PaddleHeads Impress in Third Straight Win Over South Division Leading Raptors

After two straight games that went to knockout rounds between Missoula and Ogden, the third was not so close. The Paddleheads began the scoring with a two-run home run from Keaton Greenwalt in the first and extended their lead in the fifth with RBI singles from Jakob Guenther and Dondrei Hubbard. After the seventh inning, the PaddleHeads were up 9-0. The Paddleheads poured it on with a three-run homer from Cameron Thompson in the eighth and the final score was 13-3. The PaddleHeads pitching did a great job of smothering the Raptors offense with starter Dawson Day pitching six innings and giving up four hits with three walks and no earned runs while striking out five. Thompson, Hubbard, and Jacob Kline led multi-RBI performances while three Raptors had an RBI each. The Paddleheads will look to continue showing who's the better division leader on Friday night. 

Boise 7, Great Falls 1: Boise Shuts Down Great Falls to Get Within Two Games of Division Lead 

With the Raptors in the middle of a tough series, the Hawks finally took advantage of their opportunity to get closer while playing the fourth-place Voyagers. A Sam Olsson RBI double for Boise and a Collin Runge sac fly for the Voyagers had the game tied at one going into the sixth. The Voyagers wouldn't score from there and the Hawks took the lead with another Olsson RBI hit. In the eighth, Alex Baeza hit a three-run homer and Raymond Gil hit a solo shot to secure their victory, winning 7-1. Boise starter Alex Smith was sensational, pitching a complete game giving up only five hits, one walk, and no earned runs while striking out six. Voyagers starter Casey Minchey was very solid, giving up six hits and two earned runs while striking out two in six innings. Four Hawks had multi-hit games while the Voyagers were limited to five hits all game.  

Idaho Falls 10, Grand Junction 9: Chukars Stave Off a Big Grand Junction Comeback to Snap Losing Streak 

Idaho Falls did not waste much time getting to work during Thursday night's matchup. A Tyler Wyatt two-run double got things started for the Chukars in the second, followed up by an Eduardo Acosta RBI single and a Michael Kohn RBI double to take a 4-0 lead. Idaho Falls didn't stop there, scoring another four runs in the third off of two-run singles from Robb Paller and Kohn. Then came the Jackalopes, who scored six in the fifth powered by an RBI single from Colin Gordon and a three-run shot from Jaylen Hubbard. Although an error was made by the Jackalopes, Acosta touched all four bases after a triple was extended by that error to give the Chukars a 9-6 lead. Going into the ninth, the score was 10-7, and a Hubbard RBI triple and a Ron Washington Jr. RBI single weren't enough to complete the comeback for the Jackalopes. Kohn led the way for the Chukars with three RBIs while Hubbard had himself a day with four RBIs.  

Glacier 9, Billings 1: Mustangs' Offense Subdued by White's Excellent Start For Range Riders 

In the last game of the first leg of Billings' and Glacier's home and home, Glacier came out scoring early with a Crews Taylor solo homer highlighting a two-run first. The Range Riders scored a run in each of the first six innings in this contest, while the Mustangs scored their single run in the eighth. Gabe Howell had two two-run home runs for Glacier, one in the fourth and one in the fifth, while Dean Miller had a solo homer in the fifth. The star for Glacier was Jack White. In his fourth appearance of the season, he pitched seven shutout innings, only giving up four hits and a walk while striking out 11. The Glacier relief pitching did their job as the entire staff only gave up one run. Howell was the top performer on offense, going 3-3 with four RBI.  

Rocky Mountain 15, Northern Colorado 6: Rocky Mountain Drops 15 to Take Series Lead Over Northern Colorado 

With the Southern Division race getting tighter and tighter, this series is significant for the third-place Owlz and the fourth-place Vibes. Northern Colorado got the scoring started in the first off a Dave Matthews RBI single and Danny Perez's two-run double. That lead did not last long as the Vibes scored seven in the third. Dusty Stroup and Stephen Wilmer each had RBI singles while Ethan Lopez and David Martinez each had two-run doubles. The Owlz pulled to within one in a three-run fifth led by RBI singles from Euro Diaz and Estevan De La O, but it was all Vibes from there. A five-run fifth and three-run eighth gave the Vibes more than enough to win as the final score was 15-6. Martinez led the Vibes with four RBIs while Jake McMurray had three, two of which came off a double in the sixth. Danny Perez led the Owlz with two RBI. The Vibes are now just two games behind the Owlz as this series continues on Friday.