Bozeman second baseman Cole Smith tosses the ball to the shortstop to start a double play, forcing out Billings runner Nolan Berkram, in the second inning on Wednesday at Heroes Park.
Bozeman second baseman Cole Smith tosses the ball to the shortstop to start a double play, forcing out Billings runner Nolan Berkram, in the second inning on Wednesday at Heroes Park.
The ball had eyes for the grass in shallow right field.
The hit was only Bozeman’s second of the game, but it looked for a fleeting moment like it might lead to the team’s first run.
Luke Rizzo had been on second base and was now charging home. The throw from Billings Scarlets outfielder Hunter Doyle found the glove of catcher Rocco Gioioso, who brought it down in hopes his tag was well-placed and on time. Rizzo was called out, ending the inning and dashing the Bucks’ hopes to score.
That sequence closed the bottom of the fourth inning Wednesday at Heroes Park. There was still so much of the game to be played, but with the way Drew McDowell of Billings was pitching, even three innings didn’t seem enough.
Billings scored three early runs, and Bozeman was desperate to score the rest of the way — hence the play at the plate. It nearly worked out in the Bucks’ favor.
“I thought his hand was in there,” Bucks manager Sean Potkay said of Rizzo. “But it’s not my call.”
It was Bozeman’s first and best chance to get on the board against the Scarlets, but it didn’t go as planned. Not much did in what was ultimately an 8-1 loss, which preceded a 5-3 loss in the nightcap.
In just the first game, Bozeman was out-hit 15-3.
McDowell struck out five Bucks but was in actuality much more dominant than that.
“He’s really, really tough on the mound,” Potkay said.
“If he’s not giving away any free passes, it’s going to be really hard to string together enough hits off him. He’s probably one of the better arms in the state, and we knew that going in. We tried to find ways to move base runners and scratch a run here or there, but it’s tough to score when he’s on the ball.”
In the first three innings, McDowell only allowed one runner with a walk to Josh Woodberry, who was later caught stealing.
By the time McDowell left with two outs in the sixth inning, he had walked six batters. Three of those came in the sixth, and the last one forced in Bozeman’s only run before he exited the game. But he and his defense made it difficult for Bozeman to do much with those runners.
The Bucks’ had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, but Jadin Frandsen struck out to end the threat and kept the score a distant 7-1.
“We’ve got to find a way to score multiple runs in an inning right there,” Potkay said. “If we can get it down to a three- or four-run ball game, a base knock there scores two and you kind of close the gap and keep it manageable. It gives you a chance at the end of the game if you get enough runners on.”
Memories of the fourth inning were also tough to sit with. Rizzo broke up McDowell’s no-hitter with a single and later advanced with one out to second on an errant pick-off attempt. Bryce Hampton walked and Woodberry struck out. Quinn Pershing’s single snuck through the infield, and Rizzo raced home only to be cut down to end the scoring chance.
In the sixth, it was Rizzo who scored after Cole Smith drew the bases-loaded walk to force in a run. Rizzo had previously walked and been helped along by a Woodberry single and a Pershing walk.
Aside from two walks in the seventh inning, the Bucks were otherwise kept off the base paths.
Bozeman pitcher Cash Jones was helped by his defense early with a 4-6-3 double play to end the second inning. In the third, Jones allowed a walk and two singles to bring in the game’s first run. He later balked by going to his mouth while on the rubber, which allowed a second run to score. An RBI single by Doyle made it 3-0.
In the fifth, an RBI single from Jaden Sanchez chased Jones from the game. Justin Garcia relieved him, but he allowed a two-run double to Nolan Berkram, runs that were charged to Jones. That made it 6-0.
Kyler Northrop added an RBI single for the Scarlets in the sixth inning, and Nate McDonald singled in the seventh to bring home the final run.
Let the news come to you
Get any of our free daily email newsletters — news headlines, opinion, e-edition, obituaries and more.
