Following their 12-9 defeat at the hands of the Great Falls Stallions in 12 innings Tuesday evening, the Mavs got into another see-saw battle Wednesday afternoon and returned the favor, beating Stallions 8-7 at Lindborg-Cregg Field.
But the win was far from pretty.
After taking a 4-3 lead with a three-run fourth, the Mavs fell behind 6-4 when Great Falls (10-4, 23-23) scored three of its own in the top of the sixth. But the Mavericks scored three more in the seventh and another in the eighth to win for the fourth time in their last six games.
It made a winner of Mavericks starter Conor Dwyer, who upped his team-best mark to 9-2. Dwyer tossed eight innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits. He walked two and struck out three.
Dan Belet sparked the Missoula bats, going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. The Mavs center fielder, hitting in the leadoff spot, struck the big blow in the home half of the fourth - a two-out, two-run single. Mac Cuffe added a pair of singles and a double in his 3-for-4 outing.
Stallions left fielder Kyle DeBolt went 3-for-3, center fielder Phil Parrish had a triple and two RBIs and catcher Zach Griffith went 3-for-5. He chipped in a pair of RBIs.
Tanner Bleskin was tagged with loss for Great Falls (in relief of starter Caleb Kovatch. Behind by two entering the bottom of the seventh, the Mavs greeted Bleskin with back-to-back singles by Cuffe and Dwyer and followed with a Chris Bartenhagen sacrifice bunt and a Sean Dwyer sacrifice fly that cut it to 6-5.
Missoula first baseman Cody Burgmeier knotted the score with a single before Johnsen singled him home, putting the Mavs up 7-6.
Bartenhagen gave Missoula an insurance run in the eighth with a bases-loaded walk before the Stallions rallied in the ninth.
Brendan Brown began his relief appearance by getting two quick outs. But consecutive walks were followed by Griffith's run-scoring single, putting the tying run at second. Brown then buckled down and fanned Will Sutherland on a 1-2 pitch to close it out and earn the save.
In most cases, a conference victory is music to Hathaway's ears. But what has irked him of late has been the way his talented squad hasn't been living up to its potential.
“The expectation level has risen and when it isn't met, your frustration level rises as well,” he said. “Right now, they're not playing to the level they should be and it's hard to dig yourself out of that.”
The Mavs return to Lindborg-Cregg for a pair of conference games Saturday and Sunday against the Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs.
Missoula Mavericks 8,
Great Falls Stallions 7
Great Falls 000 303 001 - 7 12 4
Missoula 001 300 31x - 8 11 2
Caleb Kovatch, Tanner Bleskin (7) and Zach Griffith. Conor Dwyer, Trevor Bourquin (8), Brendan Brown (9) and Sean Dwyer. W - Dwyer (9-2). L - Bleskin. S - Brown.
GREAT FALLS - Phil Parrish 2-4, Dan Olinger 1-4, Bleskin 0-5, John Coleman 1-5, Rick Hedstrom 1-5, Kyle DeBolt 3-3, Taylor Ferradas 0-3, Griffith 3-5, Kovatch 0-2, Will Sutherland 1-2.
MISSOULA - Dan Belet 2-4, Mac Cuffe 3-4, C. Dwyer 2-4, Chris Bartenhagen 1-3, S. Dwyer 0-4, Cody Burgmeier 1-3, Bourquin 0-0, Mike Ponton 0-1, Drew Lytle 0-0, Travis Johnsen 1-4, Taylor King 1-4, Max Smith 0-1, Brown 0-2.
2B - Sutherland, Cuffe. 3B - Parrish. RBIs - Parrish 2, Olinger, Griffith 2, Kovatch, Belet 2, C. Dwyer, Bartenhagen, Burgmeier, Johnsen, S. Dwyer.
Late Tuesday
Great Falls Stallions 12,
Missoula Mavericks 9
Great Falls 000 250 001 004 - 12 19 1
Missoula 050 010 002 001 - 9 16 2
DeBolt, Parrish (7) and Griffith. Brian Fowler, Mike Spritzer (5), Lytle (5), C. Dwyer (10), Johnsen (11) and Bartenhagen. W - Parrish. L - Johnsen.
GREAT FALLS -Parrish 2-5, Olinger 1-6, Bleskin 3-6, Coleman 4-7, Hedstrom 2-7, DeBolt 2-6, Ferradas 2-7, Griffith 2-6, Sutherland 1-6.
MISSOULA - Belet 2-5, Cuffe 3-7, C. Dwyer 1-5, Bartenhagen 1-5, Taylor Nordby 1-7, Ponton 2-5, Bourquin 0-0, Lytle 0-1, Johnsen 4-6, King 0-3, Smith 1-2, S. Dwyer 0-1, Burgmeier 1-2.
2B - Ferradas 2, Sutherland, Ponton. 3B - Bleskin, Coleman, Griffith, Johnsen. HR - Parrish. RBIs - Parrish, Bleskin, Coleman 3, Hedstrom, DeBolt, Ferradas 3, Sutherland, Cuffe, Ponton, Johnsen 2, Smith.
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