 4 innings. The Chukars would be held scoreless in every inning after the first as Elijah Gill, Mark Timmins, and Arman Sabouri kept things under control throughout. This led to a convincing 12-1 win for Missoula allowing the PaddleHeads to snag another series victory ahead of the final 3 games of the current 12 game homestand. 

Lead-off man Jacob Jablonski would get the Chukars on the board in the top of the 1st with a solo homer down the right field line. The 2nd baseman would reach 3 times in the ballgame finishing 2-for-4. This early spark would not lead to prolonged success for Idaho Falls however as the lead would prove to be very short lived. 

After a leadoff triple from Patrick Chung, Alec Sanchez would tally his 1st of 2 doubles on the night to tie things up in the bottom of the 1st. In the 2nd, Chung would give Missoula their first lead of the night on a 2-run double making the score 3-1. It was a huge night for Chung in the victory as the 3rd year PaddleHead would finish the evening 3-for-4. Sanchez reached base 3 times in the win finishing 2-for-4.  Home run power would keep the PaddleHeads rolling in the next inning. 

Mike Rosario would tattoo a ball well over the wall in right center field in the 3rd inning to bring a pair of runs home making the score 5-1 in an impressive showing of power. The ball would travel 470 feet before coming to rest. Another long ball from Colin Gordon would also highlight a 4-run rally for Missoula in the 7th to bring home Missoula's 10th run of the night. Rosario would knock in 3 on the night, fishing 1-for-3. Gordon tallied 8 RBIs total in the series opposite the Chukars and would finish 2-for-4 Thursday.

This offensive production backed the effort of Gill who allowed only 1 run over his 5 innings of work to earn the win on the hill. The southpaw did well in his ability to pitch out of jams stranding runners aboard in numerous instances to stay out of trouble. Timmins, and Sabouri would then deliver 4 combined shutout innings out of the bullpen. Timmins would strike out 4 in a pair of innings. Sabouri would allow only 1 base runner in his 2 innings of work as the PaddleHeads claimed the series win. 

Missoula (17-4) saw their lead atop the Pioneer League go back to 2 games with the win Thursday night. The PaddleHeads now will prepare to host a familiar foe in the Great Falls Voyagers (4-17). Action on a Friday night at Allegiance Field is slated to get rolling at 7:15 p.m. If you cannot make it to the ballpark, tune in on 102.9 ESPN Missoula and 1029espn.com.