Perlinski Leads Helena Senators to Sweep of Missoula Impact
HELENA – Carter Perlinski had five hits and seven RBIs to lead the Helena Senators to a convincing sweep of a doubleheader over the short-handed Missoula Impact Baseball Club, 15-0 and 12-2, on Saturday at Kendrick Field in Helena.
The Legion AA experience of Helena was simply too much for an Impact club missing five key players due to the Sentinel High School prom and injuries. Missoula had its opportunities but left 14 runners on base over the course of the day and, with several kids playing out of their normal position, committed four errors in each game. The Senators showed off their formidable punch by pounding 21 hits, including two ringing doubles and a triple by Perlinski.
Impact junior Brennan Labbe drilled three hits, including a two-RBI double, and lined out in an impressive 3-for-4 day. However, Impact only managed one additional hit, a leadoff single by sophomore Landin Ramsey to open the first game. However, the story of the day was that Helena played solid defense and hit well with runners in scoring position while Missoula struggled in those facets of the game.
“We had some good opportunities to score today but the Senators were able to execute defensively in critical moments and ultimately that was the difference,” said Michael Hutcherson, Impact Baseball Club Manager. “We were short-handed and had guys playing out of position but it's tough to beat tough teams when you strand as many runners as we did and have so many defensive miscues. We will get back to work and bounce back next weekend in Libby.”
In the first game, Ramsey ripped a sharp single down the left field line to open the game but Helena starter Will Lyng got out of the inning unscathed. In the bottom of the first, Missoula starter Labbe walked the leadoff hitter but induced a potential double play ground ball to shortstop by Helena’s returning All-Conference centerfielder, Manu Melo, that was booted for an error. Perlinski capitalized on the mistake by crushing an opposite field two-run double to the wall in left-center to give the Senators the early lead. Tycen Mooney and Aaron Fuzesy drilled sharp singles around an infield single tapper by Lance Bratlien, then successive hit batsmen and a bases-loaded walk staked the Senators a 6-0 lead. Labbe was sharp through the rest of his three innings of work, striking out seven and giving up only a total of three earned runs. Helena piled on nine runs in the fourth to make the final score appear more lopsided. Lyng allowed only two hits over four innings of work in keeping Missoula in check.
In the nightcap, Missoula starter Nate Dill used a nice blend of breaking stuff to keep the Senators off balance at the plate but Missoula hurt its cause again with mistakes in the field that led to four unearned runs in the first two innings. Mooney’s two-RBI single and another RBI knock by Perlinski in the third widened the gap to 8-0. Missoula rallied in the fourth inning with walks to Davin Nau, Dillon Gunlock, and Andrew Hall, then Labbe stroked a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 8-2, but relief pitcher Perlinski got out of the jam. The defensive bright light of the day for Missoula was a beautiful throw by centerfielder Nau to nail a Senators runner at third base on a single in the gap. Senators starting pitcher Fuzesy used a good fastball to limit Missoula to one hit in his three innings of work.
Missoula (3-2) gets back to work this week in prep for the Libby Loggertown Wood Bat Tournament in Libby. Missoula opens up with the tourney showcase versus the Libby Loggers at 7:00 on Friday night, a rematch of a thrilling 2-1 Impact victory in last year’s tourney opener. In that crisp affair featuring two current college pitchers, Impact’s Luke Kunz outdueled Libby’s Caden Williams. Impact should be back to near full strength with most of its roster available. Make the trip up to northwest Montana to enjoy a great weekend of baseball at the Lumberyard, one of the finest American Legion ballparks in Montana.