Mavs' rally sinks Chargers
The Missoula Mavericks are 42-5 this season and feature a lineup laden with sluggers like Ben Roberts, Kendal Maier and Sean Dwyer.
But it's not just the 3-4-5 hitters who can mash for the Mavs.
Matt McMann, who bats last in the order, had two hits in the ninth inning as the Mavericks scored eight times to blow open a close game and defeat the Great Falls Chargers 16-8 Thursday night in a Class AA Legion baseball game at Centene Stadium.
Brody Miller, the 2-hole hitter for the Mavs, added a key hit in the ninth as Missoula beat the Chargers for the fifth time in six tries this season and improved to 7-1 in Western AA play.
Great Falls, which received homers from Hunter Carlyon and Casey Johnson, fell to 4-5 in league play and 30-17 overall. The Chargers trailed by 4-1 and 8-2 before rallying to tie it with three runs each in the sixth and seventh innings.
"They're a good baseball team," veteran Missoula manager Brent Hathaway said of the Chargers. "There is no doubt about it. If they hold it together and keep playing, and don't let a few close losses get them down, they're going to be tough."
In the ninth, Chargers' reliever Johnson got two quick strikes on McMann. The submarine-throwing righthander then threw a fastball and McMann, a righty, poked it just fair the other way past the first-base bag for a single.
"We say to shorten up and try to put it in play with two strikes, and I guess that's the definition of it right there," said McMann. "It was right down the line, perfect, and got the inning going."
Two batters later Miller stepped up with two on and nobody out, a situation that in the baseball "book" often requires a bunt.
"I'm a traditional guy, but these guys have been swinging it all year long and I just don't see any reason to change gears on them," said Hathaway. "If there's a better hitter in the Northwest, I'd like to see him."
Miller slapped a single to left to load the bases, and then the heavy hitters came to the plate for the Mavericks. Maier drilled a two-run double, and Steven DeYoung added a two-run single. Robbie King plated two more with a double later on and, finally, McMann connected for a two-run single.
