Mustangs Avoid Shutout, Lose 5-1 to Mis.

The Billings Mustangs outhit the Missoula Paddleheads 8 to 5 Friday evening, but Missoula found a way to get batters home and defeat the Mustangs 5-1.

The Mustangs avoided a shutout in the bottom of the 9th when left-fielder Taylor Lomack singled to right and stole 2nd base. 2nd Baseman Mitch Moralez singled to right to score Lomack to make it 5-1.

Billings right-hander Jared Kengott tossed four innings, giving up three runs all earned, on five hits with seven walks while punching out two.

Former Mustang Kelvan Pilot dealt 6 scoreless innings of baseball for Missoula while striking out seven hitters and only walking two while giving up just six hits.

Lomack had a 3-4 night with a run scored, while Moralez picked up his first multi-hit game of 2023.

Lefty reliever Omar Sanchez was perfect for Billings in the 8th and 9th inning where he faced the minimum six batters while striking out four. Big righty out of Rockford, Illinois, Tyler Statler tossed 3 innings in relief for Kengott. Statler gave up two runs, both earned, on two hits, a strikeout, and gave up three walks.

The Mustangs put five of their nine lead off batters on base, but only scored one on the RBI single by Moralez.

Game 5 of the six-game home series against the Paddleheads starts at 6:35 p.m. Saturday with pre-game coverage starting at 6:15 on ESPN 910/105.5 FM or espn910.com. You can also watch every play on FloSports.