Walk-off Homer Carries Osprey to Victory

MISSOULA, MONT. - After the Great Falls Voyagers (7-11) rallied to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning, left fielder Ernie De La Trinidad lofted a walk-off two-run homer over the right field fence-his first as a professional-to lift the Missoula Osprey (9-9) to a 7-5 win over Great Falls on Thursday night.

Through the first four innings, pitching dominated the evening, as starters Kai-Wei Lin and Brandon Agar traded scoreless frames devoid of danger. In the top of the fifth, Great Falls broke through for the first run of the evening on a solo homer by shortstop Max Dutto. Just a few minutes later, Missoula right fielder Juan Araujo launched his first home run of the season to right-center field, tying the game. Three batters later, Brandon Leyton lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to score the go-ahead run and pull the Osprey to a 2-1 lead.
Just half an inning later, Great Falls tied the game on a solo home run by outfielder Craig Dedelow. Entering the bottom of the sixth locked at 2-2, Joey Rose doubled to left field to open the "peanut inning." Rose advanced to third on a groundout and then came home to score the go-ahead run on a passed ball by Carlos Perez.
Right-hander Kai-Wei Lin exited after the sixth, leaving in line for a victory for the first time in 2017. While he was limited to a no-decision after his departure, Lin pitched a season-high six innings, allowing two runs (both earned) on three hits and one walk, while tying his season-high with six strikeouts.
With a two-run blast in the bottom of the seventh-his second in as many games-Eduardo Diaz widened the Osprey lead to 5-2. The score held up until the top of the ninth when Great Falls plated a trio against Nestor Ramirez to tie the contest at 5-5. In the bottom of the ninth, Ernie De La Trinidad stepped to the plate with one out and a man on first base and smashed a home run to right field off J.B. Olson to end the ballgame and lift Missoula to a second straight win. With the victory, the Osprey pulled to the .500 mark for the first time since June 24th.
The Osprey return to action on Friday night when they welcome the Great Falls Voyagers to Ogren Park at Allegiance Field for the second of two games. First pitch on Friday is slated for 7:05 p.m. with the Mission Paint Pregame Show commencing at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN 102.9 and the MiLB First Pitch App.