Roman leads Voyagers to 6th straight win

Mitch Roman can impact a baseball game in a variety of ways.

With his bat, with his arm, with his legs, the Great Falls Voyager shortstop did it all in Saturday night’s contest with the visiting Missoula Osprey at Centene Stadium.

The 6-foot, 161-pound product out of Wright State (Ohio) went 3 for 4 from the plate and scored two runs as the Voyagers won their sixth straight game, topping the Osprey 4-1.

"He's having a great year," Great Falls manager Tommy Thompson said. "He's been doing this from the day he got here. He's a nice player. He's got speed, plays second base, shortstop well. ... can steal bases, can bunt, can move runners, can square balls up. He's having a really, really nice year."

They are now 17-9 in the second half, 38-26 overall, winners of eight of their last nine outings. Missoula, which had five errors on the night, fell to 28-36 on the season, 12-14 in the second half.

Always seeking an alley to advance on the bags, Roman doesn't let the defense take a breath.

"I view myself as someone who can come in and help the team win in any possible way," Roman said. "Going out there and trying to be aggressive and put some pressure on the other team."

Roman's team, on the other hand, is clicking on all cylinders heading into the most important time of the season.

"We're playing great baseball," he said. "As a team we are doing everything we need to do to win and we are doing aggressive things, which Tommy likes. He likes being an aggressive team, hit and run, getting bunts down and just putting pressure on the other team. I like the way that we are playing right now."

Right now, the Voyagers are developing players and winning in the process, Thompson said.

"And that makes it really fun," the manager said. "The atmosphere's good. These guys believe in each other and are working hard. ... If we can bottle this up and hold on to this for three weeks, it'd be a beautiful thing to watch."

The Voyager defense, and Roman, came up big in the top of the seventh.

Looking to tie the game at two, Missoula’s Tanner Hill doubled to left field, which sent Kyle Smith, from first, flying around the bases toward home.

But Voyager left fielder Frank Califano hit Roman, the cutoff man, who then launched a bouncing bullet to catcher Casey Schroeder, who tagged out Smith as he slid into home, causing the crowd of 2,494 to erupt.

"That changed momentum," Thompson said. "You know, you work on things. Califano hit the first guy. Roman turned, was in a position to make a throw. He's got a plus arm. He didn't throw it like he normally does, but he kept it on line and Casey Schroeder did a great job catching the ball and making the tag. That was a beautiful play."

Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Roman, a 12th-round pick in this summer’s draft who upped his batting average to .328, reached base on a bunt and, after a throwing error and two wild pitches, used his impressive speed to score and take a 3-1 lead.

Great Falls pitcher Bernardo Flores allowed one run in seven innings.

He struck out three and gave up eight hits, dropping his ERA to 3.33. Flores got out of a jam in the top of the sixth when he forced Missoula’s Yan Sanchez into an inning-ending double play after the Osprey had placed runners on first and second with one out. Matt Foster secured the save, striking out three in two no-hit innings.

Missoula provided for the game’s first run in the top of the fourth when Osprey second baseman Paxton De La Garza lifted one to left-center field, caroming off the Pepsi billboard, for a solo homer, his fourth of the 2016 campaign.

In the bottom of the fifth, Schroeder found a seam in Missoula’s defense for a standup double to left-center field, then advanced to third after the Osprey tried to pick him off on the ensuing at-bat.

Second baseman Sam Dexter followed with a chopper down the third-base line. Missoula third baseman Kal Simmons looked to home before opting for a toss to first as Great Falls tied the game at 1-all.

After leading off the bottom of the sixth with a double, Roman advanced across home two batters later after an errant throw flew over the head of the Missoula first baseman and rolled near the visitor’s dugout.

Great Falls and Missoula finish their two-game series off on Sunday at Centene at 1 in the afternoon.