Vibes Complete Seven-Run Comeback with Knockout Round Win

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Vibes found a way to win on Friday, spoiling Preston Snavely's stellar start with seven unanswered runs and a Knockout Round eruption.

The Owlz (7-8) helped their hurler by hammering out early runs and reaching a 7-0 lead by the fifth inning. But Rocky Mountain (7-8) managed at least a run in every inning after that, eventually completing the comeback by knotting things up in the ninth.

Kind of the same story in the Knockout Round. Brandon Crosby conked three homers to take what looked to be a healthy lead. But, again, the Vibes survived. Ethan Lopez laced four big flies to win the home run derby and the game.

It's the Vibes' third-straight dub, and it secures at least a series split.

But anyone who watched Snavely slice up swingers early on could not have seen that kind of outcome coming.

Add to that the fact the Owlz offense supplied solid cushion for Snavely's six-inning shove-job. It fired off five runs in the first three innings.

After completing that third inning, the reserved righty had faced just two batters more than the minimum. His Uncle Charlie churned out a number of swings and misses, not to mention his team's only looking strikeout. He held the Vibes' top three batters, a trio with 13 hits and eight RBI in the series' first half, to one hit through six at-bats. Snavely struck out three, issued one walk, and allowed seven hits.

Overall, the Fort Collins kid flashed finesse and a four-pitch mix to find his third quality start this season. All other NoCo starters combine for two quality starts so far.

Rocky Mountain managed many more-quality at-bats after Snavely stepped aside in the seventh. The Vibes did hack away at the hometown hurler across his final two innings, but when Snavely left the game, his squad still had a 7-2 lead. 

Then, the staff surrendered 10 hits over the final three innings, not to mention the final five runs.

Inning number eight continued being the birds' bugaboo. NoCo's now been outscored by 30 runs in the eighth inning alone, their worst run differential in any inning this season.

It certainly made the difference in Friday's conflict.

With three runs on five hits, the Vibes pulled within one run in the eighth. As Rocky Mountain chipped away, it put a charge in its crowd. The atmosphere turned pretty electric by the end. 

Another shocker in Springs still saw solid stuff from the Owlz swingers. Crosby and Abdel Guadalupe both bopped three hits on the night. Crosby capped his second three-plus-hit showing of the series with a homer. Guadalupe garnered the first three-hit game of his nascent NoCo career.

Kevin Higgins and Ty Lewis logged two hits apiece. Higgins hammered a pair of doubles. Lewis legged out an infield hit before delivering a double of his own. With those hits, the third baseman banked two RBI, his second multi-RBI game of this second half. 

The defense didn't commit any errors. The starter spun something spectacular. But the Owlz allowed the home team to hang around and hang too many runs with no response.

By never going away, the Vibes found a way. Fifteen games into this second half, they find themselves tied for third place in the Pioneer League's South Division.

Here's to two more chances for the Owlz to claim that spot in the standings for themselves. NoCo's next opportunity comes on Saturday. First pitch from Springs is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.