7-run first carries Missoula past Range Riders on Wednesday

Missoula set the tone with a 7-run first inning, and the PaddleHeads went on to rout the Glacier Range Riders 12-5 in Pioneer League baseball Wednesday evening.

Two-run doubles from Cameron Thompson and McClain O’Connor — O’Connor’s second hit of the inning — got the PaddleHeads (12-5) out quickly. They led 9-1 before Glacier (13-23) put together a four-run rally in the third inning.

Sam Linscott’s RBI single cut the gap to 9-2; Brody Wofford doubled in a run before Dean Miller hit a two-run double, and the gap was 9-5.

That’s as close as the Range Riders got. Lamar Parks hit an RBI triple in the ninth and scored on a groundout for the game’s final runs.

The top three hitters in Missoula’s lineup — Brandon Riley, O’Connor and Sparks — all had three hits. In the third inning Nick Gatewood hit his third homer, a solo shot, for the PaddleHeads.

Glacier managed just five hits, and none against Missoula reliever Nathan Alexander, who walked one and fanned four in four innings.

The teams battled again Thursday night, before both return to Missoula for a three-game set. Thursday’s game had not ended at press time.

Wednesday

PaddleHeads 711 000 012 - 12 17 2

Range Riders 104 000 000 - 5 5 2

Domingo Pena, Nathan Alexander (6) and Henderson Perez. Rob Hamby, Isaiah Henry (5), Logan Walters (7) and Brenton Davis.

MISSOULA PADDLEHEADS — Brandon Riley 3-6, McClain O’Connor 3-5, Lamar Sparks 3-6, Jayson Newman 1-6, Nick Gatewood 2-6, Keaton Greenwalt 0-4, Cameron Thompson 3-5, Perez 1-3, Kamron Willman 1-3.

GLACIER RANGE RIDERS — Ben McConnell 0-2, Ryan Cash 1-3, Sam Linscott 1-4, Brody Wofford 1-4, Dean Miller 1-4, Livingston Morris 0-3, Eddie McCabe 0-4, Brenton Davis 0-3, Brandt Broussard 1-3.

2B — O’Connor, Sparks, Gatewood, Thompson, Wofford, Miller. 3B — Sparks. HR — Gatewood. RBIs — Sparks 3, Thompson 2, Newman 2, O’Connor 2, Gatewood, Perez, McConnell 2, Morris, Broussard. SB — Greenwalt 3. CS — Riley. Sac — Cash.