Raptors Score 26 Runs in their Thursday Triumph

JOHNSTOWN, Colo. -- The Raptors racked up 26 runs on 26 hits to hand the Owlz a second-straight loss. 

It's the third time this season Ogden (22-24) scored 20 or more runs against the Owlz (18-28). NoCo was the home team in two of those games.

Now, five of those runs came off Abdel Guadalupe, one of the Owlz outfielders, in the ninth. Five hits, too.

But the game was well out of hand well before that. 

Seven pitches into the ballgame, the Raptors held a 3-0 advantage. By the end of the third inning, they led 13-1. 

That's when NoCo's starter stepped aside. He allowed 13 hits. At that point, every Raptor starter had banked a base knock.

The Owlz had nine hits the whole game. Four of them were home runs.

Dakota Popham pummeled NoCo's first big fly in the fourth, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Popham's picked up an RBI in seven of those games.

Alex Jackson thwacked his 12th homer of the season the next inning. With it, he took back the team lead in long balls. 

Jackson sat on that throne for a total of three innings, though. In the eighth, two hooters hit a homer. Pinch-hitting Matthew Turner tanked the first one, breaking a six-game hitless streak. Tim Bouchard bopped the second. Not only has the slugger slammed a homer in consecutive games, he's now up to a dozen dingers himself. That means he and Jackson, once again, are tied for the Owlz lead in home runs. 

Bouchard's bomb was one of three hits he had on the night. That led the Owlz, as did his three RBI on Thursday.

Also worth mentioning: Cameron Phelts reached 50 stolen bases on the season by swiping second base in the first inning. Before anyone could really celebrate him, the speedster stole third base too. Phelts' 51 stolen bases still leads the league, and now he sits nine thefts behind the Pioneer League record for stolen bases in a single season. 

He's got two games left to make history, starting with Friday's conflict. Game number five of this season-ending six-game set is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m.

And remember, the first 50 kids in the gat on Friday evening will receive a free Owlz-branded teddy bear. 

Make sure your kiddo can claim one! Get your tickets, all of which cost just $10, and we'll see you out at Nelson Farm on Friday!