Grand Slam From O’Conner The Key Swing In 9-4 Win
Missoula Outscores Glacier 9-1 Down the Stretch in Victory
Missoula MT- Things would remain tight for a large portion of the evening in game 2 of a 6 game slate between the Missoula PaddleHeads, and Glacier Range Riders. Both teams would lead at one point or another over the course of the first 7 innings with neither team leading by more than 3. However, McClain O'Conner would change the trajectory of the game with one swing in a tie game in the bottom of the 7th.
Missoula would build a run scoring situation in the 7th loading the bases with a pair of singles, and a walk. With 2-outs recorded, O'Conner would be challenged by the hard throwing right-hander Isaiah Henry. The second year PaddleHead would prove to be up to the challenge, launching a grand slam over the wall in left center to give Missoula an 8-4 advantage. This would prove to be a crushing blow for Glacier as the Range Riders would never come close again the rest of the way in a 9-4 victory for the PaddleHeads.
Missoula's offense would get off to a slow start in the first 3 innings collecting only 1 hit in that stretch. This would allow the Range Riders to jump out to an early 3-0 advantage. Drew Sims would get things rolling for Glacier in the second with a leadoff triple to set up an offensive chance. Sims would then come in to score on an RBI groundout to kick off the scoring on both sides. After launching 4 homers in the game on Monday, the Range Riders would go back to the long ball in the next 2 frames. Sims was 2-for-4 at the plate.
Dean Miller would hit his second home run in as many nights in the third as the Range Riders would extend the lead to 2-0. Miller would finish the night 2-for-4. In the next half frame, Ryan Cole would see a sinking line drive get past a diving Brandon Riley in center field. This allowed the Notre Dame product to come all the way around to score on an inside the park home run. Despite having the momentum early, Missoula would then start to turn things around with some home run power of their own.
Lamar Sparks would jumpstart the offense in the bottom of the 4th on a solo blast to center field that would travel 425 feet to get Missoula on the board. Sparks would also knot things up at 3 runs apiece in the 5th inning with an RBI single continuing a solid night at the dish. The Texas native reached base 4 times in the game finishing 2-for-2 with a pair of walks.
Nick Gatewood gave the PaddleHeads their first lead of the night in the bottom of the 6th with a towering blast to right that sent the fans into a frenzy as part of the 'Peanut Inning." After falling into the early 3-0 hole, Missoula's offense would come to life outscoring Glacier 9-1 from the fourth inning on. Gatewood has recorded at least 2 hits in each of the first 2 games of the series finishing 2-for-4 Tuesday.
Conner Schultz had a solid outing over 5 ⅓ innings for the PaddleHeads keeping Missoula in the game in the early frames. The former Hawkee would strike out a career high 7 batters in those innings while allowing 3 runs. The bullpen combination of Mark Simon, and Sam Hellinger would then do the rest down the stretch in the victory.
Simon would finish with a pair of strikeouts over 1 ⅓ innings while not allowing a run in that stretch. Hellinger would then ensure there would be no drama in the 9th pitching a clean frame in the situation to bring Missoula to the finish line. Glacier would only manage to get 2 base runners on against the duo in 2 1/3 innings.
The PaddleHeads (61-24) will look to keep it rolling in action against the Range Riders (35-49) after taking each of the first 2 games of the series. Game 3 from Allegiance Field at Ogren Park is slated for 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday night. Hear all the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.
