NoCo Couldn't Climb the Mountain in Monday's Loss

JOHNSTOWN, Colo. -- Rocky Mountain maintained its hot streak by staving off a NoCo comeback to Monday's series opener.

The Owlz (13-22) went from a nine-run deficit to a walk-off opportunity. But in the end, the Vibes (18-17) knocked 19 hits to NoCo's eight, no doubt a disparity too difficult to overcome in this 11-8 outcome.

It's the Vibes' fifth-straight win. NoCo's now lost nine of its last 11 games.

Down 11-2 entering the seventh, the Owlz surged for six runs. Up to that point, a duo of dingers had delivered the Owlz only offense. Alex Jackson jacked his team-leading 11th long ball back in the first, giving the good guys the lead first. The Vibes scored five unanswered runs before Cameron Phelts answered with his own solo shot in the fourth. 

Then, Rocky Mountain batted around in top six, scoring four runs to reach that nine-run lead. 

But the birds batted around in bottom seven to salvage some hope this ballgame. Phelts started things off with a single, his second hit of the day. He stole second base, reached third after a throwing error on said steal attempt, and scored on a Dakota Popham sac fly. Jackson, Ronnie Allen, and Abdel Guadalupe all walked, and two of them scored when Tim Bouchard boomed a double that the whole home crowd thought was a homer. No worries: next at-bat, Brandon Crosby connected for his team's third tater of the night. Crosby's ninth cannon shot of the campaign capped the colossal inning. 

It brought the Owlz within three, but that's as close as they got. 

They got lots of chances to keep closing that gap, though. In the eighth, the birds stranded two baserunners after three strikeouts. They left the bases loaded in the ninth by striking out three more times. Pete Bayer (S, 1) banked a six-out save for Rocky Mountain. Worth reiterating: all six outs were strikeouts.

Offensively, NoCo's K count finished at 15, just one shy of their team high for strikeouts in a game this season. 

It wasn't all bad, though. The Owlz have now homered in five consecutive games, their longest such streak of the season. They've handily surpassed the first half's home run total - 29 in the first half, 40 so far in the second.

Phelts and Crosby, each of which homered, led the team with two hits apiece. Crosby compiled three RBI. Bouchard tacked on two to his RBI total. 

And it wasn't just the power, but the poise. Even down to their final swing, the Owlz kept swinging. 

Plenty of swinging to do with a double-header on tap for Tuesday. First pitch from Nelson Farm Park is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Game two of the double-header will start roughly 30 minutes after the first game ends. 

Could be your last chance to see two games for the price of one. Snag yourself a seat, all of which cost just $10, and we'll see you on Tuesday!