Dawson Day set the tone with four strong innings and the Missoula PaddleHeads’ pitching staff stole the show in a 6-1 road win over the Glacier Range Riders Saturday night.
Zootown’s pro baseball team boosted its Pioneer League-best record to 54-17 with its seventh win in eight games. Glacier saw its its league-worst second half record fall to 6-17 and its overall mark drop to 35-36.
Day (4-1) earned the win, allowing just one run on one hit with six strikeouts before handing the ball off to newcomer Albert Cuello-Batista in the fifth. He threw 2/3 of an inning before Jestin Jones took the mound and held the hosts scoreless with four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
Noah McBride and Andrew Garcia finished up on the hill for the PaddleHeads, each tossing a scoreless inning. Glacier was held to four hits, all of which were singles.
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The PaddleHeads scored all six of their runs in the fourth. Patrick Chung hammered a three-run home run, Adam Fogel added a solo shot and Kamron Willman ripped a two-RBI double.
Fogel boosted his league-high home run total to 30. He needs just two more to tie the PBL’s single-season record, set two years ago by his good friend and former PaddleHeads slugger Jayson Newman.
Missoula finished with 12 hits. Chung totaled three and teammates Mike Rosario and Taylor Smith each had two singles.
The PaddleHeads will play the Range Riders in Kalispell again on Sunday afternoon.
Bill Speltz is Missoulian Sports Editor. Email Bill at bill.speltz@missoulian.com.
