Simmons jump-starts Osprey rout in opener

After cracking a two-run homer in the second inning, it took one moment rounding the bases for Missoula's Kal Simmons to know how Sunday night would go.

"I come in and I round third, and I see [manager Joe] Mather just grinning from ear to ear, just smiling," the Arizona infield prospect said. "I was like, 'Well, today's going to be a good day.'"

Simmons' shot capped a three-run second inning that sparked a huge day at the plate as Rookie-level Missoula piled up 15 hits while routing Idaho Falls, 17-9, in Game 1 of the best-of-3 Pioneer League Championship Series.

"I hit it and I kind of knew it was going," he said. "It was a pretty good shot. I came in the dugout, got hyped up, everybody's hyped up for me.

"I think a few guys might have been a little more hyped up for me than I was," he added with a laugh.

Simmons didn't just get the Osprey started with his second-inning blast. The homer kicked off the best game of his young career for the D-backs' eighth-round pick in June out of Kennesaw State. Simmons went 4-for-5, adding a pair of two-run singles in the fourth and fifth for a career-high six RBIs.

"I'm seeing the ball well," he said. "More than anything I was just trying to win the game, not anything toward myself. I just wanted to help the team any way I could and get this first win. It just happened. First AB, I had the home run, it just flew over there. Next at-bat, I come up with more runners in scoring position and get a hit. Then I come up again, my third AB with runners in scoring position, and knocked them in."

Twice during the regular season, Simmons posted three-hit days and two other times he recorded two RBIs. It couldn't compare to the Finals opener.

"I don't think I got four hits the entire season in a game," he said. "Actually, I know I didn't. I think I had three or something, but it felt good. Just everything that should've happened for me personally was happening. It was just one of those days. I'm just speechless. I'm as happy as could be."

The Osprey scored in five of their nine innings at the plate and registered a five-run fourth and a six-run seventh. Jason Morozowski, Austin Byler and Isan Diaz mashed home runs while moving their team within a game of the Pioneer League crown.

"[The win] makes us that much more aggressive," Simmons said. "Last series, we lost Game 1 and came back. We were a little upset that we lost that first game, but came back, battled back and won the next two. This feeling we've got now, winning the first one is definitely like a load off our backs right now. We can relax tonight, show up to the field tomorrow ready to play, ready to win. Hopefully, we'll do this thing in two."

The Osprey get a chance to clinch their fourth Pioneer League title at home Tuesday night when they host the Chukars at Ogren Park Allegiance Field.