Ballers Erase Early Deficit In 13-8 Win Over PaddleHeads
McKenzie Launches 3 Home Runs In Oakland Win Over Missoula
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 |
|
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1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 13 | 11 | 1 |
Oakland, CA - After a great start to this series on Opening Night, The Missoula PaddleHeads were out to a lead in Game 2 Wednesday opposite the Oakland Ballers. Missoula scored 6 unanswered runs at one point in the first 4 innings to grab the lead. Thanks in large part to a returnee from last year's Pioneer League Championship team, the Ballers were able to counter this effort in a big way.
1st year PaddleHead Enzo Apodaca gave Missoula a 5-run lead in the top of the 3rd with his second home run in as many at-bats. The PaddleHeads then tacked on a pair more in the 4th inning thanks to an error. The Ballers bullpen stiffened from this point forward however, holding the PaddleHeads off the board in every inning that followed. Centerfielder T.J. McKenzie then led the Ballers attack on the comeback trail with a 3 home run night. Oakland scored the final 7 runs of the game as a team. When the dust settled Oakland found the win column by a score of 13-8 to even this series at a game apiece.
Apodaca put the PaddleHeads in front in the top of the 2nd with his first home run of the ballgame. The former Baylor Bear added a 2nd home run of the game an inning later to make the score 6-1. The Southern California native finished the game 3-for-4 with 4 driven in. The Ballers quickly answered that effort in the bottom of the 3rd.
Oakland fought back into the game in the bottom of the 3rd with a 4-run rally cutting the PaddleHeads lead to 1. Right fielder Noah Blythe had the big swing in the push with a 3-run blast in the inning to cut the deficit to 6-5. McKenzie then helped give the Ballers a lead they would never let go.
After going yard in the 4th, McKenzie launched a 3-run home run in the 5th to punctuate what was a 5-run Ballers rally that vaulted Oakland in front by a score of 11-8. The 9th batter in the order added another bomb to his total for good measure in the 7th hitting a 2-run home run to give Oakland a 13-8 lead. Missoula never found an answer to these swings.
The PaddleHeads offense managed to only record one hit past the top of the 4th inning with the Ballers' bullpen holding the line. The combination of Liam Rocha, Langston Burkett, and Braydon Nelson held up their end of the bargain for the Ballers in the pen allowing only 1 earned run over 6 innings striking out 11 batters. Free passes proved to be an issue for the Missoula pitching staff on the flipside, issuing 9 walks throughout the course of the game. With each team finding success so far in this series, things now shift to a rubber match of this 3 game set on Thursday evening.
The Ballers (1-1) and PaddleHeads (1-1) will now both be in search of a series win in the final game of this series from the Bay Area on Thursday evening. The PaddleHeads plan to turn to returnee Ryan Wentz in his return to the starting rotation after a outstanding 2025 campaign in his 1st season with the PaddleHeads. First pitch from just outside Downtown Oakland is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Pacific. Catch the action on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.
