Marathon Game Ends in Vibes Win

Hudson Ridley

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. After multiple delays the Rocky Mountain Vibes pulled out a commanding 13-9 victory over the Grand Junction Jackalopes.

Rocky Mountain was in control most of the way, thanks in large part to starting pitcher Christian Day. The righty opened up the game on a tear, tallying one of the quicker one, two, three innings all season.

The Vibes bats also came out the gate hot. Dusty Stroup opened up the scoring party with a solo home run to right field. Coming into the second half of the season Stroup had 11 home runs, all 11 were on the road. In the last two home games Stroup has sent two balls out of UCHealth Park marking a sudden hot streak for one of the Vibes' best hitters.

A few other hitters piled on to hot streaks of their own. An Ethan Lopez two run home run in the bottom of the third put Rocky Mountain back on top 3-2. He now has back to back games with a home run.

Nobody had a better day than Matt Hogan though. Hogan went 4-5 with three RBIs and a home run making him tonight's Whataburger player of the game. The center fielder is now batting .450 in his short professional career.

Christian Day would finish his outing in the sixth with a final line of 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.

The Vibes took a solid 13-4 lead in the top of the ninth. That's when the Jackalopes decided to rally. Grand Junction put up five runs to narrow the gap to four. However, Rocky Mountain's lead was just too much to overcome as the Vibes pulled it out 13-9.

Rocky Mountain improves to 5-2 in the second half of the season. The Vibes now have a one game lead over the south division for the first time since the team's inception in 2019. Grand Junction and Rocky Mountain face off again tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. Mountain time.