Maciel Guides Missoula to Comeback Victory

Gabriel Maciel, who was 0-for-22 to start his time in an Osprey uniform, broke out in a big way on Saturday night, going 4-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI to guide the Osprey (25-32) to a come-from-behind 7-6 victory over the Billings Mustangs (34-23).

Maciel's RBI-double in the top of the ninth inning handed Missoula its first lead of the night as the O's erased a 5-0 deficit with four runs in the seventh and three more in the ninth.

Kal Simmons also had a big day for Missoula, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a game-tying RBI-double in the ninth and two RBI.

Missoula's bullpen proved strong in keeping the O's in the game for the comeback, as Erbert Gonzalez, Pierce Romero and Bryant Holtman combined to toss 4.0 scoreless innings before handing the ball to Dean Jackson with a 7-5 lead. Jackson did allow one run in the ninth, but he stranded the tying run at second base to finish the game and seal his first save of his career.

Holtmann, who tossed the eighth inning, benefitted from the three-run Missoula ninth, recording his first win of the year and moving to 1-1.

Trailing 5-0 headed into the seventh, Missoula scored four runs on five hits to cut the deficit to one at 5-4. Simmons and Jacy Cave had an RBI-single in the inning before Maciel delivered a two-RBI single to cap the scoring run. The O's completed the comeback in the ninth as Bryan Araiza led off with a walk and came in to score on Simmons' RBI-double. Maciel followed with the go-ahead blow before plating on a single from Jasrado Chisholm.

Kai-Wei Lin got the start for the O's, allowing five runs on seven hits over 4.0+ innings of work. Scott Moss was outstanding in the start for Billings, throwing 6.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, but his bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Keenan Kish was charged with four runs over 0.2 innings before Patrick Riehl coughed up the lead, allowing three runs over 1.2 innings. Riehl was charged with the blown save and ultimately the loss, falling to 3-2 on the year.

Missoula will continue the four-game series at Billings on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1:05 p.m.