Ballers Spoil Vibes Home Opener in Wild 21-15 Ballgame

By Andrew Della Piana

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Rocky Mountain Vibes fans waited 259 days to see their club return to UCHealth Park on Tuesday night, and the wait resulted in a game with 36 combined runs on 39 combined hits, which the Oakland Ballers won 21-15.

Oakland began the contest on the right foot, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning, but that was only the beginning of an almost four-hour scoring marathon. The Vibes notched nine runs in the first frame, helped by three fielding errors by the Ballers defense. Rocky Mountain knocked out Oakland starter Abraham De Leon after seven batters.

The Vibes appeared to have the game in hand, but the Ballers scored 10 of the next 11 runs before the fifth, giving Oakland a 12-10 lead that they would not lose.

The comeback, run total, and number of hits were not even the oddest parts of the night. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ballers catcher Tyler Lozano challenged a called ball four against Vibes center fielder Brett Carson on a 3-2 count. The play was sent to the booth, and the decision was reversed to a strike, prompting Rocky Mountain manager Les Lancaster to talk with home plate umpire Mike O'Leary.

Following a conversation between Lancaster and O'Leary, the umpires left the field to notify the league offices that they thought the automated all-strike system at UCHealth Park wasn't working properly. After roughly 15 minutes, the umpires returned to the field, but not before Lancaster protested the game, saying that Oakland had exceeded its number of challenges.

The game resumed as the Ballers completed the comeback to a series-opening victory, moving the Vibes to 2-2 this season.

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