MISSOULA – The home opener got out to a rough start for the home team at Ogren Park Allegiance Field. But the Missoula Osprey finished strong to take down the Great Falls Voyagers, 7-4.
The two teams remained tied 4-4 from the 4th inning all the way into the bottom of the 8th. Then Spencer Brickhouse drove in a run with a single, Liover Peguero hit a run-scoring double, and Tristen Carranza ended the rally with a sac fly to give Missoula the 7-4 lead and eventual victory.
Great Falls jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 1st, when Anderson Comas lined a base hit with the bases loaded. The ball skipped under the right fielder David Sanchez’s glove for a triple, bringing in three runs to give the Voyagers a 3-0 lead.
Missoula climbed back with a run in the bottom of the 1st. And then Kevin Watson matched the big hit by Comas with an opposite field, three-run home run to left to give the Osprey a 4-3 lead.
The Voyagers would tie the game with an RBI single by Kelvin Maldonado in the top of the 4th. Then no one scored until the Osprey rally in the 8th.
In a ceremony before the game, the Osprey honored Mike and Judy Ellis, the owners who brought the franchise to Missoula 20 years ago, and sold it to Peter and Susan Davis.
Both teams are now 3-4 early in the Pioneer League season. Game two of the three-game series starts at 6:35 Saturday night in Ogren Park Allegiance Field, and will be followed by a fireworks show.
