PaddleHeads Finish Off Sweep Of Mustangs Sunday
4 Home Runs Lead Missoula Past Billings In Series Finale
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
|
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | X | 10 | 13 | 0 |
MISSOULA, MT- The Missoula PaddleHeads had a chance to do something no team in the Pioneer League has this season in the series finale with the Billings Mustangs. Billings had enjoyed great success with the league's top offense having already claimed a playoff berth with success in the 1st half of the season. Missoula had the advantage in the first 2 games of this series and had a chance to finish off the sweep on Sunday afternoon. No team had managed to sweep the Mustangs this season. That changed with Missoula's successful afternoon Sunday.
The PaddleHeads took the lead initially in the 3rd as both offenses were held off the board in the early going. Jake Taporek delivered a solid outing on the mound for Missoula holding the dangerous Billings attack in check during his time on the rubber. The Mustangs kept the game close trailing by just one heading to the bottom of the 8th. A power surge from the PaddleHeads offense gave Missoula some breathing room for the top of the 9th in a 4-run push. Ridder Stienmann had no issues in the 9th, setting the side down in order to finish off a 10-5 win over the Mustangs to complete the sweep.
Missoula was the first to the board in the bottom of the 3rd plating a pair of runs to take the lead. Xavier Casserilla got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly in the inning. Designated Hitter Nate Vargas then brought home a second run with a clutch 2-out single to give Missoula the early edge. Stewart finished 2-for-5 in his plate appearances.
The Mustangs punched back quickly after initially falling behind with a 2-run 4th inning. An RBI single from Cole Calnon told a large part of the story as Billings knotted things up at 2 runs apiece. The Northwest Nazarene product had a solid day finishing 2-for-4. Home run power then played a role in the PaddleHeads regaining the lead.
Home runs in the 5th and 6th innings propelled Missoula back in front. Casserilla struck first with his 3rd home run this week to give Missoula a 3-2 lead. The Texas native had a fabulous run of 6 games recording 2 hits or more in every game of the week. Casserilla finished 3-for-4 Sunday. The corner infielder also leads the team with 20 home runs on the season.
Sergio Gutierrez struck in the 6th hitting a bomb to right center to give Missoula a 4-2 cushion. The PaddleHeads then found more power in the late innings to back up a solid effort from Toporek.
The Tulane product was solid in 5 ⅓ innings Sunday against the lethal Billings offense allowing only 2 runs on 5 hits in that span. Toporek also struck out 6 while walking 2. This effort earned the southpaw his first professional win.
The Mustangs trimmed into the deficit in the 7th and 8th innings to tighten things. Michael Soper knocked home a run in the 7th with a double cutting the deficit to 2. John McHenry's 2-run home run in the 8th made the score 6-5 on his 2nd home run in as many games. Soper finished 3-for-5 in his at-bats while McHenry was 1-for-5. A pair of swings in the home half of the 8th helped Missoula put the game away.
A 4-run rally in the 8th was fueled by power for the PaddleHeads. Bryce Cerminelli started the trend by hitting a 3-run bomb to right field to give Missoula a 4-run advantage. Zack Stewart chipped in for good measure, launching a long home run to right field to bring Missoula's advantage to 5. Stewart has homered in each of his first 3 games as a pro finishing 2-for-5 Sunday. Cerminelli knocked in 3 as part of another 2-for-5 day . This allowed Missoula to cruise to a series sweep of the Mustangs with success in the top of the 9th.
After a day off on Monday, the PaddleHeads (33-26) will open another 3-game series at home playing host to the Great Falls Voyagers (21-39). Missoula will look to keep momentum rolling having won their last 4 games going into next week. First pitch of Game 1 on Tuesday night is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. from Allegiance Field. Catch the live broadcast if you can't be there in person on ESPN Missoula 102.9 F.M.
