The Helena Brewers entered Thursday night’s ballgame looking for their first victory of the season, and looked like they were going to walk away with it when they entered the ninth-inning with a 1-0 lead. However, Brandon Texiera was unable to hold the advantage, and the Great Falls Voyagers would get a walk-off single by Tate Blackman in the bottom of the 10th to give the Voyagers the 2-1 victory. That dropped the Brewers to 0-4.

Michael Peterson started for Helena and he pitched brilliantly for the Brewers on this evening. Peterson began the game by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the first, striking out two. He would then give up two singles and two walks over the next two innings, but would retire the side in order over the next three frames. It was a brilliant 83-pitch performance. The big right-hander went 6-innings, allowing just 2-hits and no runs while striking out 6.

Adam Panayotovich was pitching nearly as well for Great Falls. He gave up a walk in the top of the first inning, and then the Brewers would get on the board in the top of the second. The Great Falls starter retired the first two batters of the inning, but hit Charlie Meyer to keep the frame alive. A base hit by Julio Mendez advanced Meyer to second, and he scored on a hard single to left field by Antonio Pinero. That gave the Brewers the 1-0 lead.

Peterson came out after the sixth, and Brandon Texiera came on looking to preserve the lead. He would load the bases in the bottom of the seventh before inducing a double play to end the threat, then retired the Voyagers in order in the eighth. However, in the ninth he could not hold the lead. Anthony Villa started the inning with a base hit, and was replaced by Blackman as the pinch runner. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second, and then a wild pitch moved him to third. With one down and the tying run just 90 feet from home, Craig Dedelow hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game.

In the bottom of the 10th, Rodrigo Benoit came on looking to give his team a chance at making it to the 11th. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Tyler Frost singled and Mikey Duarte lined a single of his own to put runners at the corners with two down. Following a wild pitch that moved Duarte to second, Luis Gonzalez was intentionally walked to load the bases. Benoit was finding that third out of the inning to be quite elusive, and when Blackman followed with the base hit into right field, that scored Frost and earned Benoit his second loss in this early part of the season.

Tate Blackman had only been in the game for two innings, but had a huge impact for the Great Falls Voyagers, going 1-1, with a run and an RBI. Antonio Pinero had two of the five hits that the Brewers would record on this evening.

The Helena Brewers will return home tomorrow where they will take on the Billings Mustangs on Friday. Aaron Quillen is slated to start for Billings. He will be opposed by Karsen Lindell. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier