Vibes Take Season Series over Owlz with 4-3 Win
By Tyler Petersen
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Vibes finished off their season series against the Northern Colorado Owlz with a 4-3 victory on Saturday night.
Practically every game this year that involved these two teams had some sort of wild finish or crazy late play. Tonight was no exception.
Five Owlz errors in the sixth and seventh innings allowed the Vibes to tie the game late before they took the lead in the eighth on a solo home run by Ulysses Cantu.
The errors spoiled a fantastic start by Owlz pitcher Colton Williams, who held the Vibes scoreless until the sixth. He left the game without allowing any earned runs in a season-high 6.2 innings pitched.
NoCo jumped out to an early lead. A Tim Bouchard single in the first and a Kevin Higgins single in the fourth brought in three runs off Jacob Wesselmann.
Wesselmann was going toe-to-toe with Williams on the night and left the game with a season-high tying 7.0 IP only allowing the three aforementioned runs.
With just two hits through the first five innings and trailing 3-0, the Vibes were having major trouble solving Williams.
In the sixth, with two outs and a man on first, a ground ball was hit up the line toward the first baseman who let the ball get under his glove and into rightfield. Men were at the corners for Cantu. He slapped a ball toward rightfield and Euro Diaz came in to make the catch but made a late adjustment and had the ball hit off his glove. One run came racing in and the throw from Diaz into the infield got away from the third baseman allowing Cantu to run to second. Williams went over to pick up the errant ball but on his way over he slipped or stumbled, knocking the ball away again allowing the runner at third to score a second run on the play and moving to Cantu to third.
Three errors and two runs on a ball in play with two outs. Williams then got the final out of the inning.
In the seventh lightning struck twice (in a good way for once). Ethan Lopez had a lead-off double, the first extra base hit of the night for RMV and just the fourth overall. Williams dug deep and struck out the next two batters swinging. A two-out walk to Josh Glenn brought Joe Encarnacion to the plate. Joe sent a fly ball to deep right center – it was hit high enough to give both outfielders a chance to get over to the drop spot, Diaz stood under it and dropped the ball again. Lopez came into score and a third unearned run crossed home plate.
Williams, who was close to 100 pitches, was replaced and walked off the mound with an undeserved no-decision.
The Owlz gave up their lead, and Cantu made it permanent in the eighth with a 427-foot home run to left field. Miguel Pozo put the final seal on the game with a 1-2-3 ninth, picking up his ninth save of the year.
With the win the Vibes went 15-13 against the Owlz this season, which leaves out the two cancelled games they did not make up during the first half of the season. The Vibes will hold the season series against both the Owlz and the Ogden Raptors this season.
The final seven games will all be against the Grand Junction Rockies, with four scheduled in Grand Junction and the final three at UCHealth Park next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
