Bitterroot Red Sox Edge Gritty Missoula Impact in Slugfest
May 27, 2022 - By Dave Smith
HAMILTON – Paul Brenneman had two hits and five RBIs to lead the Bitterroot Red Sox A American Legion team to an entertaining 10-8 victory over the Missoula Impact Baseball Club in nine innings on Wednesday night in Hamilton. Brenneman’s clutch hitting and two hits by talented sophomore Conner Ekin allowed the Red Sox avoid a sweep by the Impact of their three-game season series, following the Impact’s impressive sweep of a doubleheader in Missoula two weeks ago.
Missoula (11-6) continued to rake at the plate, pounding out 13 hits on the evening. Cole Smith led the way again for the fourth straight game with a 3-for-4 night, including two smashes up the middle. Easton Mitchell and Brennan Labbe chipped in two hits each and Matty Herzog delivered a ringing 2-RBI double off the left field wall.
Amidst a grueling stretch of nine games in nine days, with depth on the already thin 14-player roster limited due to injuries, Missoula gallantly hung with the Red Sox right until the final out. Impact Manager Michael Hutcherson innovatively managed his bullpen to keep arms fresh for Impact’s upcoming doubleheaders this weekend with the Kootenai Valley Rangers and Mission Valley Mariners. Most impressively, catcher Dillon Gunlock hurled 1 2/3 innings of hitless relief in his first-ever pitching performance and left-hander Brennan Labbe was summoned to fill in as a catcher. The strong-armed Gunlock had never pitched an inning in his career, including in Little League and Labbe only had a left-handed glove because his father found it a garage sale five years ago. It wasn’t conventional baseball by any stretch, but the gritty performance by the two very close teammates kept Missoula in the game.
“We really had to mix and match our pitching, but the kids played hard, showed some grit, and stayed in this game right up until the end,” said Hutcherson. “We’re hitting the ball well but just came a little short tonight. The Red Sox are a good-hitting team and they showed it.”
Impact started the game off hot with another impressive two-out rally in the top of the first. Labbe beat out an infield single and with two outs, Henry Gibbs was hit by a pitch, Carson Bay walked, and the hot-hitting Smith drew an RBI walk to get Impact on the scoreboard. Herzog then crushed a line drive off the base of the wall in leftfield for a two-RBI double, putting Impact up 3-0.
Starting pitcher Cooper Elliott breezed early with good velocity on his fastball and a devastating curve, striking out three of the first five hitters in the senior-laden Red Sox lineup. With Elliott dealing, it looked like Missoula was well on its way to another convincing victory over the veteran Bitterroot squad. However, Tim Hickey squared up a high fastball and drilled a solo home run over the centerfield fence in the second inning. Elliott gave up a leadoff single to Brenneman in the third but then retired the side in order.
Bitterroot finally broke through in the fourth due to some good fortune on two dribblers that went for infield singles and a hit batsman, loading the bases with two outs. Brenneman, the experienced senior catcher, worked the count full as the tension built. Elliott threw a gutsy 3-2 curveball but left it up in the zone and Brenneman hammered a line drive, bases clearing double to the gap in left-center to give Bitterroot a 4-3 lead.
Missoula came roaring back in the top of the fifth. Bay walked to lead off the inning and Smith drilled a line drive single to right-center. Herzog plated Bay with a sacrifice fly and Mitchell delivered a clutch two-out single up the middle to score Smith and put Impact back on top, 5-4.
With Elliott done after four innings of work, Herzog was rudely greeted by the Sox hitters. Mason Anderson ripped a single and Ekin crushed a double to deep left-center, knotting the score at 5-5. After an error and hit batsman, Aaron Springer laced an RBI single and Brenneman delivered a sacrifice fly. Bay relieved Herzog and got out of the inning but the damage was done with the Red Sox up 9-5.
True to their season-long form, Missoula’s potent lineup responded. Following a walk and a line drive single by Henry Gibbs, Bay hammered a ringing double to the gap in left-center. Smith loaded the bases with an infield single. With two outs, Luke Kunz drilled a clutch RBI single up the middle that was knocked down by the second baseman and plated a second run on a throwing error. However, Kunz drifted off the bag at first and was tagged out, leaving the score at 9-8.
Bay gave up an unearned run in the sixth but Gunlock’s gritty performance on the hill kept the score at 10-8. Smith raked another single up the middle in the eighth but was stranded. Mitchell led off the top of the ninth with a single. However, closer Ekin did a good job on the top of the Impact order, setting down Labbe, Elliott, and Gibbs in order, closing out the victory.
Missoula hosts the Kootenai Valley Rangers for a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1:00, at Impact’s home field at Playfair Park in Missoula. Come on out a watch some more great baseball!
