8th Inning Home Run From Newman The Difference in 5-4 Win
Timmins Strikes Out 8 in PaddleHeads Victory Over Hawks on Monday
Boise, ID- The Missoula PaddleHeads opened their final series of the regular season on Monday afternoon in the opening game of a 6 game set opposite the Boise Hawks. Boise would lead for most of the afternoon at Memorial Stadium after managing to push 3 runs across in the first 3 innings. However, this would be the last time Boise would manage to get anything across until the 8th inning. This allowed the PaddleHeads to stay within striking distance. It also proved to pay dividends in the 8th when Missoula's offense was able to break through.
The PaddleHeads would take their first lead of the afternoon thanks to a 3-run rally in the 8th to make the score 5-3. Boise would threaten down the stretch putting the winning run on base in the bottom of the 9th in a 1 run contest. Sam Hellinger would hold off the comeback attempt however, sealing the win with a strikeout on the inside corner as Missoula escaped with the 5-4 win. With the victory, it ensures that the PaddleHeads will finish with a winning percentage above .684 in the regular season. This means that the 2022 PaddleHeads will finish with the highest winning percentage of any professional club to ever play in the Garden City.
This is a noteworthy feat considering the fact that professional baseball has been linked to the city of Missoula dating back to the Missoula Highlanders franchise that took the field in the 1910s. The previous high mark was set by the 2001 Missoula Osprey that finished with a 52-24 record (.684 winning percentage). If Missoula were to lose their remaining 5 games the PaddleHeads winning percentage would still be .694. It was also fitting that the man that has set many league records himself this season played the biggest role in the rally that put Missoula in position to achieve this milestone.
Trailing by 1 in the top of the 8th, Missoula would push 3 runs across to take their first lead of the afternoon. Nick Cici got the party started in the frame with a double into the left center field gap to tie things up. Jayson Newman would then provide the swing that would put Missoula out in front for good with a 2-run blast to right. The home run for Newman brought his league record total to 32 on the season. Newman also has now tallied 115 RBIs, just 1 RBI shy of the league record of 116 that was set by Matt Fienstein of the Idaho Falls Chukars last season. Newman finished the afternoon 2-for-3.
Mark Timmins had a solid afternoon for Missoula on the hill, keeping the door open for the PaddleHeads to fight their way back into it in the late innings. The Nebraska native would only allow 2 runs in 7 innings of work while striking out a season high 8 batters. For his efforts, Timmins picked up his 5th win on the season to move his record to 5-3.
Jared Akins provided an offensive spart in the early going for Missoula cutting Boise's lead to 1 in the 4th with an RBI double as part of a 2-run push. Akins finished the afternoon 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Mark Simon, and Sam Hellinger would make sure that the PaddleHeads would remain out in front over the final 2 innings. Simon would inherit a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the 8th. The reigning league Pitcher of the Year would do well to put out the fire however, inducing a double play, and strikeout to limit the damage.
Hellinger would see a pair of runners get aboard in the bottom of the 9th leading by just 1. The Seattle product would not budge further in the clutch situation clinching the win on a strikeout to end the ballgame. Hellinger earned his 16th save of the season for his efforts in the process which ranks 1st amongst all pitchers in the league.
The PaddleHeads (65-24) have now won each of their last 7 games overall after the game 1 win against the Hawks (28-62). Missoula is also now 10-0 in games played against Boise this season. The PaddleHeads will look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday night in game 2 of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Catch all the action from Memorial Stadium on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.
