PaddleHeads Offense Held in Check in Loss to Chukars

Missoula, MT - The Missoula PaddleHeads' offense got off to a good start in the first three innings Friday tallying six hits to jump out to an early lead over the Idaho Falls Chukars in the series finale at Allegiance Field at Ogren Park. Missoula was looking to stay hot having won their last 9 games to finish off a sweep of the Chukars in front of a packed house in the Garden City. Missoula's offense would start to taper off as the night rolled on, however giving the Chukars the chance to fight back. 

After falling behind in the second, Idaho Falls would score 5 unanswered runs over the course of the next 5 innings to take a 3 run advantage. The PaddleHeads would manage to only score 1 run after the second inning failing to fight back in an 8-4 loss. The win for the Chukars allowed them to salvage a game in the 3 game set, and also brought Missoula's 9 game winning streak to an end. 

Singles from Nick Cici, and Kevin Whatley got the PaddleHeads offense off on the right foot in the second inning bringing three runs home to make the score 3-1. Missoula would tally 4 singles total in the frame to bring their hit total to 6. The offense would fail to get much else going the rest of the night however as Chukars starter Ramsay Romano would settle in. Whatley would finish the night 1-for-3 and Cici was 1-for-4. 

Romano would throw 7 solid innings earning the win on the hill for Idaho Falls. The former Cubs product would allow only 1 earned run over those frames pitching effectively to contact. Romano would not allow a single run after the second inning allowing the Chukars offense a chance to gain traction. 

After Calvin Estrada scored the tying run in the sixth inning on a wild pitch, Dusty Stroup would give the Chukars the lead for the second time in the contest in a very unconventional way. A line drive to center field would bounce past a diving  Keaton Greenwalt and would roll all the way to the wall. Stroup would then come all the way around for an inside the park home run to give Idaho Falls a 4-3 advantage. Jose Reyes would also drive home a run in the frame with a single to add to the advantage in the 3 run rally. Stroup, and Reyes would both finish 1-for-4. 

Missoula would show fight in the eighth cutting the Idaho Falls lead to 2 on a single up the middle to make the score 6-4. Missoula would see two base runners reach in the bottom of the ninth inning as well to make things interesting, but would fail to get on the board again as Idaho Falls would hang on for the win down the stretch. Newman would finish the night 2-for-4 with an RBI. 

The PaddleHeads (22-10) will now hit the road for the next 6 games. To open the road trip, Missoula will make its first trip to Memorial Stadium this season to take on the Boise Hawks (13-20). It will be Missoula's first appearance in Boise since Game 3 of the Pioneer League Championship Series last september. First pitch from the Idaho State Capital is set for 7:00 p.m. Hear all the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.