Deeb Plays Hero as Voyagers Go To Knockout Round for Third Straight Night

MISSOULA, MT— As recently as Saturday, the Great Falls Voyagers (8-6) were just one of two Pioneer League teams to have not gone to the home run derby tiebreaker yet this year. Less than a week later, the Voyagers found themselves in the Knockout Round in their third consecutive game, a task even more daunting with the league's leader in home runs standing on the opposing side. With late-inning drama resulting in the ejection of Riley Jepson—Tommy Thompson's first choice in both Sunday's victory and Tuesday's defeat—it was veteran outfielder Michael Deeb that came up clutch for the visitors, breaking the 8-8 deadlock and evening the series with the PaddleHeads (8-6) at one game apiece.

It was deja vu for Great Falls in the early going, as they fell behind early for the second straight game, this time trailing Missoula 7-2 after four innings. However, big swings from Chris Monroe and Collin Runge helped the Voyagers storm back in the fifth and sixth innings, leaving the game knotted up at seven through the middle of the eighth. Batting out of the leadoff spot for the first time all season, Runge finished the night 2-for-4 with three runs driven in and three runs scored to fuel another solid offensive showing for Great Falls. 

Walks were a significant factor in this ballgame, and whether or not the batting team could take advantage when gifted free passes from their opponent was a big part of the back-and-forth contest. Riley Jepson did just that in the opening frame, following up walks by Runge and Jake Malec with a two-run double that was smoked into the left-center gap to give his team the early lead. Missoula picked up their first run of the game on an error in the second before a leadoff walk in the third led to a game-tying triple off the bat of Lamar Sparks, the PaddleHeads hottest hitter. The home team broke the game open in the fourth, taking a 7-2 lead courtesy of two-run homers from Patrick Chung and Sparks. 

The Voyagers got their first chance at sparking a comeback in the top of the fifth, as a Myles McKisic single and Collin Runge double put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Starter Austin Crowson looked like he may get out of the jam unscathed, popping up Jake Malec and striking out the red-hot Jepson, but Chris Monroe sent a ball the other way that plated both runners and cut the deficit to three. Nathan Alexander came on for the PaddleHeads in the sixth looking to stifle any momentum picked up by the Voyager offense, but after Will Olson and McKisic each drew walks from the fresh arm, Runge left the building for the eighth time this year to make it a new ballgame at 7-7. 

As if the tension of a tie game between two talented rival ball clubs wasn't enough, a bases-loaded strikeout and subsequent celebration from Voyagers reliever Brad Demco cleared the benches for the second time in as many games, boiling over from the extracurriculars following the final swing of last night's derby. Missoula broke the tie in the eighth when center fielder Keaton Greenwalt launched just his fourth home run of the year and put the PaddleHeads up 8-7 with just three outs to go. This lead was ultimately short-lived though, as Riley Jepson continued his streak of clutch hitting with a mammoth shot over the right center wall, tying the game back at eight. Benches cleared again after Jepson stomped on home plate, and the star first baseman was sent back to the clubhouse early, making him ineligible for what would have been his third consecutive Knockout nomination.

With Jepson out of the picture, the Voyagers sent out another left-handed bat in the form of Michael Deeb, the third different player to compete in any round of the knockout tiebreaker for Great Falls this year. Deeb put up just one in his first round, but it ended up being just enough as PaddleHeads slugger Jayson Newman came up empty for the second night in a row, giving the Voyagers one of their more gratifying wins of the young second half. 

The Voyagers' bullpen came up big down the stretch in relief of starter Breonn Pooler, tallying ten strikeouts across the final five frames, with the Greenwalt solo shot the only blemish for a group that has a very solid start to the back half of the season. Ethan Swanson was the first man on for the visitors, coming on for a scoreless two innings that saw two batters rung up on strikes in the fifth and three go down swinging in the sixth. Brad Demco fanned three of his own and Montana Quigley pitched another scoreless ninth with two looking strikeouts to finish off regulation. 

The Voyagers finish up their three-game set in Missoula Thursday night before returning to Centene Stadium to face the same PaddleHeads team over the weekend. These are the final four regular season games between the two clubs, but a second-half title for the Voyagers would result in a playoff rematch in mid-September with a spot in the Championship Series on the line. First pitch from Ogren Park is set for 7:05 MDT.