Klemp Crushes 2 Home Runs In Opening Night Win

Oakland, CA - The Missoula PaddleHeads opened the 2026 season on Tuesday night in the 1st game of a 96 game season opposite the Oakland Ballers at Raimondi Park. Not only were the PaddleHeads going up against a defending league champion, but they were also doing so in front of a raucous sold out crowd in the Bay Area. This new look team also was breaking in a lot of new players. 7 of the starting position players are new to the roster this season. One returnee however would make a big impact for the PaddleHeads offense. He also had plenty of help. 

Returning catcher Nich Klemp got off to a great start to the season launching a pair of home runs to highlight a big night of offense. The PaddleHeads tallied 4 as a team in the game. Klemp had plenty of help as well with 7 players total finishing with 2 hits or more. Oakland's capacity crowd was silenced for a large portion of the game as a result with Missoula running away with a 11-2 win to kick off the season. 

Klemp got the PaddleHeads attack kicked into gear in ernest in the 3rd inning with his first of 2 home runs on the night. Rookie shortstop Will Bermudez then backed up this effort with his first professional home run one batter later to give the PaddleHeads a 4-0 cushion. The Southern California native had an impressive opening night finishing 3-for-5 with a pair driven in. Klemp knocked in 5 runs in the game in a 3-for-6 performance. The PaddleHeads kept the hammer down from there. 

Klemp struck with another long ball in the 4th to bring the PaddleHeads lead to 6-0. Oakland's offense did little to combat the effort from Missoula but would come close to breaking through in the middle frames. 

A pair of solo home runs in the 4th and 5th innings brought the Ballers crowd to life after a slow start. Rookie first baseman Jeter Ybarra brought Oakland within 4 with his solo blast in the 5th making the score 6-2. The PaddleHeads bullpen did not budge from there. 

Mark Timmins managed to get the PaddleHeads out of a bind in the 5th inning. The 2026 Franchise Player recorded the final out of the frame in a bases loaded at-bat to bring an end to a push of momentum. That proved to take the wind out of the sails for the Ballers as Missoula regained control. 

Former Range Rider Xavier Casterilla began the PaddleHeads biggest rally of the night in the top of the 7th hitting a solo home run down the left field line to give Missoula an 8-2 lead. Layton Berry then got in on the act with an RBI single as part of his 3-5 performance. Leadoff man Mike Koszewski also scored one of his 3 runs in the frame as part of the 4-run rally that gave Missoula a 10-2 lead. The former Jayhawk finished 2-for-4 in the game.  This cushion proved to be more than enough for a pair of rookie relievers. 

Grant Garza, and Luke Wechsler took the PaddleHeads home in the final 4 innings of relief, silencing the Ballers offense. Garza was especially strong, tossing 3 shutout innings allowing 1 hit and punching out 6. Wechsler did not budge in the bottom of the 9th either putting the finishing touches on an opening night win. This was only the first of many to come for Missoula but it was a step in the right direction. Now the PaddleHeads will have to see how game 2 of this series with the Ballers plays out. 

Missoula (1-0) goes right back to work against Oakland (0-1) on Wednesday evening in Game 2 of the 3 game set. The Ballers will have a bounce back performance in mind on a night they celebrate a 2025 league title with championship ring distributions. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Hear the call on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.