Late Rally Falls Short in Ninth In Loss To Voyagers Saturday
Great Falls Hands PaddleHeads First Loss of 2022 Season
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
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0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
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0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 6 | 8 | 3 |
Great Falls, MT - The Great Falls Voyagers would have the upper hand over the Missoula Paddleheads for the vast majority of the night Saturday in the opening game of a three game set at Centene Stadium in Great Falls. The Voyagers would open the top of the ninth inning with a 6-1 advantage after an outstanding effort from starting pitcher Pablo Arevalo. Despite having all the momentum mounted against them, the PaddleHeads would not go down in the ninth without a fight.
After a pair scored in the ninth, left fielder Brandon Riley knocked in two more with a single up the middle to cut the Great Falls advantage to one run. Anders Green would then come into the box with the tying run in scoring position. A sharp ground ball to the left side of the infield just did not find a hole however, and the Voyagers were able to hold off the late inning charge by a final score of 6-5.
Arevalo held the PaddleHeads offense in check for the majority of the night in 8 fabulous innings to earn the win for the Voyagers. The Miami native allowed only one run on three hits over those frames while striking out five. Arevalo also threw 66 of the 91 pitches he threw for strikes.
A two run rally from Great Falls in the seventh innings proved to be just enough down the stretch for the Voyagers after the comeback attempt from the PaddleHeads in the ninth inning. Left fielder Michael Deeb knocked in a run with a single in the inning before Andy Atwood would score on a bases loaded walk. Deeb would finish 1-for-2 with an RBI, and a walk while Atwood would finish 2-for-5.
Jayson Newman, and Nick Gatewood both had strong offensive nights for Missoula in the losing effort finishing with 4 of Missoula's 7 hits as a team combined. The pair would also both knock in runs in the PaddleHeads ninth inning rally that ultimately would fall just short. Newman, and Gatewood would both finish 2-for-4.
The PaddleHeads (3-1) will now look to bounce back from their first defeat of the 2022 season opposite the Northern Division leading Voyagers (4-0) on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Centene Stadium is set for 4:00 p.m. Listen in to all the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M
