For the second night to start the homestand, the Missoula Paddleheads took care of business at Lindquist Field, beating the Ogden Raptors 7-2 in a brisk 2 hours, 55 minutes on Thursday night.

Kevin Ludden made his Raptors debut on the mound and the Raptors fell behind 3-1 through three innings. Ludden took the mound in the fourth and loaded the bases with two singles and a walk.

Josh Broughton came in to relieve him with no outs, threw a wild pitch, and two runs scored on a single to make it 6-1; after those runs were charged to Ludden’s ledger, Broughton got a strikeout and a double play to end the frame.

That was plenty for what Missoula needed. Ogden outhit Missoula 11-9 but managed just the pair of runs. Both came against starter Mason Schwellenbach, who threw five innings.

Troy Dixon hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning and Reese Alexiades an RBI single in the fourth for Ogden’s runs.

Ezequiel De La Cruz (2 1/3 innings) and Mark Simon (1 2/3) finished on the mound for the visitors, allowing no runs in the final four innings. The three pitchers combined to strike out seven Raptors hitters while walking none.

Jackson Sigman and Anthony Donatella split the final four innings and held Missoula scoreless as the end of the game clipped along at a pace unusual for the Pioneer League this year.

Jakob Goldfarb hit 3 for 4 to lead Ogden at the plate. David Maberry pinch hit late in the game and hit a single, pushing his league-leading batting average to .441.

The two teams continue the series at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

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