PaddleHeads Hold Off Hawks Down the Stretch in 11-9 Win
Gatewood Tallies 5 RBIs in Missoula’s Victory Over Hawks Friday
Boise, ID- The Missoula PaddleHeads would set the tone in the early innings Friday night in game 1 of a 3 game set at Memorial Stadium opposite the Boise Hawks. Leading 7-0 after the top of the second, things were not looking good for Boise who suffered a pair of lopsided losses in previous action in Missoula. Boise would pick itself off the canvas in the bottom half of the second however, setting up a tightly contested battle the rest of the way.
The Hawks would even up the score at 7 thanks to rallies in the second, and third innings after trailing by that same margin in the early going. Thanks to more success from the PaddleHeads bullpen however, Missoula would never relinquish the lead at any point. Boise would threaten with the tying runs in scoring positions in the ninth inning but would ultimately fall short in an 11-9 win for Missoula.
A six run rally in the top of the second innings gave the PaddleHeads their largest lead of the night at 7-0. Keaton Greenwalt would strike in the frame first with a 2-run single. After Cameron Thompson brought in a run, Nick Gatewood would deliver the biggest blow of the frame with 2-outs. The Georgia native would launch a towering 3-run blast over the wall in right to round out the scoring in the frame. It would be the highlight of Gatewood's night at the plate as the former Padres product would finish 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs.
Gatewood has been on an absolute tear in recent games finishing with at least 3 hits in each of his last 3 games against Boise. Overall in that stretch, Gatewood finished 10-for-14 at the plate with 2 home runs, and 10 RBIs. Despite all the early success thanks in large part to Gatewood, Boise would find an answer themselves with a big rally.
The Hawks would tie the game thanks to a pair of rallies in the second, and third innings with the bulk of the damage coming from a 6-run effort in the second. Raymond Gill would drive in a pair as part of the rally in the second that made the score 7-6. In the next half inning, Tyler Jorgensen would tie things up at 7 runs apiece with a double down the right field line. Boise failed to get over the hump after that point however as Missoula's pen would settle in. Gill would finish the night 3-for-5 with 2 driven in and Jorgensen was 2-for-3.
Domingo Pena would do well to quiet the waters out of the bullpen in the fourth, and fifth innings retiring all 6 batters he faced in order in a pair of scoreless frames. For his efforts, Pena earned his fifth win of the season. Tyler Elliot, and Cody Thompson would also pitch scoreless innings down the stretch for Missoula in tightly contested action. Sam Hellinger would then be called upon in the bottom of the ninth looking to close it out.
Trailing 11-9, Boise would immediately put Hellinger in a stressful situation thanks to a single from Gill and a double from Ryan Walstad. With the tying run in scoring position, Hellinger would stand tall when it mattered the most, retiring the final 2 outs of the ballgame via the strikeout to hold off the Hawks comeback attempt. For his efforts, Hellinger earned his ninth save of the season.
Missoula (49-20) will look to win their 5th game in as many days opposite the Boise Hawks (22-48) on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Action from the City of Trees is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. Keep tabs on all the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.
