Hurlers and Homers Headline Rockies' Wednesday Win over NoCo

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The Rockies' Josh Agnew worked some wizardry on Wednesday, and some bombs from his buddies with the bats became enough to hand the Owlz their fifth loss in the last six games.

When Agnew (W, 3-2) faced NoCo (12-16) in Greeley, the righteous righty racked up nine strikeouts across his six innings of work. In Wednesday's 5-2 win at Grand Junction (16-15), Agnew upped the ante. He didn't allow a baserunner for three innings and finished with a seven-inning showing worth another nine strikeouts, six surrendered hits, and a single walk.

And it seemed like every time NoCo conjured up a scoring threat, Agnew had an answer.

Take the fourth inning, when Agnew fielded his position with the bases loaded. He gobbled up a ground ball and fired to first to end the Owlz first real risk at a run.

Or the sixth stanza, when he initiated a double play made purely on the basepaths. With Alex Jackson and Cameron Phelts on the corners, Agnew attempted a pick off at first base. It worked. Phelts flinched, then danced, trying to give Jackson time to score from third. But Phelts felt a quick tag, and the turn-and-fire found home plate in time to nail Jackson too. Brutal break on the bases.

Things didn't break much better with the bats overall. Agnew, Josh Ibarra, and Trevin Reynolds combined to fan 14 Owlz on Wednesday. NoCo got the leadoff man on in five of its nine innings at the plate, but only one of those men scored. That run came from Tim Bouchard's bomb in the seventh, his second homer in four games wearing the club's colors.

Bouchard's blast bookended a game which saw nearly all its runs come from round-trippers. Of the game's four homers, Grand Junction jerked three of them. Nico Popa popped the first one in the bottom of the first. Charles Middleton turned a 2-0 pitch into a tater in the fourth. Josh Elvir sent the seventh pitch of his fifth-inning at-bat where the grass don't grow.

In his Pioneer League debut, Owlz starter Colton Williams (L, 0-1) struck out three, but he also allowed one of those four-baggers. Kyle Adkins, who threw three strikeouts in 3.1 innings in relief, allowed the others. Those two also combined to give up all five runs, four of which were earned. Chase Wilkerson willed his way to a pair of scoreless innings to end Wednesday, finishing with two strikeouts and three hits allowed.

Offensively for the Owlz, Bouchard's big fly gives the bombastic Bay Stater his second multi-RBI game so far. Jackson and Kevin Higgins had two hits apiece, each etching his 11^th multi-hit game this season. they also finished the game as the only two Owlz without a strikeout. Ty Lewis legged out a fifth-inning double to give himself six of them over his last six games. Not to mention he's now knocked eight extra-base hits overall during that stretch.

On Wednesday, NoCo had its moments, but never the momentum. Those homers put the Owlz down pretty early, and a suffocating combination of Rockies on the rubber never let them get back on their feet.

Here's to the Owlz being ten toes down on Thursday, the second game of this six-game set at Suplizio Field. NoCo's Tanner Schoeninger is set to spar with GJ's Izzy Fuentes when first pitch rolls around at 6:35 p.m.