Great Falls White Sox Win Opener

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Sox sock it to Osprey

Logan goes six strong innings for win in season-opener

By MIKE TOWNE

Tribune Sports Writer

 

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TRIBUNE PHOTO BY WAYNE ARNST

Great Falls White Sox Tom Collaro, center, is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run against the Missoula Osprey in season-opening action at Legion Park Friday.

 

 

 

 

Chris Kelly had just come up one hit short of the cycle, collecting a single, double and home run in five at-bats.

 

In his mind, however, several other players made the difference in the Great Falls White Sox's 7-2 season-opening victory over the Missoula Osprey before 3,286 fans at Legion Park Friday night.

 

"Boone (Logan) threw great. He had a low pitch count," said Kelly, the White Sox first baseman. "And that was a big home run by (Tom) Collaro. He got the offense going. One big hit will get a lot of teams going."

 

Logan, a left-hander who is one of 11 players who saw action in Great Falls last summer, pitched six solid innings as he beat Missoula for the third time. He threw 68 pitches, allowing one run on six hits while striking out two and walking none.

 

Collaro's homer, on the first pitch by righthander Tim Vaillancourt in the second inning, gave Great Falls a 1-0 advantage.

 

Kelly belted a two-run shot in the fifth extending the White Sox's lead to 4-0.

 

Missoula scored single runs in the sixth and eighth innings to pull within two, but Great Falls pushed across three runs in its half of the eighth. Great Falls had a pair of hits, a double by Scott Martin and a single by Derek McNeil, plus a sacrifice fly by Donny Lucy, and took advantage of Missoula's only two errors.

 

Right-hander Jeff Little, the second of two Sox relievers, retired the Osprey in order in the ninth.

 

"We're pretty solid defensively all the way around," Kelly added. "And we're pretty solid offensively.

 

"We have talent. I like the guys from last year and the new draftees. I'm excited to see the new pitchers and position guys."

 

Great Falls commited just one error, a throwing miscue by shortstop McNeil in the second inning. He played well from then on, however, while both center fielder Jhonny Rivera and second baseman Boomer Berry had solid defensive games.

 

What about the offensive performance of Kelly, who hit .245 with four home runs and 40 RBIs in Great Falls last season? "I just play. I do what I can," he said. "I feel great. I usually start 1-for-10 or 0-for-15. I hope this will keep going, but Tommy's (Collaro) the man."

 

Good things were expected of Logan, who was 3-3 with a 6.58 earned run average in Great Falls last summer, and he delivered. "I stayed in the zone, and I stayed concentrated. I was solid all the way through," he said. "I let the defense work behind me.

 

"I threw a lot of strikes and got ahead of the hitters. I located my fastball, and my changeup helped in a big way."

 

Logan wasn't surprised by the offensive support. "I played with most of the guys in extended (spring training), and there was no doubt we would get some runs. Just give these guys a chance, and they'll hit."

 

Seven White Sox combined for 11 hits off three Missoula pitchers, Kelly leading the way with three and Berry and Lucy chipping in two each. Neither Matt Deuchler nor Melvin Perez had a hit, but both drew a pair of walks and Deuchler scored a run.

 

The season-opening effort had Great Falls manager John Orton feeling pretty good afterward. "It was a great game all the way around, pretty close to the way you want to start," he said. "Hopefully, we can continue that type of play.

 

"Logan threw six great innings, and Kelly hit the ball hard. Everyone had good at-bats," Orton added.

 

He was pleased to see the Sox execute a couple of successful hit-and-runs, as well as take advantage of some Opsrey mistakes in the eighth inning.

 

Matt Nachreiner, in relief of Logan, walked two batters in both the seventh and eighth innings. He worked out of both jams, however, getting Jayson Santiago to ground out to McNeil for the final out of the seventh and then striking out Ricardo Sosa for the final out of the eighth.

 

Little got two ground-ball outs before striking out Francisco Rodriguez to end the game.

 

"The relievers did a good job. You need that to be a winning team," Orton said. "You're going to have to rely on your bullpen a lot."

 

"It's a good start," Kelly concluded. "We're going to have a good time here this summer."

 

Santiago had three straight singles before grounding out in his final at-bat. He scored following his third single, on a double by Miguel Matos.

 

Missoula's only other run came in the eighth inning. Wilkin Castillo walked with one out, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored when Travis Gulick grounded out to McNeil.

 

Gulick finished with two hits for Missoula. Gulick had the only other hit for the Osprey.

 

NOTES: The second game of the scheduled three-game set starts tonight at 7. Missoula righthander Derik Nippert is scheduled to face Great Falls righthander Sony Suarez. ... It will be KRTV Fireworks/Pizza Hut Poster night at Legion Park. A fireworks show will follow the game.

 

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Originally published Saturday, June 19, 2004