Vibes Can’t Recover from Early Deficit, Lose 9-2

By Tyler Petersen

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.  –  For the second night in a row an early burst of Rockies runs proved to be enough to down to Vibes as they fell tonight 9-2.

Grand Junction now has taken the series with a game to go, winning four of the first five.

Nico Popa provided the first couple runs off Brock Knoten with RBI singles in the first and the third. Josh Elvir and Jaylen Hubbard brought in two more in the third and the Rockies led 4-0.

In the top of the fifth, the Vibes finally broke through on Alex Smith, who was putting together his best start of the season. With two men on, Cesar Lopez doubled to left to bring them both in, making it a 4-2 ballgame.

But it would only be Grand Junction who would add runs after that point.

No home runs from the Rockies today but three RBI singles and an RBI groundout in the sixth and the eighth permanently put the game out of reach for Rocky Mountain.

The Vibes are now 4-6 in the second half.

Constantly putting yourself behind the 8-ball and trying to come back every night is like – to borrow some jargon from mechanics – having to dismantle the latch hasp from the auxiliary drainage line on a garbage disposal installation.

In other words, it's a big job.

The Vibes are set to add at least one new player on Sunday through the Pioneer League Tryout Camp Draft. The Vibes have the top pick in the draft and rosters will expand to 26 for any team that adds a draft pick to this year's roster. The two-day camp in Boise started yesterday with over 100 players vying for a spot on one of the ten teams.

First pitch for tomorrow's game is scheduled for 3:35 pm.